Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Depot Restaurant
weeding, deadheading, watering…
Last week, I was finally able to cut down all the twiggy stems on the escallonia.
It has more or less died out in the middle.
Long Beach
We did a quick weeding of horsetail in Fifth Street Park. With the days getting shorter, we no longer have time to fit a project into the middle of a Long Beach-Shelburne-Ilwaco watering day.
Skookum Surf was returning from the beach….
to their new shop in First Place Mall.
The Red Barn
We did not have to water. Amy said, “If those plants are telling you they are thirsty, they are lying.” (The plants had told us that they were quite satisfied.) So only some light deadheading and weeding was necessary.
I want to take Cosmo home. Maybe he wants to come home with us.
Diane’s garden
By the way, Diane is a champion barrel racer. I found this photo (not by us) from four years ago.
I told Diane today how impressed I am with her skills.
We had a good talk about the various plants in the raised box garden.
I had my new version of lunch: a deconstructed cheese, pickle, and onion sandwich, because I don’t especially like bready sandwiches.
Klipsan Beach Cottages
We did the usual hour long tidy. Deer had got into the garden again.
Mary and I are starting to talk about labeling a lot of plants by the end of the year for the new owners, and about which plants Mary will want to take starts of to their new home.
We were finishing work early today so that we could tour a friend’s garden near KBC.
Gail’s garden
Going down a road we had never been down before, and jogging over to another road, we found a woodland garden tucked away at the end of a long gravel driveway. Gail has lived here for a couple of year. Local gardeners Mark and Joe have helped her to create a garden in a woodland frequented by deer, raccoons, and bears.
The property abounds in old rhododendrons because the previous owners used to work at Clarke Nursery, the local specialists in rhododendrons, which was located where Steve and John’s Bayside garden is now. Steve Clarke’s family nursery had a big influence here on the peninsula and you will find their plants in many gardens (including mine).
We were greeted by Gail and Bob the Dog.
The east edge of the property is marshland, with Spirea douglasii on an island in the middle.
The raccoons and bears go in under the tree to the right, above, and cross over to the solid ground island.
I felt a little presence at my feet, and looked down to see Collar. That was my clue that Mark and Joe had arrived to join our tour.
More sun along the entry drive allowed room for a flower garden on either side.
Gail took us back into the shade to see the last few blooms on the Crinodendron hookerianum (Chilean lantern tree). Clarke Nursery used to sell this little tree; I do not see it often.
Gail sent me some photos later of the garden in springtime.
She also sent a photo of the bashful resident we did not get to meet:
Gail says, “Bob the Dog, who is 14 ½, and Jack the Cat, 10?, both rescued me several years apart and were very happy with their original “guys at the pub” names so we kept them. Freya (formerly Rumbly!) was renamed by me to give her confidence and ranking.”
We departed after a good hour in this hidden woodsy paradise. I love discovering a special garden like this down a secret road.
On the longish drive home, we decided to have a dinner work reward at the
We had a gift certificate from Allan’s January birthday from our friends Susie and Bill of the Boreas Inn.
Dinner there always begins with their good bread with corn relish or marionberry preserves.
My favourite dessert on the peninsula is their tiny chocolate mint sorbet served with a tiny spoon.
Allan had the tiramisu, which came as a cake, not layered in a glass.
Why, I thought, don’t we eat here more often? I tend to frequent restaurants associated with gardening jobs. The ambience here is friendly and cozy and the food is so tasty that I felt especially happy throughout the meal.
We love to have breakfast at 42nd Street when we visit Long Beach. I’ve wondered why it hasn’t been in your blog. I just assumed it’s because there are so many good choices in the area. It’s a must do for me for a dinner now too. I need that sorbet!
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Their breakfasts are wonderful. Not being a morning person, I rarely go out to breakfast but if I did, theirs would be top choice.
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Those gardens today are every bit as nice as the ones you’ve shown on the official tours.
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ThAnk you, dear friend.
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Thank you for the door of the beautiful woodsy garden. The animals are all so cute. Collar is so tiny! Love seeing his big ears up. Also, I’m in love with Freya the Beautiful. Your dinner at 42nd Street looks so delicious!
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Thank you!
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Dinner looked yummy! I have a special affection for woodsy gardens. If I had to choose, it would be woodsy n’wild over curated-to-an-inch-of-its-life.
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That may be why the bogsy wood is my favourite part of my garden and yet I cannot stop myself from developing and curating it. At least I still have the wild Willow Wood outside the fence! It even smells fresher and wilder out there.
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the Brussel sprouts look great
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Deeelish.
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You found a good garden to visit.
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Indeed, Mr T.
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