Garden party time at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island

Join the fun at one of the best garden events of the season by attending the 4th Annual Garden Party at the internationally famous Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. Sip fine wine and nibble delicious food from dozens of local restaurants, caterers and wineries, while conversing with friends and fellow gardeners.

Save a little time to shop for beautiful container plantings and rare and unusual plants from local specialty growers and nurseries. You will, of course, also want to explore the Reserve's 150-acre blend of natural woodlands and beautifully landscaped gardens.

The event takes place Aug. 5 and starts at 3:30 p.m. with the benefactor event starting at 2 p.m. The party is the major fundraising event, $100 per person for regular admission, $500 for benefactors pre party. Those wishing to attend must make a reservation in advance. Proceeds will help pay for major improvements at the reserve. Visit www.bloedelreserve.org, or call 206-842-7631.

Harvest figs before something beats you to it

I absolutely love figs eaten fresh right off the tree. While working at Seattle University, I planted two fig trees in a sunny location on the campus. Figs won't ripen off the tree so you have to wait for them to droop and soften up before you pick them. Pick them the minute they ripen or a multitude of clever pests including raccoons and blue jays will get them first.

At Seattle U., I checked them daily. The day they were ready, with bib in hand, I raced to the trees in eager anticipation only to find that something beat me to them in the night, stripping every fig from the tree. Certain that the culprit was a raccoon, the next year I covered the tree with netting to make it impossible for the midnight marauder to get my fruit. The morning that I went to reap my harvest, I found the net on the ground and not one fig remained. I am now aware that students are the most difficult pests to control when you grow figs!

Keep an eye out

for a new fruit pest

Drosophila Suzukii (spotted wing drosophila or SWD) is a vinegar fruit fly recently detected in Western Washington. Unlike most of our nuisance house vinegar fruit flies that are attracted to rotting or fermenting fruit, this one attacks healthy fruit just as it begins to ripen on the branch or vine. It also has an appetite for all kinds of soft-bodied fruit.

The larvae have been found in cherry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, plums, nectarine and grapes. Several females can deposit eggs in the same fruit, so even small berries can contain quite a number of larvae. If that wasn't bad enough, this pest is expected to produce up to six generations per season, with the first emergence beginning between mid-June and early-July.

You'll know if your fruit is infested if you see brown sunken areas and the fruit tends to shrivel. The first line of defense against SWD is sanitation. Pick fruit as soon as it ripens, clean up any fruit that drops, and freeze or crush fruit found to contain larvae and discard. There is no effective control measure once the eggs hatch and the larvae get inside the fruit.

Sprays containing spinosad, however, will prevent infestation if applied just before the fruit begins to ripen. Used according to directions, Spinosad is a naturally occurring bacteria that is toxic to a wide variety of insects, yet is described as nontoxic to humans, pets and the environment.

Ciscoe Morris: ciscoe@ciscoe.com. "Gardening with Ciscoe" airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING-TV.