Friday, 9 February 2018
At home: My green hellebore, a gift last year from Our Kathleen.
The Depot Restaurant
We started with the spring clean up at the Depot in Seaview, mainly the cutting of the ornamental grasses on the south and east side of the dining deck.
Allan chopped the one big grass at the house next door (Depot office space):
We took our load of debris, including some branch-y clippings from coppicing shrubs at home, to the dump. Because the usual clean green debris area was so muddy, we were instructed to put the compostables into a big dumpster. It was a scary drop in my mind so I stayed well back from the edge.
In the evening, I finished a book.
Long Beach
We returned to Fifth Street Park to do the two east side quadrants.
This narrow bed to the northeast desperately needs mulch.
One of these days, I will find Parks Manager Mike working in town and ask for a load to be placed for us at City Works. I am glad he did not get any late last fall because I was all tired out and glad to go on staycation without mulching.
While Allan pruned the big hydrangea in the SE corner, I checked on a few of the nearby trees and planters, cutting back old Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and pulling little weeds.
We did not have time for a coffee break. We did get some banana bread slices to go for our post-work tea time.
I hope we did not sacrifice flowers by pruning so low. But if the flowers are up higher, they are hidden by tree branches and interfere with the light on the pole.
Allan found a painted rock representing a fried egg, quite appropriate for the park next to Benson’s Restaurant, a breakfast establishment.
I was able to erase Fifth Street Park and Depot from the work board clean up list…and remembered to add Third Street park.
Saturday, 10 February 2018
Long Beach
We started with the spring clean up of Long Beach City Hall; Saturday, when it is closed, is a good day for that because parking is easy.
Peggy’s Park was planted by Gene and Peggy Miles and is kept up by us in her memory.
Allan did the clean up on the west side.
With the city hall garden done, we dumped a load of debris at City Works and then went to Third Street. Allan battled the roses on the south side of the police station:
And he cut back the Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’ in the Veterans Field flag pavilion garden.
Meanwhile, I weeded and pruned hydrangeas in the little park by Lewis and Clark Square.
I am excited to tell you that the sign in the window says “Coming Soon: Taqueria el Jalepenos”!
I also pruned the hydrangeas in the southwest quadrant of Third Street park….
…and tidied up another block’s worth of planters.
That knautia was the variegated ‘Thunder and Lightning’ which unfortunately reverts to green leaves by the second year.
We had another load of debris to dump.
We drove out to the end of the Bolstad approach to view the sunset.
I was able to erase Vet Field, Third Street, and police station roses.
But then I remembered to add the parking lot berms.
For the bookish: I’ve added 1985 in books, here. I’m not sure if email subscribers will get a notice of these posts that I am publish retroactively, because I want to keep them all tidily together.
Oh this makes me ache for spring! And is that a Mexican eatery opening? Oh joy!
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Yes, it is. I am thrilled.
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People who learned to garden in mild climates do not like to prune severely. It is not easy to convince them to cut grasses or anything else down low. We will be cutting red twig dogwood soon, but leaving stumps so that they do not get trampled (in high traffic areas). I can live with that. Other things I would prefer to coppice completely.
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I have had a client cry after I pruned her sickly rhododendrons (to the base!). She was happy the next year when they were beautiful again, just as I had promised.
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Ooh, I get harsh with pruning, but not with rhododendrons. In our climate, they can actually die if pruned back below foliage.
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Here, if one is really sad and badly pruned from someone who did not know how to do it, they almost always come back if pruned back to the base. I have only killed one 😉
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Great gardening blog with all the details one needs in this post to show the garden ready for that magic spring burst, more than hinted at by the narcissus. ‘Freckles’ is striking at this time of year. Unfortunately I got too excited when pruning mine electronically that I scalped it. Luckily it has thrown out new shoots, but too late for flowers.
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I love your blog! So sorry about your “Freckles’. Mine blooms so non stop it’s hard to know when to prune it.
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You have got your spring long before we will get ours. I am envious.
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It is gone again; we might even get snow tomorrow! And a 20 F degree night is predicted.
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You and Allan have certainly accomplished a lot in a short time. The flowers are so beautiful. The Mexican eatery is sure to be hit.
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I am so looking forward to eating there. She had a booth at Saturday market, which I did not try, but I hear it was good and authentic.
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