22 May: day twelve of work

Friday, 22 May 2015

Another drizzly day was not going to stop us from working, because we were about to reach our goal of having an almost three day weekend.  Twelve days in a row is nothing on what we used to do; I remember working 21 days in a row not many years ago.

misty moisty view

At Andersen’s RV Park a couple of days ago, I had accidentally clipped an iris in the road box.  Don’t tell.  I put the stalk in a bucket of water in the garage, and it had bloomed, so it went into a vase in our kitchen.

a casualty

The weather was so wet when we left for work that I re-ordered the day.  We had two jobs far apart from each other, something I try to avoid scheduling.  If we went to KBC first, a longish drive away, we might escape working in heavy rain.

leaving our place

leaving Ilwaco…the drive north to KBC would give the weather time to improve.

The traffic up the highway was slow all the way with lots of vehicles suddenly turning to go to one after another of “the world’s longest garage sale”, a Peninsula wide event every Memorial Day weekend.

nurseries

We detoured up Sandridge Road and stopped briefly at The Basket Case to get a few plants for the Ilwaco planters, in case we got done in time.

Nancy has planted up these wheelbarrows by the Basket Case carpark.

Hot Lips salvia (Allan’s photo)

The reason our upcoming three day weekend was ALMOST three days off is that the truck from Blooming Nursery will not arrive till Saturday morning, so we will have to shop before our time off.

A petunia fell from a hanging basket and lodged in the passenger mirror.

Next we stopped at Peninsula Landscape Supply so that I could buy two large (and pricey) bottles of Fox Farms Tiger Bloom.  I am trying to not use Miracle Gro anymore, even though the blue stuff is “like candy” to plants as someone told us this week.  It is difficult to find an organic fertilizer that goes through a sprayer as easily and cheaply as Miracle Gro.  We’ll see how long my resolve lasts.  Mainly, I don’t want to financially support Monsanto (associated with the Miracle Gro company).  (I don’t Miracle Gro in garden beds, only containers, and the one place where its convenience has been a boon has been in the many planters of Long Beach and Ilwaco.)

Tiger Bloom (the small jug)

Peninsula Landscape Supply in action

Oman Builders Supply, Ocean Park

It occurred to me to begin north of KBC at the little entry garden of Oman Builders Supply.  I was glad we did start there, as part of an Erysimum was dead and there were some mighty big grassy weeds in one area.

a glaringly dead branch

OBS does not carry many bagged soil amendments (not that we found, anyway).  Their small bag of mushroom compost was perfect for mulching the rather sad north end of the garden.

looking south

looking north

Klipsan Beach Cottages

By our parking place at Joanie’s Cottage grounds next door, one of the best rhododendrons had just come into bloom.  During the Rhodie Tour, I had wondered why my memory of it being fabulous was so strong, as the buds just looked like normal red ones.

The rhododendron in question

The buds just look red…

They open to pink and white.

From the buds, I expected it to be like this red one.

Across the gravel road from our parking spot, I admire this naturescape every week.

The KBC wheelbarrow was half full with spent blossoms from their Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’.

We simply weeded and groomed the garden for an hour or so.

the weekly view

Mary’s pink rose, with all black spotty leaves removed

the first lily

right, the evergrowing glaucous blue Thalictrum ‘Elin’

There should be two white alliums floating in front of that Thalictrum.  Mary told me there had been some sort of mysterious battle in the garden, with tufts of fur around (not from her cats), a cosmos pulled OUT and lying on the path (she replanted it) and one of the alliums broken off.

Mary’s abutilon has emerged from the greenhouse.

rose and the airy white Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’

view from east gate

by the driveway: a well behaved perennial geranium

Allium bulgaricum (Nectroscordum siculum) in the driveway garden

Corokia cotoneaster by the garage

Podophyllum in shade bed by the lawn (Allan’s photo)

Mary and Allan agree that its a smart plant to know that all it needs is one stunning leave to make a great show.

Boreas Inn

With KBC done, we drove south to Long Beach to finally, FINALLY edge the beds at the Boreas Inn.  This has been on the work list for ages.  My weather strategy had worked, and we had not done any rainy gardening at all today.

Boreas lawn beds, before

before

The rainstorm had clearly been here recently.

on the leaves of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

The Alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle) reminded me of why it is more than just an annoyingly weedy re-seedy perennial.  When I first began to explore the world of perennials, I read that alchemists (supposedly) collected rain drops from this plant for their potions:

Alchemilla’s perfect raindrops

Later, Susie told me that she likes to use the chartreuse sprays of flowers in bouquets, further reminding me of its value.

elsewhere and elsewhen: Lady’s Mantle and Astrantia; it is delicately gorgeous in bloom.

.On this grey day, we did not have an audience of guests.

looking east to the inn

Allan’s photo: beginning the half moon edging

Allan’s photo. Rock the edger back to loosen the sod.

Allan’s photo: after

Allan’s photo: two little beds before

and after (He managed to straighten the arbour somewhat)

Allan’s photo: Some horses passed by; their riders were seeking the road.

Allan’s photo: the last bed

after putting a crisp edge on all the beds with the half moon edger

That makes me happy.  And there’s room for more plants.

Ilwaco

We did have time to work on the Ilwaco planters at the end of the day.

added some Cosmos ‘Sonata’ to the city hall planters, because the staff gives them supplemental water

We pulled out old, leggy Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ from four planters and replaced them with new, compact ones.  Allan thinks it a shame that the old ones are blooming so well, and the new ones are not in bloom yet.  The new compact ones will provide flowers for much longer, and will be less teetery.

out with the old

Last time we replaced Erysimums, at the intersection by the Portside Café, I gave the café owners a bouquet of the blossoms.  At 7 PM, there was no one to give flowers too (and I was too tired to deal with it, anyway).

The new ones are well leafed out to the base.

Just as we went home, the rain returned…perfect timing to make the plants happy.

turning toward home

After 12 days in a row of Annual Planting Time, we were so ready for three days almost off.

poppies by our own driveway

Allan’s photo, showing why the poppy is called “Maltese Cross”

the work board tonight

 

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21 May: Ilwaco and Long Beach

Thursday, 21 May 2015

It was another grey and chilly day.  I was thrilled to not have to worry about going back to water in the plants we have recently planted.

Smokey had warmed up my coat.

