Wednesday, 27 August 2014
Today we did our weekly north end round, minus Marilyn because this week we have to do a couple of different private gardens, like Mike’s and Larry and Robert’s (yesterday) and Diane’s (today).
The Red Barn
All we had to do here was deadhead some Agryranthemum ‘Butterfly’ in four barrels, weed a bit in the narrow garden strip, and water it as the garden seemed quite thirsty.
The horses that we see being ridden through Long Beach often come from here via a trail that starts just west of the barn and goes to Long Beach town.
Diane’s garden
Walking into the back yard at Diane’s, next door to the Red Barn, I suddenly and for the first time realized that the roof of the double wide home is metal. Could it be that the pitch is as low as our roof and that we could maybe have a green metal roof? I would love that.
The trees along the street are, we hear, going to be cut down this fall. They stopped providing any privacy when the county cut the limbs a couple of years ago. Then the long strip of the roadside garden will go away, but not, I hope, the entry corner.
(The plants along the edge were lost to a round-up mishap earlier this summer.)
The roadside garden was originally inspired by Diane’s love for these particular heathers from The Planter Box:
I think they would look just silly up against the house, so I wonder if a garden bed could be made for them along the driveway, perhaps a raised bed bordered with these chunky rocks:
I’m not going to worry about it until I find out the project is really happening.
Wiegardt Gallery
We continued on up Sandridge Road to the Wiegardt Gallery.
My first thought was that the verbascums would no longer look appealing to anyone but a CPN (Certified Plant Nut), so I cut them down.
There was great excitement when I found that a Eucomis, planted there last winter by Eric’s brother Todd, had suddenly decided to sprout at last!
I brought gallery manager Christl out to see it and then protected it with a bamboo stake tripod and some sluggo. Fingers crossed it survives and thrives.
In the north garden bed, the Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ stems are short due to thirst and yet still look good, adding sunflower charm to the garden.
Oman Builders Supply Garden

Overall, the OBS garden continues to be a successful low maintenance bed (except for thoroughly deadheading the Erysimum every three weeks or so).
Last week’s window washing crew’s standing on the Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’ had pushed the plant way forward and there was nothing to be done about it now. I can’t rant too much about the developmentally disabled window washing crew without being a real ogre.
Klipsan Beach Cottages
By now, I had high hopes that we would get through the long list of jobs I had scheduled for the day without having to roll any over to Friday. Klipsan Beach required some deadheading and light weeding and some tall uppies pruned off of the honeysuckle and rose arbour (by Allan on a ladder).
All the rebar gates here were made by my former co-gardener, Robert. I wish he had been able to continue his artistry in metal.
Golden Sands Assisted Living
Instead of the usual photos of the four quadrants and my frustration that the gardens don’t look more vivacious, here are some good parts:
I have the solution to all this gardens problems: Adding Helenium and more white phlox, of which I can get divisions for free. Another great addition would be Agapanthus, but they are pricey and I am on a budget. Oh, and more dahlias, tall ones in bright colours that elderly eyes can see well; I should be able to get some economical bags of dahlias from Costco next spring.
Andersen’s RV Park
We each deadheaded dozens, nay hundreds, of Agyranthemum ‘Butterfly’ daisies, and Allan weeded on the west side whilst I deadheaded in the other areas.

west garden; This is not the first time I have momentarily thought the Stipa tenuissima is the wagging tail of a big blonde dog in the garden.
The poppy field is now the field of bad aster, which at this time of year redeems itself.

west garden: blue clouds of the large quantities of not so bad aster (now!) that I did not manage to pull out.

with a truly good aster (‘Harrington’s Pink’, I think) (later figured out it is too dark to be H Pink)
Anchorage Cottages
Hallelujah; we even got to the Anchorage today, which means that Friday can be almost all just gardening in Long Beach town.
Lots of guests were around as we were working in the evening. Fortunately for us, they were mostly parents and kids playing on the lawn instead of people sipping drinks in the courtyard chairs.
I noticed both sets of window boxes have become mismatched. Summer is almost over, and it is not fixable now so I won’t fret about it.

on the lawn after the children went into the cottages, a classic swingset with holes worn by many feet
Port of Ilwaco
Tomorrow is art night in Ilwaco. We took a drive past the port gardens on the way home to see what would need weeding. They look good except that two were full of trash blown in by the wind (which we decided to pick up as Ilwaco will not be our first job tomorrow). We were home by seven thirty, and our long day will make the rest of the week that much easier.
We had another meal featuring the scumptious salmon caught by our neighbour Jeff.

by Chef Allan, salmon with a mustard honey glaze that he got from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, probably given him by his mother. Cucumber, tomatoes, and Yukon Gold mashers from the garden.
Oooh, such a lot going on… way back up toward the top you show a variegated Miscanthus. Which one is it, how tall is it, and why isn’t it flopping over? Please let me know the secret!
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I believe it is just plain old Miscanthus sinensis variegatus which for some reason does not flop much for me although it is said to be a big flopper. I think it flops little at Wiegardt Gallery as it is dry there. In my better watered garden, it flops more.
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Remember, I’m going to bring you some Rudbeckia for Golden Sands, probably in October, okay? And dahlias a great idea for there! Maybe asters, too? I could divide some out…
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I only like non running asters. If you have some clumpies that would be awesome. It already has the BadAster. ;-). Thanks for the reminder re your rudbeckias. I have a not to crazy pink phlox am going to add. Kind of a runner. Delicate species type but I hope I don’t regret it’s running ways. Deer do not bother it at Marilyn’s. You might like some. .
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Wouldn’t a green roof be wonderful! I remember the little one on Scott’s shed at Rhone garden. To bad about cutting down the trees. along the road.
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I love Scott’s roof and Allan mentioned the other day that there is probably a second story window with a good view of that she’d roof.
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Would Diane be up for a replacement when the trees come out?. Maybe a mix of different height grasses to provide some privacy.
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I do wish but it is going to be a fence. If it weren’t for big equipment coming in to remove trees maybe the garden could be saved! You know I love grasses.
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