Tuesday, 31 July 2018
How I love an all Ilwaco day.
We started at the volunteer garden that Allan did not have time to water yesterday evening:
Ilwaco Fire Station
Mike’s garden
We finally pruned all the dead branches off the conifer in the front…
It is part of a matched set; the other one is also very slowly dying back.
I would like to see them both gone, but neither Allan’s wonky ankle or my wonky knee inspire us to try to dig them out. I’m hoping Mike will find a strong person to do this.
Ilwaco boatyard garden
We weeded thoroughly all along from the north end to the gate. South of the gate does not get as much horsetail.
(I did not download photos for a week, so it took me that long to realize I had a spot on my lens.)
Port of Ilwaco
We accomplished our long weekly watering of almost all the curbside gardens. (We skip just one that is just escallonias, landscape fabric that shows, and a thin coat of bark mulch.)
In my favourite bed by the Ilwaco pavilion, the three plants vandalized earlier this year are trying to heal themselves but are still bringing down the tone.
On one of my recent days off for Lily Time, a young woman and man came walking by the front garden and the woman called out, “I love your lilies!” Quite out of character for a recluse, I brought the two of them into the back garden to see the really tall lilies. Today, the woman (who works at the port) brought me her new puppy to hold. (At least, I hope it was her, because of my face blindness.)
I admired the Salt Hotel courtyard.
Then I went home because it was the night of the dreaded monthly billing. I had two big clients and some small ones that I had not even billed for June yet. It was difficult and took four hours. Allan went on to water the east end garden bed (the hardest one) and, as always, to make our dinner.
I just soak up your flower photos! Thanks again!
btw I’m pretty sure those are white-crowned sparrows in the boatyard. Cuties.
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Thank you. I am so not a birder. I can recognize a chickadee by its song but not by just chirping. I need to study up. Maybe when I retire.
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My gf J once had a gardening business, and she just dreaded having to do the billing, and would often fall behind. Working out the cost of who got what from a six pack of plants, hours of actual labour, time and gas running around looking for a requested plant.
For her, part of it was that if she honestly and factually billed for the all the real time she put in, many of her clients would keel over with shock. So she “under-billed”.
Holding a puppy or a kitty would be a best day moment!
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I definitely underbill for time spent running around and I know I take a loss on plants because I forget about some.
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That does not seem like the sort of place for santolina or lavender. The lavender looks better than I would expect. It grows on the coast here too, but does not do as well as in warmer climates, and the coastal climate here is warmer than there. Santolina grows in harshly warm spots.
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Surprisingly, santolina is my best feature plant here despite cool weather. I learned about it on a tv gardening show featuring a California gardener. Wish I could remember more.
Lavender dwindles here after a couple of years. Gets very woody. Especially in my garden, which is quite wet in winter.
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It is normal for the various lavenders to last only a few years. Wild plants tend to layer (form roots where stems touch the ground) so that by the time the center of the plant dies out, the outer stems are growing into new plants..
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Interesting!
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The puppy has a wonderful face
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I sure do hope to see her again.
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Paperwork (even electronic): blech! There must be an app (or several) for your phone that would help with that: enter hours, plant costs, etc. as they happen, so that end of the week/month/whatever it’s all ready to bill. There must be!
Then more time for cute animal cuddling. 🙂
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(repost?)
Paperwork (even electronic): blech! There must be an app (or several) for your phone that would help with that: enter hours, plant costs, etc. as they happen, so that end of the week/month/whatever it’s all ready to bill. There must be!
Then more time for cute animal cuddling. 🙂
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That is a good idea….I keep the records on cards that we write on each day…then stick em on a bulletin board and procrastinate for 15 days. If I did not bill Long Beach twice a month, I would procrastinate for a whole month. (Your comment got stuck in the spam folder…I have to check that folder more often!)
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Skyler and Allan, I always enjoy your photos of the gardens and the boats. I am going to be on the lookout for santolina to add to my full sun garden. I love the Salt Hotel’s welcoming courtyard with colorful pots and interesting foliage.
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Thank you!
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The puppy would cheer up anyone’s day.
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Thanks, Mr T!
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