Ilwaco

I have a new idea regarding watering the Ilwaco planters.  If we filled up enough buckets each day to water two intersections (eight planters, eight trees) with half a bucket each, and each day rotated to the next intersection, each planter would get watered every three days…and we would not get exhausted by bucket watering all of them at once.  (There are now 26 planters and 12 street trees.)  The math does not come out perfect…  Even in drizzly weather, these planters, being small, do need water, so we watered the ones by the boatyard and Portside Café intersections today.

The Angler floating over our boatyard garden.

Chaos, one of my favourite boat names.

Fear Naught and some red poppies

self sown poppies in the boatyard itself

planter at First and Eagle

beautiful wisteria at First and Eagle

The Portside owners liked this photo so much that they made it their Facebook cover photo.

They’ve set up a sweet little container garden by their kitchen door.

We added a couple of new diascia to the Spruce Street planters, and I met a darling puppy named Kiska.

I got some kisses from Kiska.

Allan observed the nesting birds at the corner of Spruce and First.

Allan adding a few new plants…

I found a big grass weed that we had both previously missed, thinking it was bulb foliage.

I was deeply appalled to see that someone who stained the building at the doctor’s office on Spruce had had a dire effect on their darling little garden.  It was heartbreaking for the gardener who works there and cares for this patch, which has always caught my eye with its well-cared-for beauty.

Why??? Even part of the little fence is kicked over.

We swung around to the Post Office to get our mail.

our little post office garden

Long Beach

 Permit me to editorialize a bit:  Just look at how lovely and beachy this landscape by the Long Beach city crew looks, at the intersection of Pacific Way and Sid Snyder.

beachy, with wild beach peas and beach grass in sand.

I have felt for years that the visitors bureau should have a landscape more like this instead of red lava rock and heather on flat, flat ground.  I’m pretty sure the powers that be at our wonderful Viz Bureau agree with me; maybe the LB City Crew could help!  Just bring the right batch of sand, and the beach peas will appear.  If I had a backhoe….The sand could go right on top of the lava rock (and the lousy thin landscape fabric that is underneath it).

I borrowed this image to illustrate my point.  Red lava rock, not very beachy.

Twas a gloriously windless day…

The flags at Veterans Field tell the happy tale.

Allan weeded in Veterans Field and Fifth Street Park while I checked on all the planters.

Allan removed most of the dead bulb foliage in the new corner garden at Vet Field. (his photos, before)

after….

one of the barrels in Fish Alley….just….sigh….

I used my handy new wheelie trolley (above, behind the barrel) from MaryBeth to carry a few trailies, some water, and some Sluggo, and eventually some weeds and clippings, all around town.  The wheels make a sound like thunder, so you can hear me coming.

When I walked by Fifth Street Park, Allan pointed out to me the new fence by the hotel next door.  It is a mystery to me how anyone is going to weed the narrow strip between that fence and the wooden city fence.

new tall white fence

wild salmonberry shrub now squeezed between old fence and new fence. Peculiar.

I’m editorializing again but….why not remove the salmonberry from the hotel garden bed before squeezing it inaccessibly between the two fences?  I just don’t get it.

Allan’s photo, by the pond in Fifth Street Park

Allan’s photo, after removing a mess of weeds from the bed by the Fifth Street restrooms

I was startled to find that two of the planters don’t have “uppies” yet (tall plants by the lamp post).  I missed them because of floppy bulb foliage.  I will rectify this next week.

Ooops, no uppies!

reseeded California poppies

One brave last tiny cupped poeticus narcissi under a street tree.

This planter also needs two uppies.

While I finished the planters south of the stop light, Allan weeded the Big Pop Out (just south of Boo Boo’s Putt Putt Golf).

Allan’s photos: before

before, with the rugosa rose coming back like fury

after

after

We groomed the two northernmost blocks of planters together. Heather of NIVA green (our favourite shop) came to visit us with her little dog, Buzz.

Our good friend Heather and my good friend Buzz.

To end the Long Beach day, we gathered some buckets of Soil Energy from our pile in the city works yard and filled up a couple of low planters on the Sid Snyder beach approach, and weeded them all.

This planter’s soil level always mysteriously drops.

Pink California poppies in a raised soil level.

We also groomed the little kite museum entry bed (here, before, Allan’s photo).  I suppose it could use some cosmos…but perhaps I want to leave it low maintenance and add a couple of Agastaches instead.

After weeding and adding a few buckets of soil to the city hall garden as well, we rewarded ourselves with our traditional Thursday dinner at…

The Cove Restaurant

The Cove

We were joined by Dave and Melissa from Sea Star Landscaping, who are probably going to take over our Casa Pacifica job, and we had a lovely time talking about plants and gardens.

refreshing apricot cider (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s Caesar salad with anchovies

Dave’s Elk Burger

strawberry salad

ahi tuna

garden stories

I suggested Melissa and Dave find Todd sometime while he is working in the Wiegardt Gallery garden and introduce themselves.  They know their plants!  It is fabulous to have new gardening friends.

 

 

 

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20 May: mostly weeding

Wednesday, 20 May 2015

Ilwaco

The grey, chilly, dark, and sometimes misty weather continued.  I welcomed it as it saved us worrying about watering all the plants we have recently planted.  The pressure of Annuals Planting Time is slowing down, so that even though we still have planting to do, it is not all planting all the time.

First thing today:  We usually do a little something to our volunteer garden at the post office during our daily mail stop.

Ilwaco Post Office garden

post office detail: Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’ and Allium albopilosum

I wanted to check on the rest of the Howerton Avenue gardens, the ones we had not gotten to yesterday, as the port will be a busy place during Memorial Day weekend.

the bed by the Ilwaco pavilion

pink California poppies

green santolina in the next bed to the east

the tiny and vulnerable “drive-over garden”

The Marie Powell gallery garden bed, looking west

The new ArtPort Gallery is located in the space that once housed the beloved and much-missed Pelicano Restaurant.

Powell Gallery bed, looking east

Eryngium and Lavender further to the west

With the port gardens having achieved something near to perfection, we drove north to our next job.

The Anchorage Cottages

My good friend Mitzu greeted us.

Anchorage manager Beth told us that Mitzu probably expected a doggie treat like the UPS man brings.

I think she’s right.

