Wednesday, 22 August 2018
The wildfire smoke persisted, but happily for me, the temperature had returned to a cool 60-ish degrees.
The Depot Restaurant
I did the watering and deadheading this time, while Allan cleared some blackberry from the wheelie bin enclosure.
east side of dining deck
Allan’s project before
after
Long Beach
We added one extra task to the usual routine, a clean up of the NW quadrant of Fifth Street Park in Long Beach: clipping back spent sanguisorbas, cutting the canes of the mildewed Dorothy Perkins rose.
Fifth Street Park sweet peas success
We pruned a mugo pine that was encroaching on the sidewalk.
before
after
Allan found a rock.
A club of Edwardian Ladies were strolling through town.
Allan’s photo
Allan found another rock, a poignant one.
The park after some tidying:
Allan’s photo
I have a new plan for this corner…next year. The Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (catmint) has almost completely fizzled out all along here. I guess it has gotten old, as we all do.
With the smoky haze came no wind, so big kites were not evident in the sky for kite festival.
Allan’s photo
The Red Barn
The smoky haze was heavier here. I could see it drifting through the woods behind the pasture.
Cosmo the barn cat (Allan’s photos)
I want to take him home.
gaillardia (Allan’s photo)
Diane’s garden
Allan tidied the raised bed garden while I worked along the roadside garden, deadheading the sweet peas and doing as much as I could from inside the picket fence (reaching over) before going on the rather scary outside.
Cupcakes cosmos
sweet pea success, thanks to Diane’s diligent watering
I had to go out there to pull the toadflax!
In the back garden, I got to pet my good friend Misty.
Puppy Holly doesn’t hold still long enough to pet or photograph.
the raised box garden
Allan’s photo
statice
statice
a good looking white painted sage, for a change (they are usually puny of late)
Klipsan Beach Cottages
We got to KBC quite late in the afternoon because of the Fifth Street Park project.
I questioned why the Tetrapanax ‘Steroidal Giant’ there is so much bigger than mine, when mine is older!
For comparison, here is mine, taken a couple of days later at home.
The KBC fenced garden is a warm and sheltered place. My garden is more exposed with a lot of cold wind from the north.
Anyway….
checking with Mary to see if the figs are ripe
at KBC
Deer had accessed the fenced garden. The roses told the story.
sanguisorba
another sanguisorba
birdbath view
It is about an hour round trip to do this one job up north…but I sure will miss this lovely garden when the job comes to an end, due to Mary and Denny retiring, at the end of this year. KBC as a cottage resort will continue with new owners. However, we look forward to our jobs being at the south end only for next year.
Long Beach again
We stopped to pull some bindweed in Coulter Park and ended up doing more than I had planned.
Allan had noticed this bindweed as we drove north to KBC.
passersby (Allan’s photo)
so much blackberry and salmonberry coming from next door to the park
the salmonberry that invades the rose patch
somewhat better
bindweed being eaten by something…leaf cutter bees? (Allan’s photo)
We finally had an evening without watering and so we went for a dinner reward at
The Shelburne Pub
those darn non blooming cosmos!
in the pub
cranberry cosmo
chopped salad (Allan’s photo)
pub burger and potato salad
After dinner, in the dusk, I remembered to go to the back garden and look inside the Sunset scarlet runner beans.
beautiful!
Allan noticed that the Evening Magazine van (out of Seattle) was parked there…for dinner, maybe, or staying at the hotel while covering Kite Festival, perhaps.
Tangly Cottage Gardening 
More stunningly lovely photos! Thanks!
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Thank you!
Sent from my iPhone
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I am really sympathetic with your non-blooming Cosmos. I am experiencing the same thing with Xanthos. I planted them from 4″ pots right after I pulled up the Orlaya(in late June I think).They are waist high and nicely branched without a bloom in sight. I don’t get it.
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So weird, because Xanthos has done great for me. But Sensation pffff! And Mr Tootlepedal’s blog also shows non blooming cosmos. WHY????
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Oh, I remember the Kite Festival! However, I do not remember going there in August or September. I typically went earlier in summer.
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Do you ever think of visiting this area again?
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Oh, I think of it, but never do. My Pa lives in Silverdale, and my grandparents used to live in Saint Helens. When I used to go there in June, I drove the long way around the Olympic Peninsula from Silverdale to Saint Helens, and drove out to Ilwaco just because it was such a nice diversion. I sometimes stayed in a campground at Cape Disappointment. However, because my grandparents are now deceased, I will probably not make the trip again. It is hard to say. My Pa likes me to go there. If I could, I would go every winter instead of summer so that I could prune the fruit trees on the farm.
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If you do, come by Ilwaco!
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It would be nice to make the trip again. It has been a long time. Ilwaco was one of those places that I actually drove around a bit, probably because it was not as touristy as other places I went to. It sort of reminded me of Morro Bay and Los Osos.
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