Saturday, 5 March 2016
We woke to unexpectedly gorgeous weather and had to reboot our minds into the going to work mode. I had been planning a stormy day of working on my Grandma’s Scrapbooks blog. And yet, belying the sunshine, I could see the full gale warning flag over the port office.
As we were leaving, Allan’s pal Chris drove up and invited him sailing. It was not to be.
The Ilwaco post office garden is finally at last showing a little bit colour (other than green):Deadheading narcissi in Long Beach called to me, along with the “big popout” which, if accomplished, could be erased from the work board.
On the way north, I looked at an order acknowledgement from Gossler Farms and remembered that I had acquired a paperbark maple! I need to get these planted after the alleged windstorm:
I had Allan drop me off at the south end of town and proceeded to work my way north while he went to the popout and, if time allowed, city hall’s garden.
I’ll get the complaining out of the way first. You can avoid it by just skipping to the rest of the flower photos.
Three planters in, I tried to cut some escallonia down but lacked the big loppers.
I’d have to leave it for the end of the day. After having been partially cut, it looked pretty lopsided and pitiful. As I was struggling with this problem, with my back to the street, clipping, a truck drove so close I could feel a breeze, and a loud male voice yowled into my ear an obscene threat far more crude and would-be degrading than the usual street harassment, and believe me, I’ve heard plenty. My reflexes are slow when taken by surprise. I was unable to turn around to see what color the large vehicle was or to inform the nasty hateful wankers that I was old enough to be their grandma. That is the comeback that popped into my mind; I crave the age of invisibility. By the time she was my age, 61, my grandmother’s hair was white. Maybe that would help. Can a hair salon turn my hair to old-woman white? I wish. I can guarantee that as the truck drove north, other women in town also were subjected to a catcall that was to “Hey Baby!!” as a flash flood is to a rivulet. What must it be like to live inside of a mind that enjoys being so rude?
Further irksomeness plagued my day: The spring on my clippers disappeared so that I had to manually open them each time. The knee pain. Lightheadedness. The person who did not turn their headlights off while parking so that I was caught in a headache inducing sideways glare from one foot away (while bending over weeding a street tree). All minor typical gardening woes (for me, anyway).
Halfway through town, an acquaintance passed me as I was crossing the street with my wheelie cart and bucket. He said “Ah, the homeless woman lugging her worldly goods through town.” Now, I do not think he reads this blog, and if so, never mind, I know you were being funny and that you have no clue about the baggage I carry (in my wheelie cart?) on this topic. Let me just say it was not helpful to the way I feel working in a crowded, public place like the bustling town of Long Beach. If I could afford it, I would indulge my agoraphobia and leave my property only for dinners out and for garden tours.
Three blocks before the end of town, the rain came, and the wind. Not the 60 mph wind yet, thank the cosmos. I plugged along and got the job done, and Allan got the big popout and city hall done, and so it was a pretty good day after all.
Despite the intensely creepy parts of my day and despite the small annoyances, I had a rewarding time because of the flowers, and here are pictures to prove it (and some more work stream of consciousness).
I dug some bad aster and just cosmetically dealt with more; the weather seemed to be changing for the worse and I did not have enough time. Nor, with the weather change, were we able to mulch that bed at the end of the day as I had hoped. It began to rain so I called Allan and told him I would go as far as the stoplight and then turn back. The tree garden, above, has lots of little grasses. I tried to ignore it, walked on, then after half a block I went back and pull several hands full.The rain stopped, so I kept going north all the way to Dennis Co and back.
The buds of Tulip ‘Green Wave’ in the above planter were close to opening. Until last year, I could count on that tulip blooming last, in mid MAY, not March.I popped into NIVA (New Inspired Vintage Artful) green to find a present for Montana Mary’s birthday, and to get some photos for the NIVA Facebook page. Both missions accomplished. Of course, I can’t show the birthday present.
I remembered that I did not cross the street and deadhead the tree garden in front of Mostly Hats.
I wanted to ignore this but could not, so I hobbled on down there, and a good thing, too, as I found many narcissi deadheads and some dandelion rosettes. With every tree and planter groomed, I met up with Allan as he finished weeding and deadheading the city hall garden.We drove to the planter with the escallonias and finished chopping them way down. (They were planted by someone back in volunteer days; not the best choice for a planter as they’d like to be eight feet tall and wide.)
Tomorrow (Sunday), if I am lucky, a rainy day will let me work on scrapbooks. Or perhaps I will be unexpectedly lucky enough to be able to work on the beach approach garden in good weather.Ginger’s Garden Diaries
from my mother’s garden diaries of two decades ago
1995 (age 70)
March 5: Note-I’ve been wondering where to plant spuds in an area with no mushroom compost. I figure I’ll plant them in an area where the winter carrots, leeks and celeriac is now. When I am spreading mushroom compost all over the garden (soon) it will be easy to not put mushroom compost in that area.
[She added the following to the end of the page]: June 15: Re where to put potatoes. Well, they decided for me. All along the space where tomatoes usually are planted next to the pathway is full of potatoes sprouted from kitchen scraps all winter. Now—where to plant my tomato plants?
Everything looks beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Charlene!
LikeLike
Othonna is the plant in question. Enjoyed all the spring color.
LikeLike
Well done for working through health and passer by problems. The results look good.
LikeLike
Beautiful work Skylar. I’m sorry you had to suffer the nasty slurs of an uncouth yokel. People can be so stupid and mean. Just know you bring joy and beauty to the world 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautifully phrased. A friend suggested a great response: “May rabid weasels run up your pants legs!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha love it Skylar!
LikeLike