We had some milk bones that I carried for the Casa Pacifica dogs; they were too big or not tasty enough, as Mitzu was not interested in having a small corner off of one.  So I gave her a tiny bit of cheese from our lunch box.  We must add some small dog treats to the items we carry with us.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

the north garden by the office with Geranium ‘AT Johnson’ beautifully run rampant

This is one job where I don’t mind this particular hardy geranium filling in a large area….at least for now, till it starts to look tatty.

I am usually obsessed with pulling this one.

Ceanothus, barberry, and one of those Canadian Explorer extra hardy roses (I think)

I added some more plants to the various containers while Allan did some weeding.

On the way to our next job, we stopped at both the Basket Case and The Planter Box to get some assorted Eryngiums for an end-of-day project.

The Basket Case

Allan did a photo essay at The Basket Case about why we trim sword ferns in the early spring:

Hidden behind the greenhouses, here is a completely untrimmed sword fern.

Here is one that was trimmed last year (by Allan, during a time when he was waiting for me to shop) but not this year.

Here is one that Fred just trimmed in the display garden. (You can trim them carefully at end time; it is easier in early spring before the new fronds have unfurled.)

Allan’s photo in the south greenhouse

Regarding petunias, one situation where they are FABULOUS is in Nancy’s baskets.  (The one above mainly features calibrachoa (million bells); I see petunias in a couple of the background baskets in that photo.)

Allan’s photo: me and Fred.  I have a Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar’.

Fred pointed out to be that he had two shrubs I had requested; I had not even realized that.  I grabbed me one of each: Dichroa febrifuga and Itea ilicifolia.  There was one left of each, so get ’em if you can; if they are still there at the beginning of June, I am taking them both!

Right: Dichroa in my garden two years ago. Stunning.

The Planter Box

From the Basket Case to the Planter Box, across Cranberry Road

We swung over to the main highway to get a couple more Eryngiums that I new the Planter Box had in stock.

at The Planter Box, Allan’s photo

me and owner Teresa, Allan’s photo

checking the progress of the painted sage second sowing (Allan’s photo)

Andersen’s RV Park

Next, we had alloted a couple of hours to weeding, as far as possible in that time, all the beds at Andersen’s RV Park.

a grey day at Andersen’s

In the women’s restroom: my former partner, Robert, painted this “Desert Rose” mirror.

I surely do wish I could have that mirror if the RV park sells….

I had weeded the garden shed and the picket fence gardens and helped Allan on the west garden with the rest of our time.  I had suggested he use the string trimmer on the path; being light sand, I thought that might work way faster than hand weeding.  It was not fast, but it did the job.

before, Allan’s photo

after, Allan’s photo

before: Allan’s photo

after, Allan’s photo

The poppies are just barely beginning to bloom here.

Still did not get this edge weeded by the office back door.

in that same area: Oriental poppies and Halmiocistus wintonensis

While weeding, I admired the fine specimen to Stipa gigantea from several angles.

Stipa backed with Payson Hall club house.

with Miscanthus variegatus, another of my favourites

looking through to office back door

looking south from Payson Hall

Ilwaco again

My shopping for Eryngiums culminated in adding five cool plants to the garden in front of the soon-to-be-open Salt Hotel on Howerton.  It’s a tough area to plant because thick landscape fabric must be cut for each plant.  Allan did it while I pruned the ceanothus back from the sidewalk at the Time Enough Books garden to the east.

Allan ready to plant

Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ from The Planter Box set up to plant

The old Harbor Lights Motel will become Salt Hotel, as soon as the sign arrives.

The new owners, Julez and Laila, have added some plants of their own by the building.

Allan’s photo: Each plant must have a hole cut through fabric to plant. Oh, we do hate fabric in a planting bed.

Allan’s photo: step two

This time, he added some potting soil to the hole, I don’t usually believe in coddling a plant with special soil in the ground, for fear its roots will just circle in the good stuff.  Here, though, we decided to try it as the soil is so bad and rubbly.

Allan’s photo: rocks replaced and washed with water.  Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ from The Planter Box

He figured out that each plant took 12 minutes to plant here.

Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’ from The Basket Case.

Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar’ from The Basket Case

Gold Bar Miscanthus will stay nice and short.  Yesterday, I had been going to plant some of my stash of Panicum ‘Northwind’ in here…till I learned from Todd that it gets 4-6 feet tall.  We try to stay low with plants along Howerton, to avoid blocking traffic sightlines.

planted these and Eryngium ‘Blue Hobbit’

on the water side of the hotel

Once again, we worked till eight. typical for the big push of getting ready for the holiday weekend.

 

 

 

 

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19 May: gardening and friends

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

While the weather did not look promising, we headed out anyway as we had much to do before the Memorial Day weekend.

at the Ilwaco Post Office

We had an all Ilwaco day planned.  At least it would be a good day to plant cosmos without having to water them in.  I reminded myself that at the end of the day, we would watch The Deadliest Catch, and I would feel silly if I complained about working in a little light rain on solid land.

We began by adding a few more diascia to the Ilwaco planters.

A nasturtium is already blooming in this one.

I planted a Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ from my endless supply under the street tree whose garden got vandalized.

One sedum in…

While admiring the lush poppies under the unvandalized tree garden just across the street, I noticed some debris from the local tavern.  Fortunately, the tavern owner came out and cleaned it up.

One of the poppies from that tree had been pulled or kicked out. Yes, I notice everything.

At that moment, Carol Clearman drove by and I told her all about the tree garden being flattened (so you knew, Carol, before it was in published in the blog!)

When we got to the boatyard, I also noticed several places along the sidewalk where soil was missing, and probably little poppies, too.

pretty sure someone dug out a few of the poppies to take home

As you can see, there are many poppies.  I’m glad that poppy scavenging does not happen often, or there would not be many.

I planted six 6 packs of cosmos all along the boatyard, a rather tedious project as planting is so not my favourite thing.  As I was weeding and planting, I heard a familiar voice, and my former partner, Robert, rode up on his bicycle.

Robert (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Robert told me that he had had emergency triple bypass surgery in February, and was feeling much better than he had in years.  He had had his first heart attack in 2002.

Allan and Robert

Allan’s photo

It was so poignant to see him, especially since it was his birthday.

He bicycled on to visit a friend at the marina.

Allan then did some strimming behind the north end of the chainlink fence.

Allan’s photos: before….

after: He also pulled some of the bigger weeds along the fence.

While Allan was thus occupied, he got an unexpected call from Todd, whose plan was to track us down and help us weed.  I planted the last of the cosmos and then took some photos before Todd arrived, so that I could look industrious after he got there.

It was gratifying that several passersby, including two young 20-ish men that one might stereotype as not being “into” gardens, said that they enjoy the flowers every day.

santolina and lavender

rose campion and California poppies

from the gate looking north

from the gate looking south

burnt orange stripey California poppies

white California poppies

pink California poppies

pink California poppies

Todd arrives to help out

I had asked him to ID a certain vigorous looking plant whose strongly emerging foliage scared me with its resemblance to Japanese knotweed.  At first. he also thought it looked ominous, and then he asked “Do you grow mirabilis here?”  My response to that was “Huh?” until he said “Four o clocks.”  Why yes, as a matter of fact, I had a clump of four o clocks, of a lovely peach shade, in this very spot.  So that is what the scary clump of foliage was: a good thing.  (Sorry I didn’t take a photo of it.)

the crew

I told Todd I don’t even really know WHY I insist on planting cosmos all through a garden like this.  It would be good enough without them.  I just love ’em, and in a crowded garden, there is no room for seeding (and unlike our friend Ann, I am not good with growing any but the easiest seeders).

We finished the boatyard garden and went around the corner to Howerton, to weed the garden closest to Nate’s Coastal Cones and Snacks.  This seasonal business would be opening for the year on Saturday.

Todd about to start weeding

weeding (Allan’s photo)

Todd enjoyed and pointed out this vignette with lambs ears and grasses.

Allan sweeps up

Just before leaving, Todd walked back from his truck and asked if he could “put his sign in the garden”.  Bemused, I said “Sure”, knowing that it could not be a serious “Weeding by Todd Wiegardt” sign.

a t shirt on a frame

from his former job, as display garden curator at Plant Delights Nursery!

He’d been waiting till he could find us during Annuals Planting Time to show us this.  We all laughed and laughed (and I do not buy petunias.  Well.  I did buy four Pretty Much Picasso petunias, but don’t tell.)

Allan’s photo

Thanks, Todd, we owe you for a good laugh (and a good prank) and a lotta lotta weeding.  We got the jobs done much more thoroughly than we would have had time for otherwise.

While Allan dumped the debris, I weeded at the other end of Howerton in the easternmost garden bed.  Of course, I got more involved than I intended to so we worked for another hour.

the easternmost garden, looking west

looking east

Bachelor buttons from seed, maddeningly out of focus.

‘White Linen’ California poppies

The pink armeria would look perfect if we deadheaded it all. We did not.

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ in silver. (It will turn blue.)

Stipa tenuissima, blue oat grass, santolina, white armeria,  and lavender. I love this bed.

And then, as planned, home to blog and to then watch The Deadliest Catch with our ten o clock dinner.

makes our job look so easy

The annuals planting list is getting gratifyingly smaller on the work board.

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18 May: onward with annuals

Monday, 18 May 2015

Diane’s garden

We loaded up with lots of annuals in pinks and pastels for Diane’s garden.

After arriving there, while sorting and burbling all the plants, I found a hitchhiker in a pot hidden under foliage.

We put him in an empty jar.

lots of containers all planted up in the back yard

my good friend Misty

Allan’s photo

I am reminded by the above photo that I had a headache all day, thus the cold, wet headband was worn.

Misty’s smile (Allan’s photo)

Diane is a champion barrel racer; this tile reflects her love of horses.

a bright pink agyranthemum for Diane

Meanwhile, Allan planted cosmos in the roadside strip…

after

Nepeta and a pale pink allium

allium, catmint, and bee

I made room to plant some cosmos in front of the Stipa gigantea.

Stipa gigantea, my favourite ornamental grass

a fragrant apricot coloured azalea against the house

back container garden all planted up

Basket Case Greenhouse

with yellow aquilegia (columbine)

Allan released the little hitchhiker frog in the greenhouse.

Later, when we got home, we found another frog in the van, so we hope they were not best friends traveling together.

Allan’s photo

Basket Case staff members (Allan’s photo)

The Red Barn Arena

At the Red Barn, we had twelve yellow calibrachoas to add to the four whiskey barrels.

Then I briefly visited Hugo.

Long Beach

Next, we did some more Long Beach work, weeding and planting cosmos in Fifth Street Park and adding a few more plants to the planters.

Brodiaea in Fifth Street Park…I love the little flowers, but the foliage is always a mess before the flowers bloom. Here, I have pulled some foliage off sideways, trying to preserve the flower buds.

planter by Fifth Street park with a perennial veronica and columbine

This bicycle parking job mightily displeased us.

Fifth Street Park after weeding and planting

roses by Funland

Veterans Field Flag Plaza: a somewhat windy day

We cleaned up under a tree by Stormin’ Norman’s kite shop.  Now, you may wonder how this is different from the tree garden being flattened in Ilwaco that I wept about in yesterday’s post.  The difference is we know what we are doing, and we did not decimate any good plants.  The golden lemon balm which was smothered by a wild sedge grass will now have room to regrow.

before (Allan’s photo); I had noticed a big sedge in here last week.

after (Allan’s photo); also removed the old floppy schizostylis leaves

In the shop, Zoltar kept offering to tell our fortune.

Basket Case baskets are up at City Hall.

The Depot Restaurant

We had acquired two Miscanthus strictus, a tall zebra grass, at the Basket Case, so on the way south Allan added it to the east side deck garden at the Depot Restaurant.

planting at the Depot

after (with limited seating available to watch the garden grow)

Ilwaco

Our last task was to replace a few more old Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ in the Ilwaco planters.

old and leggy

a healthy Erysimum in flower

We bucket watered two blocks worth of planters with our leftover bucket water from the day’s planting.  As I rounded the corner onto Spruce, I was thrilled to see our friend Jenna (Queen La De Da) watering; turns out she waters the planter in front of her shop and also the one across the street.

Bless her everloving heart!  (I wish there really were an English Pub there; it has been closed for years.)

At home, I appreciated a few things in my own garden before going inside….

Rose ‘Gloire de Dijon’

the back garden, with Mary

back garden, west bed (also with Mary)

back garden, east bed

back garden, center bed

The second little frog that had hitchhiked with us today got released back by the water boxes on the patio.

I hope he doesn’t miss his friend. (Allan’s photo)

the work board today

The work board had a couple of items simply eliminated:  I decided not to plant any cosmos in Mike’s garden, in order to make it easier maintenance, and I had observed that the Depot rhododendron does NOT need pruning in order for the painters to get behind it.  I added the planting of painted sage, when the second batch at the Planter Box is ready.  Carter and The Red Barn remain on the planting list because each will get a few more annuals.  I suppose Long Beach should still be on it for the same reason…and yet I somehow feel that Long Beach qualifies as done, as any annuals left to plant will be popped in to fill gaps  the first time we do the big planter watering there.

 

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17 May: tears and accomplishments

Sunday, 17 May 2015

We did not treat ourselves to a day off. The push to get the annuals planted continued.

Ilwaco

On the way to add a couple more annuals to the planter at the Peninsula Sanitation office, we noticed some plant growth in the Sea Warrior, an old boat in the storage yard.

The Sea Warrior looks permanently landbound now. (Allan’s photo)

From Peninsula Sanitation: The name of this boat spoke to me of Annuals Planting Time.

We traded out some old, leggy Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ for some new ones in the planters by Eagle and Main Streets.  This one had, unusually, formed a nice tight new set of growth at the base so we will give it a chance to come back:

a hopeful Erysimum

(As I write this a week later, I feel less kindly and as if we should move that plant to the boatyard garden and put in a new one with more chance of blooming soon.)

adding some trailies by the Portside Café

We made a detour back home to pick up a few more plants.

Helianthemum by our driveway (Wisley Primose, I think)

poppies!

Allium albopilosum and Dutch Iris

We then finally checked closely on the Ilwaco street tree that I had noticed, a couple of days ago, had a mysteriously flat garden.  I had simply not wanted to deal with this problem because I knew it would be upsetting.

Today: This was AFTER I pulled off most of the chopped and dropped foliage.

What happened??  It looks like it was hit with a strimmer, although there are no string trimmer cuts into the bark of the tree.  Or hedge shears? This was human work, not a deer browsing; deer do not mow a garden down neatly to all one level like this.  Catmint, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, golden oregano and schizostylus, all leveled to the ground.  I said to myself I was going to remain calm, which lasted until, at the end of picking up all the broken pieces and adding one little sea thrift plant, I burst into tears and a big rant of WHY??????.

WHY??????

Was someone string trimming this lot, and just…jumped the sidewalk?

This is what the tree garden would have looked like had this not happened (more or less as they don’t all have the same plants):

across the street to the south

across the street to the north in front of Azure Salon

The little red poppies were already struggling to grow back and I watered them with angry and sorrowful tears.  Times like this I think I am making a mistake by focusing almost entirely on public gardens.  Private gardens are so much safer.

I immediately posted about it, with photos, on Facebook (from my phone) and got some gratifying sympathy and outrage over the rest of the day.

The Depot Restaurant & The English Nursery

I had scheduled a job that would require some battering out of a lawn area, good for releasing some steam: expanding the end of the Depot Garden

before

about an hour later

Chef Michael emerged from the kitchen and asked us if we could plant tall grasses on the south side of the deck to add to the sense of enclosure that the ornamental grasses on the east side provide.  The rosemary plants are not doing the job; I had never realized that the original idea of the garden had been for grasses to enclose the whole deck.  I knew just where to get some: three blocks away at The English Nursery.

When we arrived there, owner Dirk was hard at work trying to control the horsetail in the streetside garden.  Way back when this garden was created by volunteers, as an entry corridor along the highway intersection, both Dirk and I had pleaded with them to find the funds from the Visitors Bureau to BUY and bring in clean soil.  But no, some diggings from who knows where were provided for “FREE” and of course the “soil” was full of horsetail and bindweed.  It had been a struggle ever since.  I was offered the job twice and both times turned it down.

Allan’s photo, Dirk vs. horsetail

a stunning iris in that garden

He was possibly happy to take a break and help us buy plants.

Allan’s photo

in the nursery

daylilies and lilies

His specialty is hostas.

a vast array of hostas

Allan’s photo

Dirk shows me some recently potted but not ready giant Miscanthus

We couldn’t get the tall Miscanthus, so we returned to the Depot with three Miscanthus ‘Karl Foerster’ that we hope will get five feet tall, and one each of two exceptionally tall perennials, Filipendula and Macleaya cordata (plume poppy).  Both perennials are aggressive runners; since this garden is going to become all tall things, that will be fine.  They can fight it out among themselves.  Later, Michael will figure out a different place to put some rosemary plants, perhaps in the next door yard that also belongs to the restaurant.

Allan planting

While he planted, I sheared the escallonia from hiding the railway history sign.  Talk about wrong plant for the place!  It’s been there since before I started this job, and Michael feels it helps prevent rain water from washing against the building corner.

This escallonia would love to get taller than me.

Boreas Inn

Next, we planted cosmos at the Boreas Inn.

This called for some wake up beans! (Chocolate covered coffee beans)

The Boreas garden, looking west to the beach trail

I got the sudden urge to put an edge on the garden beds.  Oh, how I longed to do so.  I almost got out the half moon edger.  Good thing I resisted, as some guests emerged to take photos of each other, and some other guests emerged to use the hot tub room.  We would have been in the midst of a big project had I started edging.  As it was, we were able to quickly pick up our empty plant containers and supplies and exit, leaving the guests in peace.

It sure does need edging. That has been on the work board for ages!

The Depot Restaurant & Seaview

With a little time left, we returned to finish the Depot garden instead of leaving it to the next day.

Depot garden with mulch, cosmos, and Agastache ‘Golden Jubilee’ added.

Why did I not make this garden larger two year ago? So much better.

Here’s the before from yesterday.

Since it was seven o clock, and since we were right there, we went into the Depot for a delicious dinner.

Asian salad from the new summer menu

Mediterranean prawns

clam chowder, Allan’s photo

Allan’s Steak Killian

On the way home, we paused to take some photos of the Seaview garden that used to belong to Maxine, Jo’s mother.  Maxine loved her rhododendrons.  Her garden was my first gardening job on the Long Beach Peninsula.

Maxine’s garden (Allan’s photo)

Maxine’s garden (Allan’s photo)

Maxine’s garden (Allan’s photo); I used to pick off each and every yellow leaf.

just around the corner, at a house whose lawn I used to mow back in the late 90s

home

arriving home: Allan’s photo—”cats on patrol” in Nora’s driveway

the work board…with the annuals list getting noticeably shorter

 

 

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16 May: annuals planting from south to north

Saturday, 16 May 2015

Ilwaco

We began our Saturday with a brief trip to the Ilwaco Saturday Market, for photos and for a treat from Pink Poppy Bakery.

Allan’s photo from the port office deck

Allan’s photo

a damp day

We bought Swedish Traveling Cake for work, and Chai cupcakes for after dinner.

Allan could not resist some pickled garlic.

our neighbours’ booth (Allan’s photo); They have a staff of booth-runners at markets all over the Northwest.

inside Time Enough Books at the Port (Allan’s photo)

I bought Ken Druse’s new shade garden book, having ordered it at Time Enough Books.

Allan’s photo

Bookstore owner Karla and I talked about how excited we are that the Salt Hotel is about to open at the end of the block, and how much it will revitalize the port.

I’ve been so busy that as I write this a week later, my new Ken Druse book has not yet emerged from its bag.

On the way north, Allan had a book to pick up at the Ilwaco Timberland Library.  He photographed the handsome unfurling of the ferns that I pruned there fairly recently:

Dutch iris still blooming in the tiered garden (Allan’s photo)

As we headed north to work, I took the first of several photos for the Rhodie Driving Tour photo album.

in Seaview

The Depot Restaurant

a check up on the Depot garden

Allan planting some bright yellow sanvitalia in the barrel by the east window.

I had a sudden revelation: Why does not the garden on the north side of the deck extend further east?  What was I thinking, stopping it an an angle like that.  No one does much mowing or strimming of that grass, so why not get rid of it?

needs expansion!

Today’s plans did not allow time to implement the idea.

Long Beach

We had forgotten to add two Geranium ‘Rozanne’ to the back of the welcome sign.

sweeping up after some horsetail control

The Planter Box

We needed more cosmos, necessitating a stop at The Planter Box.

snapdragons

calendula

Back in the employees only greenhouse, I saw a gorgeous Dicentra called ‘Valentine’.  I’ve never seen one so red.  I want it badly…but it is sold already.

Dicentra ‘Valentine’, now on my must have list.

want it, can’t have it!

a cart full of six flats of Cosmos ‘Sensation’ and ‘Psyche’ (Allan’s photo)

On the way out of the back greenhouse, I noticed some Cosmos ‘Candy Stripe’ on the sales floor.  They had got past me thus far; I snagged one 6 pack for my own garden.

Wish I had more of this picotee cosmos.

Allan’s photo of me carrying the Candy Stripe cosmos; he thought the flowers looked like bagpipes.

Traveling north to our next job, we sustained ourselves with our Pink Poppy Bakery treat.

leaving the Planter Box carpark with Swedish Traveling Cake

Golden Sands Assisted Living

wheelbarrowing cosmos down the hallway (Allan’s photo)

I truly entered Annuals Planting Hell while planting 60 cosmos in the Golden Sands garden.  Maybe the sprinklers weren’t on yet; I found some of the ground was dry underneath so had to put water in each small hole.  I had not brought a dipper, so tried a tiny plastic dish that Allan found.  My head just about exploded with how long it took and after about ten cosmos, I walked out to the car (a long trip down the hallways) for a proper dipping container (a reasonable sized Costco plastic jar that had held nuts).  Life immediately became easier.

On one side of the courtyard, the red rhodos are blooming at their unpruned height.

southwest corner

On the other side, they got pruned severely.  I did not and do not approve, but everything outside the four quadrants of flowers is out of my hands.

the tall and the short of it (short ones are in southeast corner)

I also noticed that the shrubs under the windows had been pruned to window sill height, but apparently at the same time someone had severely chopped two of the roses, planted by volunteers (outside the flower quadrants).

roses chopped severely…at the wrong time of year. Why? I do not get it.  You can hardly even tell there is a rose in each of these photos.

detail: WHY????

Oh well…I must just focus on our four quadrants…which are about to burst into bloom.

Northwest quadrant

mom’s red rose in NW quadrant

NE quadrant

aquilegia

Rudbeckia starts from our Kathleen are sizing up!

SW quadrant; Allan handwatering in case the sprinklers are not yet on.

SE quadrant with the first of the sweet williams.

I’m horrified to see salal appearing at the edge of the SE quadrant!

No time for salal control.,..and can’t find out about sprinklers because it is Saturday.

Allan strimmed the center lawn and spared a scabiosa that had reseeded there.  (I’d like it to be all moss and flowers…)  (Allan’s photo)

We have a mini-river of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ in that mossy lawn.  Allan weeded around them. (Allan’s photo)

Klipsan Beach Cottages

I did some light weeding and planted 24 cosmos.  While I did so, Allan weeding along the north fence.

before: Allan’s photo. That buddliea, belonging to a neighbor who never retrieved it, has languished in that pot for years and has now rooted into the ground.

After: I didn’t agree with cutting the pot away, but now I regret that so he can do so next time! (Allan’s photo)

I resisted the buddleia rescue because they are now maligned and considered weedy (except for the new sterile cultivars).  We can just keep the old flowerheads trimmed and it will be fine.  Poor thing.

Dutch iris

rose clambering into the bay tree

to the right: Thalictrum ‘Elin’

Allium multibulbosum (white) and albopilosum (purple)

Allium multibulbosum

rose with Anthricus ‘Ravenswing’ and Dutch Iris

I wish I knew this rose’s name.

another of Mary’s roses

…whose name I wish I knew.

the weekly view

looking in the east gate

the lower level of the fenced garden, with Knockout roses

Next door, by where we park, a couple of the rhododendrons at Joanie’s cottage have come into bloom too late for the Rhodie Tour.

red one…

and pink one

The prettiest compost in the dump pile.  Allan found this pile of spent flowers from Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’, raked out of the pond

Ocean Park

On the way north to our next job, we did a driveby check on the Oman Builders Supply garden….It did not appear to need our urgent attention.

Oman Builders Supply Ocean Park

This house and rhododendron caught my eye.

This lineup at the Ocean Park Post Office caught Allan’s eye.

Marilyn’s Garden

Next, we planted cosmos in Marilyn’s garden in Surfside, our northernmost job.  The garden had gotten terribly weedy in our absence.

Allan’s photos, along the house, before

and after

He rescued a buried Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ at the corner of the house.

That Phygelius has to be pulled out from around that Eryngium, though; the Phygelius has crept sideways out of its alloted space and will get much taller than the Eryngium and will hide it again.  Next time!

during…it was worse when I started!

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

horsetail among the phygelius

after

Virburnum

Cosmos in

looking north down the path

and south

At the very end, I had to wade in to clip the blackberries that i saw while taking photos.

on the way home

There was some excitement at an intersection when three emergency vehicles drove by, and a large fire axe flew off the firetruck and landed in the ditch just north of us…and not, as it could have a few seconds earlier, in the nose of our van.

Allan retrieved it.

We took it back to the fire fighters, as we had seen where they were going (a few blocks north).  They were surprised that it had come loose.

Allan’s photo

The axe was riding in that slanted holder; very odd that it flew out so forecefully.

After that adventure, we took the Nahcotta route home and photographed just a few more rhododendrons before dusk.

Rhododendrons by Willapa Bay (just south of Nahcotta Post Office)

At home, I was able to erase a few more planting tasks from the work board.

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15 May: Annuals Planting Time continues

Friday, 15 May 2015

Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’ by our driveway

This may be the first year it has bloomed with tiny, intoxicatingly fragrant flowers.

on the way out of Ilwaco, some deadheading of Narcissus ‘Baby Moon’ at city hall; the two dead flowers had been bugging me for two days.

Long Beach

We began with adding a lot of cosmos to the back side of the Long Beach welcome sign.

Cosmos ‘Sonata’ set to go in (Allan’s photo)

all in  (Allan’s photo)

front side, with cosmos added (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Taking up where we left off yesterday, we continued the planting of Cosmos ‘Sonata’ on the two northernmost blocks of planters.  As we worked, blog reader and Facebook friend Merry presented us with two delicious cookies that gave us a boost of energy.

Thank you, Merry!

Allan’s photo

the very last of the tulips (and a variegated Euonymous left over from volunteer planter days)

Some of the planters were planted up, back in the day, by volunteers, with full sized shrubs that require lots of shearing and that allow little room for annuals.  They certainly are beautiful (most of them) and those planters are the easiest to take care of.  I would like to redo one further south that is just red azaleas and is quite dull all summer long.

the newly redone planter by Dennis Co; I can manage to redo just two or three a year.

Diane’s garden and The Red Barn

After the last planter had its cosmos, we headed north for more plants, stopping to count up how many we will need to plant Diane’s containers.

the roadside garden at Diane’s, with Stipa gigantea (ornamental grass)

Allan strimming at The Red Barn Arena

Our quiet rechargeable weedeater doesn’t scare the horses.

The Basket Case Greenhouse

I now had a list of exactly what I needed to finish the annuals planting in Long Beach.

the gatekeeper of the “employees only” greenhouse where we get to shop

Allan’s photo

Kitty accompanies us all around the nursery. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

After collecting our plants, Fred and Nancy and I perused the new availability list for cool plants to order.

Basket Case Nancy and Fred (not to be confused with Garden Tour Nancy)

What to buy….Some Sanguisorbas and Agastaches!

Andersen’s RV Park

Next stop, Andersen’s.  Rose ‘Climbing Cecile Brunner’ is in bloom over the picket fence arbour.

Climbing Cecile Brunner

Allan cleared all the old bulb foliage from Leucojum (Summer Snowflake) from the white brick planter by the house and planted begonias.

Two wheelbarrow loads of foliage came out.

after planting some begonias and New Guinea impatiens

Allan’s photo

We added some assorted Calibrachoa to the Payson Hall planters at Andersen’s.

Payson Hall

All the time, I feel weird about planting them as my feelings tell me it is about to sell.  After all this worrying about my newly planted babies, it will be funny and kind of a relief if we end up working there all summer after all, even though I so very much want one less big job.

planting Payson Hall

Long Beach again

Finally, we added some godetia and blue bacopa to the sidewalk end of the Long Beach welcome sign.

Allan’s photo

We had worked till dusk, and the spotlights were on at the welcome sign.  The last thing I wanted to do was more planter work.  However, on the way home through Ilwaco I saw an annoying sight: a plant pulled up and just left sitting on top of one of the planters.

“Stop the car!” I yelled at this sight.

“Whyyyyyyyy?!?!?!”

The plant was one I had mentally slated for replacing, and we had a fresh new non-leggy Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ to go in its place. I noticed something else really weird at the same corner but in the gathering dusk I did not have the time or energy to do more than take a picture and wonder what had happened, and then put it out of my mind till later; the plants under one of the street trees were just…flat…What the heck???

It would be a couple of  days before I had time to take a closer look at this tree garden. Something is wrong.  Why is it flat?  Too tired to think about it.

At home, the work board got just a bit more erasing.

All the Andersen’s annuals are in and the cosmos are planting in all the Long Beach planters.

I forgot to add this photo from yesterday:  I thought the colours in Nellie’s garden, seen on the way home, with the yellow house to the south as backdrop, looked stunning.

Look how the top of the hedge, all aglow, is almost the same colour as the yellow house,

 

 

 

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14 May: Long Beach APT

Thursday, 14 May 2015

Long Beach

With the van full of annuals, we headed to Long Beach hoping to make it through all the planters with Cosmos ‘Sonata’, painted sage, and assorted annuals that I call “uppies” and “trailies”.

This involves more thinking than usual for me, so I asked Allan to be the principal blog photographer for the day.

a full van

One reason why what used to be “Annuals Planting Hell” has become  “Annuals Planting Time” (mostly) for the past two years is that we are working out of a comfy sized van instead of a tiny two door Saturn.  I shudder with horror at the memory of eight years of bending and twisting to get plants in and out of the back seat of that car.

The trailer was also loaded with short plants (less likely to be damaged by wind while driving) and buckets of water for burbling.

deer in the grassy lot next to the credit union (which is the same block in which they nip at the plants in the planters)

one of the planters

Cosmos ‘Sonata’ and painted sage all burbled and set up for planting

the big Lewis and Clark Square planter ready for planting

L&C Square

all planted up with the lemon-pink Osteo and Cosmos ‘Sonata’

I wish I could get the lady’s mantle permanently gone from the right side of the planter, above.  We can’t get the darn roots out without damaging the sprinkler system, so some experiments with perennials (lady’s mantle, a variegated ivy, some trailing cotoneaster) along the edges have become permanent fixtures.

