Our day began with a brief stop at the Basket Case to buy three plants to fill spaces in Long Beach planters. Of course, we bought a flat of plants once I had walked through a couple of times, including another Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’, so now there are but three left!
Of other plants that I feel are treasures of which only a few are left, you can see (below) on the left, an Azara microphylla, beautiful little tree (one left!) with vanilla or chocolate scented flowers in late winter, and on the right, Thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’ (only a couple left) and a wonderfully crisp looking white Phygelius.
We then met Nancy, garden tour organizer, at one of the 2013 gardens to get some teaser photos for the Music in the Gardens tour Facebook page, and I was deeply impressed. I don’t want to give too much away but:
It is one of my favourite kinds of gardens, with room after room, each with a different feel. It is the sort of garden I especially admire (ironic because of my business!), where all the work is done by the owners.
We tore ourselves away reluctantly. Allan went to work at Andersen’s RV Park while Nancy and I went south to see two other gardens that would be on the tour. She was impressed with both. While at the first garden (Jo’s), I got some birds for Mr. Tootlepedal.
Nancy and I then went to the nearby Boreas Inn so I could show her our deer resistant west side garden beds there, and I took the opportunity to show off the inside of the inn, as well. It is an honour to be associated with such a gorgeous place. This gave me some different views of the garden.
That’s the tree featured in our post about having to clean up after other garden services! I would drop a couple of feet off the top of it so one is not always fighting it for the view. Or I would, shockingly, cut it down and plant another Eucalyptus off to the side. They grow fast and I do love them.
After this pleasant hour or more of goofing off, I rejoined Allan at Andersen’s and we both worked on weeding the big west side garden.
I had three brainstorms while there. The first was to widen a path to make it more inviting to walk past the blowsy poppies to the bench, moving rocks and replanting some small poppy seedlings further in to the bed.
The second was that the area around the big piece of driftwood should turn back into lawn. The plants there are infested with couch grass, and it is the last place we get around to weeding.
The very energetic Al is a staffer there who is always looking for a project. All I had to do was mention my idea to him, and he was off to get the big weedeater.
I also made a straight rather than curved line at another edge of the west garden, to eliminate a dull and weedy area that would better off as mown grass.
I hope I am getting older and wiser and not just older and lazier, but it makes sense to remove a few difficult spots in order to put more attention on the beautiful parts of the garden.
We made a quick trip to the Planter Box to get one plant (a red Geum) that I needed to balance a Long Beach planter, and while we were there, we picked up some annuals for an area that the inimitable Al had weeded for us earlier that day. That was so wonderful because the weeding had been on my list of projects and I did not have to do it!
Al hung some floats on the fence that used to be on the driftwood around which he had weedeated, while Allan planted the annuals and I weeded a sweet pea area. Those two are the two hardest working people I have ever known.
My original plan had been to do Klipsan Beach Cottages and Wiegardt Gallery as well as Andersen’s, but at almost five o clock I decided we should save them for tomorrow and head back south to do the Anchorage Cottages garden….
…and plant the rest of the Long Beach plants so I can call that planting project done for 2013! What an accomplishment. Every space in every planter is now filled, or so I believe. I had time to check the block and half of tree and planter gardens that I skipped yesterday so we could go nursery shopping.
There are a few street trees under which I would like to add more perennials, perhaps hardy fuchsias. The tree gardens are a pain to water, so I may have missed the time frame when the plants would easily establish and not need coddling.
Finally, we weeded the streetside garden at Time Enough Books, long overdue for the removal of tiny grasses. The difficult to work in light of late evening brought the day to a close….
Home at last, Allan mowed some lawn while I dealt with tomorrow’s plants (for Gene’s garden) and picked up some of the empty flowerpots strewn around the garden. If we can get Gene’s planting, weeding at KBC and Wiegardt Gallery, and a brief stop at Golden Sands done tomorrow, we can have the next day off!
Love the impressionist screen shot from The Hideaway! It’s now a nice view into the little courtyard meditation area. I wrote “medication” just now by mistake. Too much time at DaVIta today. Your blog just makes me happy. Can you send me the pics??
Thank you!
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Yes, I will. Remind me if I forget! I was imagining the view as it was before the big tree was cut. What an improvement to have that nice sit spot instead.
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Your alliums are looking great., Ours are only just starting. Get a camera with a big lens and blow the expense.
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Marvelous photos. Does the Music in the Garden tour have live music playing for visitors? I’m intrigued. My husband plays guitar on our deck when I have open garden days – always a unique touch.
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Yes, the organizer arranges for a musician in every garden, and sometimes even a trio!
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That is fabulous! Live music adds so much to the garden experience; I am delighted that others value it! Please send on my compliments to those who are thoughtful enough to include it in the tour 🙂
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Will do. It is a benefit for the Water Music Festival which has been every October here for years. Back when it began (25 years ago?) there was very little live classical music available here on the SW coast. Now there is more but Water Music still goes on but it is now a two day rather than four day event.
Sent from my iPhone
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