12 and 13 March: a project

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

At last we got back to Erin’s garden project, the one we began at the end of last year’s work season, just before bulb planting time kicked in.  I’d had big plans of doing more on this garden over the winter.  That didn’t happen!

Today we started by loading the newspaper into the van; we’d been collecting it all winter.  And then, to weigh it down as we laid it out, we needed a load of cow fiber from The Planter Box.

Raymond and the bobcat go after the cow fiber

It’s heavy due to rain so we can only take three scoops (a bit less than a cubic yard).

at the Planter Box

Back down to Erin’s Long Beach house.  We drove in through the neighbouring yard to get into the back yard.  The three deer that Erin says visit every day greeted us.

not with telephoto

We enter through a gap in the fence.

the project, before

Erin had told us she wanted a garden just like ours.  Now, that would mean three huge garden beds on the lawn.  We’re starting a bit smaller than that.

At this time in my life, I would normally turn down a big new project.  However, I have a history re Erin’s house that made me say yes.  I took a photo of it on a beach visit at age 19 or so; the photo was on my wall in Seattle for many years and was one of the remembrances that brought me back to Long Beach at age 36.

before, looking west

The boat has a rough edge of fabric and newspaper underlayment showing.  Last fall, we acquired and installed it so fast and suddenly that we did not have time to dig out a trench to tuck the fabric in.

We started laying thick, overlapping layers of newspaper down.

A winter’s worth of newspaper collecting went terribly fast.  We left to hit the recycling bin and then went to the Depot Restaurant in Seaview to scavenge their cardboard recycling pile.  The Depot is not open for lunch.  We found another place to have a tasty meal.

Curbside Grill in Seaview, a favourite of our friend Ed Strange

Due to our odd schedule of not being morning people, by the time we are ready for lunch this lunch wagon is usually closed.

We returned with more supplies.  Look who was back!

They hopped the fence in one easy bound.  This will have to be a deer friendly garden like Marilyn’s.

With more newspaper and cardboard to lay, we started making the trench around the garden bed.

trench made with half moon edger

While I tucked the newspaper into the trench, Felix the cat appeared and found a use for the new garden.

Felix!!

Clearly, we will have to protect areas sown with flower seeds by laying down some pieces of chicken wire or bird (cat) netting.

It’s hard to watch all sorts of interesting newspaper articles disappear under the mulch.  We did not have enough supplies to keep pulling intriguing sections out of the layering.

I did not stop to read.

Deciding that we wanted to make the bed longer, just because it would look right, we went on another run for more paper, and then to The Planter Box again for one more load of cow fiber to hold it down.

cute chicks for sale at Planter Box

Back to work!  Here’s the bed’s final shape, for now.  It can be expanded in the future.  If it were mine, it would be wider and twice as long, with a matching bed on the other side of the lawn.

We’ll see how it looks with a bed this size, for now.

looking west

I had cut a trench around the boat and Allan had further cut into the old sod under the edge of the fabric so that it looks finished now.  The garden bed also has a finished look but is far from done.  We are getting six yards of soil energy delivered to build it up to a depth sufficient for immediately planting some perennials.

Later, we’ll get a few more buckets of river rock for around the boat so the landscape fabric does not show anywhere.

If all goes well, the soil mix will be delivered tomorrow.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

At home before we went to work: a new angle on one of the Hellebore areas in our front garden.

rich in Hellebores

On the way back to our project, we stopped by Long Beach city hall to pick up our check.

north side of City Hall

City Hall trillium, with the usual problem of taking white flower photos.

City Hall; I love the new foliage of the Aruncus (goat’s beard)

This particular Aruncus came from along the road near my old Ilwaco house, as did the trillium, perhaps.  I rescued some plants when the road was widened.

We stopped also at Dennis Company to get a little something to add to a friend’s birthday package.

lots of Narcissi in the tree planter outside of Dennis Co

I especially like Narcissi with very small cups.

And then back to the project at Erin’s house.  We parked on the street in order to make it easy for soil delivery to find us.  Felix took immediate advantage of the opportunity to hop into our van.

My friend Felix

Allan and I worked on cleaning up a small street side garden while watching to the north for the soil truck.

looking north

passing time in tidying

This little garden is on the east side of a cottage that sits behind the big house.

The truck came right on time with six yards of Soil Energy mulch; Allan guided it in over the neighbour’s lawn and through the gate to Erin’s west lawn.

Here it comes!

Soil Energy from Peninsula Landscape Supply

(Soil energy combines composted wood products, aged screened sawdust, screened sand, composted chicken manure, lime, fertilizer and iron. pH 6.2, brown in color, 38.9% organic matter)

6 cubic yards

Several hours of work waiting.

The idea was to cover the roughly 350 square feet of the new garden bed to a depth that would permit immediate planting.  Usually the Soil Energy mix is too hot to plant the same day.  Today, after sitting all winter, it was nice and cool and I wished we had brought the three buckets of free plants (divisions from here and there) that are waiting at home to go in this garden.

I moved several wheelbarrow loads to the boat end of the bed while Allan scooped with buckets and shovel onto the closer end.  Then the sun came out and I realized I had forgotten my lightweight warm weather shirt.  How miserable!  A revelation struck:  The Reach Out Thrift shop was just three blocks away.  I had been meaning to stock up on summer shirts…so I left Allan shoveling while I took a half an hour break to walk there and back.

looking south on Ocean Beach Boulevard: just three blocks to a summer of comfortable shirts.

