27 October: bulbing at the port

Thursday, 27 October 2016

We had wind with no rain at the beginning of our work day.  It seemed like it was going to be easy to plant about 100 bulbs all along the port curbside gardens.

My first stop was Time Enough Books, to ask owner Karla if she wanted her hardy fuchsia pruned yet.

Scout at the door

Karla and I ended up talking politics for half an hour.  (We are on the same page.)

Here’s a clue: the Facebook profile photo that our friend Sean made for me:

Meanwhile, Allan pruned an elderberry to the ground (as we do every year so that the Christmas lights on the eaves show better) and did some weeding.

Allan’s photos: before

before

after; he saved the branches for Halloween decor

at Salt Pub: a delivery truck from Fort George Brewery (Allan’s photo)

When I finally emerged from the bookstore, the bulbing began.  I had fifty of a mixed set of cyclamineus narcissi, a short early kind.  That is not ideal because you can’t make a nice little clump with a mixed set.  However, the price was good and it will add some interesting variety.  Additonally, I had some Narcissi fernandesii, a new one to me, and ‘New Baby’, a late bloomer (like ‘Baby Moon’ but white and yellow) which should still be blooming for the children’s parade.  (Last spring, freaky weather made it bloom earlier than its usual early May flowering.)

Narcissus ‘Baby Moon’ in Long Beach last April

the thrilling two tone color of Narcissus ‘New Baby’ from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs

Just a few new bulbs went into the Port Office garden.

So far, no rain.

bulb food and easy access muscari bulbs (Allan’s photo)

We did a few blue runs of muscari down the center of a couple of the gardens.

The wind was plenty annoying.

Then the rain came in earnest.

The next stretch of planting was quite unpleasant.  We got sympathy from Butch of CoHo Charters and later from Bill Clearman, who was shopping at Englund Marine Supply.  I was well aware that if I had not spent half an hour schmoozing at Time Enough Books, we might have escaped some of the rain.

Fortunately, some clearer weather blew in after awhile.

Allan planting by the Ilwaco Pavilion.

My favourite curbside garden by the Ilwaco pavilion. Fall clean up will come later.

Driving down Lake Street to the boatyard, we saw another house with Halloween decorations (one block west of us).  The bad weather has slowed householders’ preparations for the big Ilwaco holiday.

Halloween house with a ghostie

At the boatyard, I had only some Camassia ‘Blue Melody’ to plant at a damp spot by a faucet that is frequently in use in the summer.

time for the last of the sweet peas to come down

Muscari bulbs that had worked there way to the surface could be divided up.

Allan dividing and replanting some muscari

handsome foliage on Jackman’s Blue Rue

handsome euphorbia foliage

elephant garlic stuck into the fence

At home, I almost—but not quite—got all of my bulbs planted.  If I had not had a little sit down first, I would have finished.

The Cove Restaurant

In the evening, we joined Dave and Melissa (Sea Star Gardening) for our weekly meeting of the North Beach Garden Gang.

We had all been working in the blustery wind.

in the foyer

I had the carne asada and Allan had the Alfredo

Caesar salad with anchovies

Carna asada

Sous chef Indus’s excellent bread pudding

Sous Chef Indus’s new baby, a second daughter, had arrived a few days ago and he showed us a darling photo of her and her older sister (who is roundabout three years old).

a proud dad (Allan’s photo)

Tomorrow, if we apply ourselves, we might actually finish round one of Bulb Time.

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1995 (age 71):

Oct 27:  11:30-5:30  I decided to trim the one row of strawberry plants in the asparagus bed.  I went ahead and dug them all and trimmed them and ended up with one row of nice big plants and 3/4 row of itty bitty ones—those won’t have fruit probably for 2 years.  Dug potatoes from “tomato patch”.

1998 (age 74):

Oct 27:  I canned 6 pints of applesauce—one didn’t seal so I put it in freezer.  I picked another pail of apples off the ground and off the branches.  There’s still a lot of nice ones out of reach.