10 November: some amazing bulbing

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

I decided to devote the whole day to planting the Long Beach tree and planter bulbs.  While it would have been gratifying to finish the port bulbs, saving the last of those for a possible stormy day is better because if there’s a brief clear interlude we can dash right out to those gardens.

We optimisitically packed the Anchorage bulbs also.  Even though we did not get there, I still give us full marks for bulbing excellence as it is rare to be able to get all the LB bulbs planted in one day.  To back off a bit on tootling our own horn, we did plant fewer bulbs than usual in each Long Beach planter, simply because they now have many crocuses and species narcissi that reliably return (I hope!).  And this time I did not even bother to plant tulips in the six planters by the 3rd Street deer corridor and deer recreational field, as for the last two years those tulips have been well chomped.

By First Place Mall: still floriferous on November 10th.  Parsley used as ornamental, to the right.

I had sorted, and microsorted, and thought ever so hard about what to plant where, and labelled each bag.  With the new plan of not putting tulips in the deer-iest planters, I had changed my method of planning for every single planter.  I realized after the first block that I had completely forgotten to sort for the four planters at the police station intersection!  Fortunately, after another block of fretting and almost going home for another bag of bulbs, I remembered that I had packed one extra bag just in case I had messed up.  Between that and two packs of tulips purchased at Dennis Company, today’s completion of the planter project was saved.

Fifth Street: How I love my Asphodeline lutea, of which I have only one. I want many more. It is good in flower and also just in foliage.

Asphodeline going strong in Fifth Street Park, 4 May 2015

Asphodeline (which I wish I had more of) and drummers, 4 May 2014

Asphodeline about to bloom again…23 October 2013

The Asphodeline  thwarted in its attempt to bloom: 28 December 2013, after a frost

thrillingly blooming in March 2014.

Enough reminiscing about the glories of asphodeline.  I just wish someone around here had it for sale.

planting bulbs in the asphodeline’s planter  (Allan’s photo)

The carousel is all gone now; Allan planting in front of the framework

California poppies in the Hungry Harbor planter

Charming gift shop, The Wooden Horse

a startling sight at Scoopers

The small front building, which has been an espresso vendor (I think) and the Mexi-Go! food window, is being torn down.

Allan’s photo

in the window of my favourite shop, NIVA green

NIVA green is closed on Tuesdays. (Allan’s photo)

chrysanthemums almost over

getting windier

I chopped off my bangs again with the garden shears today.

Chrysanthemums and hardy fuchsias by the stoplight

By Stormin’ Norman’s

The Muehlenbeckia complexa in the Stormin’ Norman’s planter is starting to work my nerves as it buries all other plants.  I had to pull out three still blooming cosmos to find a place to plant some tulips.  I thought the wire vine was a cute little house plant that would last one season, not swallow the world.  Monrovia says it’s a “moderate grower to 2 to 4 in. tall, spreading to 30 in.”  Also…zone 6-9 so well able to withstand our winters.  Danger Garden has this post about its thuggish ways.  Because it roots all along the stems, it is taking over this planter, and yet it does look so charming trailing to the ground.  Perhaps I can manage it better, or perhaps we will dig out this planter and start over.

DEFINITELY digging out this planter next spring, just before annuals planting time

I am tired of planting bulbs in the recurring root mass of the plain running blue hardy geranium that dates back to volunteer planter days in the planter above.  (When the planters were first installed, different volunteers did each one, and often quickly lost interest.  That is why some of them have such thugs and oversized plants, although I have no one but myself to blame for that wire vine just up the block.)

In the background, above photo, you can see the peachy pink and so tempting Kabob House; we did not have time to eat there today.

The city crew were busy putting up holiday lights including some new pieces.

by the gazebo (Allan’s photo)

That’s Parks Manager Mike on the right! (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo, stake driving to protect the light structure from toppling in wind

The crew has to start putting up decorations early, because they have so very many, including lights wrapped around each lamp post and illuminated stars where the small flags fly in summer.

Othanna’s not so great flowers. Another plant I want more of.

lots of flowers in the Lewis and Clark Square planter

I may have planted enough Allium albopilosum in the L&C Square planter that some might survive despite finger blighters. Across the street, you can see the holiday lights thing that the city crew put in place.

With all the main street planters done by 4 PM, we were able to plant assorted bulbs in the Veterans Field gardens, after pulling some still blooming cosmos that was too much in the way.  The sky turned dark and we felt a few drops of rain and I feared, as I walked back to the main street to add a few species tulips to a planter, that we would be caught in a downpour.

I was changing the tulip plan because I had seen a pile of deer poop on the lawn in Veterans Field, boding ill for tulips in that garden.  I still planted some green and white ones in the curved garden by the flags.  Hoping for mercy.  The viridiflora green and white tulips would look so sweet when the kids have their Easter Egg hunt, if they happen to bloom at the right time and not get chomped.

As I crossed the street, the sky put on a dramatic show.

The rain did not materialize although the wind kicked up considerably, and the sky lightened again, making the work easier.

To finish up, we planted some species tulips and narcissi in the newly redone two planters at the east end of Sid Snyder beach approach road, as the sun set.

The last of the Long Beach bulbs and some poppy seeds (Allan’s photo)

(There is still a chance I might buy a few more end of season sale bulbs so I can’t guarantee this is the very last bulb to be planted in Long Beach this year.)

sunset over Adrift Hotel

Just as we got in the van, the predicted rain storm (said to be a big one lasting for the next day or more) arrived, and the holiday lights lit up in the planter we had just worked on.  (Only this one planter’s lights came on; the city will be waiting till closer to Thanksgiving to start its holiday lights extravaganza.)

I am so proud of us.  I was able to erase Long Beach from the work board and we now have only six small-ish bulb plantings to do and could finish easily in two days…when the weather breaks.  And then…pure fall clean up of each garden.  And then…staycation (and a blog that will be random rather than daily).

Bulb time is much shorter this year as two of our biggest bulb jobs of years past are now in the capable hands of other gardeners (Flowering Hedge Designs at Erin’s garden and Sea Star Gardening (Dave and Melissa) at Casa Pacifica).

You can see that a fall project has appeared in the lower left.

Bulb planting with the intensity of today’s work leads to conflict and argy bargy.  I had bought Allan the perfect candy bar at Dennis Company.  He still had it in the lunch box when we got home.

We had tested out that solar jar from the Planter Box by putting it in the greenhouse all day.  It had charged up and created a delightful effect out in the garden:

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo: Would be interesting with clear marbles inside.

Unfortunately, rain and wind (audible outside as I write this) will not mean a lovely reading day as I have hours of bulb spread sheets to create.  That it a task I actually enjoy although not as much as diving into my pile of Elinor Lipman, Lena Dunham, and Stephen McCauley library books, optimistically ordered two weeks ago and rapidly approaching being overdue.