would-be north end day

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Our north end day was slightly delayed by a stop at 42nd Street Café to find out what needed to be done for an emergency must-be-done-by-the-weekend weeding call I had gotten from the owner.  I have a thing for restaurants, so we will take on the project….tomorrow.

I like to get as many north end jobs done as possible on Wednesdays, and lately I like to go to Klipsan Beach Cottages first.  Owner Mary was getting sad when we would show up at the end of the day, while she and Denny were having dinner and wrapping up their own day, and there would be no time to visit.

I saw a striking sight from the road as we drove up and I walked out to photograph it.  I’m not sure whether to use it on their Facebook page or not.  It does sort of imply that it rains a lot here.

reflective pool

inside the fenced garden

Coreopsis ‘Flower Tower’ taller than the greenhouse!

Mary and I wish we knew the name of the rose that she got as a gift.

two of the eight cottages from just outside the fenced garden (looking west)

Next, we deadheaded Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ at the little Oman Builders Supply garden.

OBS garden

At the Wiegardt Gallery, we planted the three Ilex ‘Sky Pencil’ that last week just got a scenic tour of the Peninsula and went back home because weather was still too hot and dry.  It had definitely turned wet enough now.

Wiegardt Gallery, west wall, before

after, with three Ilex added

They will make a difference, especially when I get two more.  I just do not understand why they are so hard to come by, when they are such good doers and deer resistant.  This garden used to have two Escallonias, but Eric thought they were too big, so I hope the Ilex will give some tall structure without being annoying.

We also added an Echinacea ‘Green Jewel’ to a newly cleared bed on the south side.  It looks better than any I put in the ground earlier this year and I hope it has gotten big enough to survive any slugs and snails, as they seem to love this plant.

a green jewel

I was at a bit of a loss regarding where to go next.  Golden Sands?  Marilyn’s?  Marilyn’s won out, as we had not gone there last week.  It still bugs me that the alders were limbed so high…

 

But to get a sense of enclosure back, I am thinking the sterile Buddliea that is in the west garden might be just the right size.

Buddleia ‘Blueberry Cobbler’

I really don’t want to transplant that one, so I hope I can find another one.  Asian Moon, Purple Haze, or the orange Sweet Marmalade would be good if I can just get my hands on one.

Marilyn’s, looking north from by the back porch

Marilyn’s daughter, Nancy, has been posting some photos of the deer who live in this garden.

Nancy’s deer photos:

 

We still had time to check on Golden Sands Assisted Living garden, which we also skipped last week.  I got two more patches of wild beach strawberries pulled:

SE quadrant

Still need to get all the way around the back of the SE quadrant….

SW quadrant

But the southwest quadrant is done!

The strawberries were as thick as the ones on the outside of the landscape timbers.

Allan moved the bench, making even more solidly sittable than it was before.

in 2011. For a long time the bench has sat in front of the NW quadrant.

Now the garden can be seen! (such as it is)

The bench is much better here.

What a mess awaits us in the NW quadrant.  Strawberries, up in everyone’s business.

Gah!

The soil is tight and rubbly, but once we spend another partial day and get this weeded, we can bring in a load of cow fiber and turn this into a place of beauty.  I have a stash of plants donated by Sheila and Kathleen S. that have been waiting since July (for the sprinkler system to be fixed) to be added to this garden.

Golden Sands: happy rose because of working sprinklers (and rain)

While at Golden Sands, I got a call and a text from Nancy Allen asking if I could accompany her to a potential garden tour garden tomorrow.  She is already looking ahead to the July 2014 tour.  Can I resist a chance to look at a garden?  Never.  So on the way south, Allan and I added a check up on the Anchorage Cottages garden in order to make tomorrow easier.  (My promise to do that one off weeding job to 42nd Street Café,  and a predicted Friday storm have made the schedule tight for Thursday.)

At the Anchorage: Allan found this many pampas plumes broken by Sunday’s wind.

Manager Beth added this lovely birdbath.

Someone, not us, did a nice job of pruning the Escallonia iveyi so one of the Anchorage signs shows better.  When I was taking a photo of it and the cleaned up pampas grass, I noticed more pampas plumes bent over and we had to clip them before we left.

to the far left, bent pampas

pink pampas plumes at The Anchorage

I think all the many Pampas grasses at the Anchorage were planted by Dan Hinkley because he and Robert Jones designed the garden for Robert’s sister who used to own the place!

Ironically, our last mission of the day was to tag some large grasses, including one Pampas, and a couple of Phormiums that the port crew are going to remove from the Howerton gardens on Friday.  (If you want to go down there and hang around and try to snag the plants, maybe you could!)  In the curbside garden, these plants block the sightlines and have to go.

Allan tagging a grass by the Loading Dock Village

Two more tagged by the much missed old Port Bistro café

I want to see the last of this grass and Phormium by Pelicano Restaurant’s parking lot.

When pulling out of several parking lots along Howerton, too-tall plants can block the sight of oncoming traffic.  These plants were not chosen or installed by me, but of course we are the ones who have to chop the darn things down once a year…and that is not enough.  We will replace them with smaller grasses.

This phormium by Powell Gallery must go…it pokes into the sidewalk area.

It seems a shame to have to take out the big Pampas grass at its prettiest time, but when it is gone, one will be able to see the sign for Marie Powell’s studio.

Pampas

And I am sick of cutting it down.  It’s bad enough to deal with all the Pampas at the Anchorage!  And it also blocks the Pelicano restaurant sign.  Imagine, below, that my shadow is a driver of a car…who cannot see the Pelicano sign at all.

just a glimpse shows of the restaurant sign

I am curious whether this fine restaurant’s business will increase when that grass has been replaced with a smaller one.

I took mercy on one centrally located Phormium.  It is so small now…perhaps it is a dwarf cultivar, or just young.

It has escaped the ax for now.

I love ornamental grasses, and even though Randy Powell asked me to do so, I have been refusing to cut the one by his door because it is at its best right now.

not for the chop yet if I can help it!

We stopped ever so briefly at Larry and Robert’s garden to add a bucket of river rock to their back garden.  The setting sun was just catching a tree with autumn colour.

autumn

At home, I watered the tomato and pepper plants in the greenhouse.  A cat drama entertained me in the front garden.

The neighbours’ cat, hiding in Allan’s garden

I thought it was my Calvin at first till I realized this cat is much smaller.

encounter with Frosty

Onyx

further lurking in the front garden

Neighbour cats from all directions always seem to prefer our garden to their own.