Inside the thrift store at 10th North is an unbeatable deal.  You can fill a grocery bag with as many clothing items, including shoes, that you can stuff in and buy the whole lot for only $5.00

racks organized by size

I got at least ten good items of work clothing; a couple of the lightweight shirts may be for Allan.  Then, back to the job to shovel without overheating.  The whole excursion took exactly half an hour, as I had hoped.

When I returned, Felix was ever so happy to see me.

such a nice kitty he is.

While I was gone, Allan got a photo of Felix in the van again.

I buckled down to the rest of the soil moving; Allan had been working all along.  I could feel my age, as I resorted to ibuprofen and bengay when my right calf locked up again.  By midafternoon, the soil shifting was done, and Allan had also filled ten five gallon buckets with some soil to take down to the other part of the project.

done

ready for planting

looking south from the fire circle

Erin wants to be able to see the whole horizon to the south while sitting around the fire with friends and family on summer evenings.  Because of the next door trees, I will be able to plant some taller plants in the upper stretch of the new bed.

So far, the plan is to add some free Nepeta (catmint) that we got from Jo’s garden, and a Helianthemum that came out of the Picture Attic garden when Allan cleaned it up recently.  I can scavenge some starts of Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feather grass, which is low in stature) and I have a good selection of different coloured poppies and California poppy seeds to add.  I’ll also want to get some Eryngiums and some Armeria (sea thrift) and some Dianthus and some Agastache and, later, cosmos.  The planting will have to take into consideration the three deer who frequent the garden.

The sun had gone in and I layered a warm sweatshirt and walked to the entry garden while Allan drove the van back out the neighbour’s lawn to join me below.  I looked back to admire the view from the top of the stairs that lead to the the house’s front door.

from where the lawn begins, looking west

From the base of the stairs, the boat shows enticingly.

To my delight, we had time left for the rest of the project:  tidying up the courtyard behind the big house.  While the house had sat empty for a couple of years, chickweed had taken over.

courtyard before

before, the mermaid bed

and the raised bed by the back porch

When we had stopped by earlier in the week to talk to Erin, she had expressed a dream of having a simple year round planting in the courtyard so that it would be cheering in the winter.  I suggested hellebores and Allan had gone to retrieve from  our van a hellebore that we had just purchased at The Planter Box.  Just as he walked up to us with the plant, Erin showed me a phone photo of a plant she had fallen in love with.  It was exactly the same Hellebore cultivar.

this one!

raised bed after

mermaid bed after

I’m not as satisfied with the “after” as one might think.  I know the chickweed has re-seeded already and, far worse, the roots of bindweed have infested both these beds during the time they sat untended.  Bindweed is one of the worst weeds to eradicate organically and I am sure it will be popping up throughout these areas.  We hear that WWoofers* will be staying in the little cottage behind the big house and will be looking for useful tasks to do.  I’m thinking they could take on one of the best bindweed controls:  “Never let it see a Sunday.”  In other words, they could make it one of their projects to pull it every single week.

*What is a Wwoofer?

“The acronym stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, but some still refer to it as Willing Workers On Organic Farms. People of varying experience levels and all ages (although, usually a minimum age of 16) have been taking advantage of this excellent program since it started in the UK in 1971.

Here is the idea: You, the WWOOFer, agree to volunteer on an organic farm working for at least four to six hours a day for a few days or more in exchange for the host providing free home-cooked meals, a free room, and free advice on organic farming.”

Best of all, for me, is hearing that the WWOOFERs will take on the clean up and maintenance of the garden by the little cottage in which they will reside.

the cottage garden today

Just as we finished weeding and planting the hellebores, a light rain began.  I was so pleased we had gotten the new garden bed done, and I am relieved that Erin does not want the second one on the other side of the garden yet.  Except for some fun planting and pleasant maintenance here, we can now focus on our “regular” jobs.  This deserved a reward.

Reward:  Dinner at Pelicano!

a quick stop at home to change clothes

Pelicano Restaurant is just a block south of the bogsy wood, overlooking the marina.  It is presently featuring art by Astoria painter Noel Thomas.

inside Pelicano

the view from our table

our drinks: Ilwaco Sunrise and a Grapefruit Margarita

I like to have the chef’s menu when it does not include oysters.  This month, it was perfect for me.

Although I did sort of want the scallops more…so Allan ordered those and we switched our main courses because he is very fond of the way Chef Jeff McMahon prepares fish.

scallops and more

Asparagus and Roasted Beet Salad…as delicious as it is beautiful.

Allan got a caramelized onion soup and I had to steal several delectable spoonfuls.

I almost forgot to take a photo of the shrimp. avocado and pinto bean salad.

Here it is after I gave a portion to Allan in trade for more soup.

the scallops…after giving a portion to Allan.

Walnut Meringue and Malted Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich with caramel sauce. The chef makes ice cream in house.

Chocolate pot de creme with Maldon Sea Salt

Karla of Time Enough Books at the port has said that if she had to choose a last meal, this dark chocolate pot de creme would be its dessert.

As we left (me, hobbling), the rain continued and I admit that I would very much like a rainy day tomorrow.  The book I am reading is overdue and I could finish it given a stormy day: