30 Sept-1 Oct: our two day work week

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

On our way to work, we watered the Ilwaco Post Office planter, and I noticed to my dismay that the deer have discovered it.

Deer have nibbled the nasturtiums; this bodes ill for our post office garden.

The Planter Box

We stopped at The Planter Box on our way north to pick up a few plants for a container at the Anchorage.

Allan’s photo: They have pumpkins!

After our second tour of the Oysterville garden, we put in a half day of weeding and grooming several gardens.

Marilyn’s Garden

looking southwest from the driveway

looking northwest from the back porch steps

Removing this clump of volunteer montbretia must go on the list of fall projects!

look how the big floppy zebra grass has a tidy clump coming up in the middle.

Klipsan Beach Cottages

Bella in the A Frame garden

inside the A Frame (one of the vacation rentals)

Mary of KBC

Managers Denny and Mary do everything from lawn care to cleaning to welcoming guests and doing the paperwork.  They own one of the cottages and their own home on the resort property.

Sarah

Bella

oh, and the garden!

The big birds (spruce grouse?) were there; Allan just managed to get this rear view.

Golden Sands Assisted Living

my mom’s coppery rose

sweet peas and my mom’s old window; wish she could see them

more sweet peas

Anchorage Cottages

Allan weeded under the grape arbour.

autumnal grape leaves (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Mitzu felt unusually camera shy.  Dogs and cats have moods, too, you know.

on Beth’s lap

new plants from The Planter Box went into this pot

the office courtyard

watering Ilwaco

Watering season is still not over, so Allan took the water trailer on the Ilwaco rounds.

at the boatyard to fill the tank for watering

He found the volunteer fire department having a drill while he filled the trailer at the boatyard.

boatyard and fire fighters

By the time he checked on the Time Enough Books boat, darkness was falling.

Meanwhile, I was at home doing the monthly billing and anticipating writing this blog post and reliving of walking through the Oysterville garden today.

Thursday, 1 October 2015

We finished our great big two day work week with a three small jobs and then Long Beach.

The very first sign of Halloween on Lake Street, by the Post Office

Halloween is a very big deal on Spruce and Lake Streets in Ilwaco, and we are beginning to collect our materials for our Corridor of Spooky Plants.

The Red Barn

Allan’s photo: our small and narrow Red Barn garden

I decided it was time for the fennel to go away. (Allan’s photo)

Poor bronze fennel, once so prized, and recommended by influential gardeners in slide shows at garden seminars, and now on the noxious weed list.

Bronze Fennel looking glorious in a garden

bronze fennel….now called by some a noxious weed

And it is gone! (Allan’s photo).  The tall stems will go in our Corridor of Spooky Plants for Halloween.

The yellow violas died in this container, and reseeded themselves.

Diane’s garden

My good friend Misty came out to meet us even before we got next door to Diane and Larry’s garden.

My Misty

I love her.

Such a good girl.

blueberry autumn colour

The roadside garden

The pink heather that was Diane’s inspiration for having us make this roadside bed is already going over, which is why I did not want to make it the only plant here.

It only looks perfectly pink for a couple of weeks.

I enjoy when we drive by this garden, and I hope others do, as well.

The Depot Restaurant

If we deadheaded every old cosmos flower, we’d be here for an hour!

flower garden on north side of dining deck

Long Beach

Allan deadheading what’s left of the welcome sign flowers (after it got trampled during Rod Run)

We’d have lots more deadheading to do if most of the cosmos had not been destroyed!

Cosmos ‘Happy Ring’

We took two jugs of water for the newly planted Sid Snyder beach approach planters, as the water is turned off there.

new plants, nurtured

The plaque goes back to volunteer days from years ago.

My darling little hens and chickens have already been stolen from the planter above.  That is IT, I will nevermore plant hens and chickens sedums in any of the Ilwaco planters.  They got stolen here, and on the Bolstad approach, and in Fish Alley.  As Allan says, someone probably has a nice collection of hens and chicks on their windowsill.  I picture the same person prowling and thinking “Ooh, has she planted any more?  YES, a new kind for my collection!”  Feh.  It is frustrating because they would be so perfect in all the beach approach planters that are hard to water.

Because watering season is not over after all, we watered all the main street planters and street trees.

lavender at Fifth Street

the carousel being dismantled, sure sign of end of tourist season

Salvia viridis (painted sage)

My friend Tam at the Herb “n Legend Smoke Shop

reseeded lavenders and a determined little fern

more painted sage

Salvia patens at 7th Street

Salvia patens

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (Allan’s photo)

Gunnera by the pond in Fifth Street Park (Allan’s photo)

We also had time to pull Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ at four locations, or rather, Allan did, while I worked the Veterans Field garden deadheading….

tree by Anchor Realty, before

and after

tree by Cottage Bakery, before

and after

planter by Wind World Kites, before

This is the only planter where we have let a large amount of ‘Lucifer’ stay.  The owner of Wind World Kites likes it very much.  Most shopkeepers prefer to not have something so tall in front of their shop.

Wind World Kites, after

Veterans Field corner garden

We had time before dinner to pull more Crocosmia at City Hall, in an area along the west wall planted by former city administrator Gene Miles.  I found some weeding to do because when I pull crocosmia I feel like the top of my head is going to fly off.  (Yes, that’s weird, but true.)

City Hall, north side

west side, before (Allan’s photo)

and after (Allan’s photo)

The Cove Restaurant

Todd joined Melissa, Dave, Allan and I making up a good meeting of the North Beach Garden Gang.

Chef Jason Lancaster

Todd shared fascinating stories about all the local places where he had taken visiting friends.

Two friends from Plant Delights nursery, where Todd used to be the curator of the display garden, had been to visit for a week.  They had eaten clams and mushrooms which the three of them harvested, and visited old growth trees by Teal Slough:

Todd’s photo

And the north Oregon coast:

Todd’s photo: Ecola State Park north of Cannon Beach

We caught up with Melissa and Dave (Sea Star Gardening) on news about the work week.

I also found Melissa’s stories fascinating.

delicious apple blue cheese salad and Arnold Palmer to drink.  (Allan’s photo)

apple blue cheese salad

And it was good. (Allan’s photo)

Cove Stir Fry (Allan’s photo)

Dave, Todd, and I had the Cajun chicken alfredo. (Allan’s photo)

Melissa had the bronzed scallops.

Melissa and me (Allan’s photo)

Allan and I are now set for another self indulgent five days off!  We’re hoping for good evening weather on Saturday so that we can have a campfire dinner with Melissa, Dave, and Our Kathleen, and of course I am hoping to not leave my property for the entire five days.