The street planter next to L&C Square has a wealth of reseeded violas. We cleared it out of a dull perennial geranium last fall.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ has been a successful perennial experiment in some of the planters.  I’d like to plant more; it’s surprisingly hard to come by.

planting

Passersby often want to converse.  The fellow in the photo below is one of my favourites.  He used to be a landscaper, for thirty years.  I told him that I do not enjoy planting, and he said he did not enjoy weeding but had liked planting, so we agreed we would have made a good team.

garden talk

As Allan and I went along, we sheared back the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’.  Although they will look regrettably sad for a couple of weeks, they will later bloom more profusely with smaller flowers and won’t fall open from the center.

halfway sheared Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’; it could have been done earlier before the set of flowers.

more planting

Allan got artistic with this one.

Occasionally, it was possible to sit and plant.

We ran out of blue painted sage just after the Police Station planter.  A second sowing from The Planter Box should be ready for us in a couple of weeks to finish up the blues in the last three blocks of planters.  We ran out of trailies by the Cottage Bakery, not unexpectedly.  Part of the plan is to be able to count how many more we will need to finish on a second planting day.  We also ran out of time by 7 PM and did not finish the cosmos in the last two blocks.  Allan asked if we had ever gotten it all done in one day, and I agreed probably not, but I live in hope.

almost 7:30 PM after dumping debris at City Works

The Cove Restaurant

We arrived for Thursday night at the Cove too late for ahi tuna.  Fortunately, Prawns Solo is a splendid second choice.

Prawns Solo

and a $2 fish taco

Allan had Lomo Soltado. Left overs made for a splendid omelettte the following night

To make the evening perfect, Chef Jason sautéed us some freshly foraged fiddlehead ferns in butter.

fiddlehead ferns

Tomorrow: finishing Long Beach and more

bonus book report

Over the past week, in small portions, I enjoyed book about statistics gleaned from users of OK Cupid and Facebook and other social internet sites.  I gave it five stars.  It dealt only with people under 50, as the author felt older people did not use the social internet as much.  As a 60 year old, I certainly don’t find that to be true of folks my age, as plenty of us are social internet addicts.  I suppose not as many of us are looking for online dating success, though.

Some takeaways from the entertaining book:

About John Waters and fandom:

John Waters said:  “Beauty is looks you never forget.  A face should jolt, not soothe,” inspiring Christian Rudder to reflect: “He’s completely correct, for as with music, as with movies, and as with a wide variety of human phenomena, a flaw is a powerful thing.  Even at the person-to-person level, to be universally liked is to be relatively ignored.  To be disliked by some is to be loved all the more by others.”  (I actually don’t think that’s true but it is a thought provoking statement and sort of comforting.)

I found it sweet how he then added a photo of his own self at age fourteen.

the author

some true thoughts about writing in the modern world:

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13 May: APT with cosmos

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

I was eager to get on with the cosmos Annuals Planting Time as they were getting tall in the six packs despite pinching.

The Depot Restaurant

Cosmos lined up to plant

four six packs of cosmos in

Long Beach

I’d found some Cosmos ‘Purity’ (all white) at Seven Dees yesterday so 12 went into the corner garden at Veterans Field.

Not even sure if I am supposed to make this corner red white and blue.

Jo’s Garden

The biggest project of the day was to plant about eight six packs of cosmos, some painted sage, and a few perennials at Jo’s.  She was at home and had some ideas.

“Let’s get that azalea out, what do you think?” Looks like a job for Allan.

Allan’s photo

Azalea gone, annuals in (and deer ferns showing that were hidden before)

Next, Jo turned her eye to an ever growing conifer.

before, Allan’s photo, with me bringing cosmos in

before, Allan’s photo

after, Allan’s photo: Jo says that next time, that barberry can go!  It’s in a barrel, and can be cut to the ground and will come back small.

some painted sage and a chocolate cosmos

Note how Allan’s third project of the day had been to clean up more of the back part of this bed, removing running rugosa rose, Japanese anemone, and a running pink phlox.  Below shows how it looked on May 6th:

before

before, Allan’s photo

after, Allan’s photo

Meanwhile, some tall white phlox had to go in the northwest bed because they looked diseased.  This also turned out to be a job for Allan.

Three or four more clumps had to go, and were replaced with cosmos.

I was pleased and surprised to see that Jo’s Zaluzianskya (night scented phlox) had come back.

northwest garden after planting

You might wonder what my job was in all this: to figure out how to squeeze in and then plant all the cosmos and painted sage.

Jo herself.

The Anchorage Cottages

what we did not get done: weeding and pulling scilla along this area.

Allan’s photo: Mitzu

I added lots of annuals to the containers in the courtyard and office entry.

a bright orange calibrachoa

a lemony-pink osteospermum

the weird ‘Coralberry Punch’ callie

12 cosmos planted in this garden

Meanwhile, Allan cleared a narrow bed of scilla and planted more cosmos.

before: Allan’s photo

after: Allan’s photo

Usually I put something tall in the windowboxes (by tall I mean a few inches taller than the trailies…)  Not this year because the new liners are so narrow that there is no room to set a tall thing a bit to the back.

narrow plastic liners

Ideally, I would like to see the wooden frames rebuilt to hold full sized plastic windowbox liners for more root room.  Maybe next winter?

more Long Beach

We did more weeding and a bit of planting in the raised planters along Boldstadt. I averted my eyes from the beach approach garden’s understory of weeds. No time for that! Below: a planter backed with the naturescape of dune grass.  

some tall armerias added to the Bolstadt beach approach planters

Ilwaco 

Eager to cross off two small jobs from the work board, we planted the cosmos in the Time Enough Books garden boat, working around the still-blooming Tulip ‘Formosa’.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo: This small dog has appeared in the Geranium ‘Rozanne’ next to the boat

We added 12 or 18 or ?? cosmos to our volunteer garden at the post office.

Our audience got bored and left.

Just as I had feared, the new fence slats had made a mess of my sweet pea area.

I put little bamboo stakes around the remaining sweet peas but I don’t have much hope if someone goes in to paint these boards.  Sigh….

with cosmos added

the work board, with a few items erased

 

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