Saturday, 17 November 2018
first day of staycation
I woke much too early with the memory that we had a big shrub from Klipsan Beach Cottages to plant.
This rain gauge must have recorded the rain we had on the dark day last week, perhaps in the night; we did our 12 days in a row of fall clean up with nary a sprinkle during work time.
Yesterday during our final clean up at KBC, Mary had given us a large callistemon that had been in a big pot all this time. Her plant collector brother had given it to her some years ago. Denny doesn’t like weird plants much; this one has greenery-yallery flowers.
I dug a Big Hole and Allan brought the trailer right next to the destination and helped me plant.
I may eventually have to move the two ornamental grasses on either side of it.
In the course of making room, I dug up some Geranium macrorrhizum and took some starts over to the Norwood garden, two doors down. I appreciate being able to cut through the Nora House back garden and its connecting gate. The Norwood garden also got a couple of starts of Dierama from KBC, perhaps not well rooted enough to “take”.
I thought I was going to have to rearrange the hydrangeas for spacing, but they look ok to me now.
I snagged myself an oyster basket of fallen leaves from the driveway.
Because I was so tired from work, I set myself a simple mission, to clear out compost bin three in preparation for adding the huge pile that waited outside the west gate.
I sifted just this much compost out of it by the time it was completely emptied.
I could not resist starting on the hauling of debris.
It was a relief when the tarp appeared from under the huge pile that consisted of Fifth Street Park debris and all of Diane’s garden.
Meanwhile, Allan was using the Pencil Sharpener to chip two piles of woody debris from work.
Frosty found it amusing to have us out by the driveway, where he enjoys sunbathing.
Somehow I found the energy to wheelbarrow the whole big pile from the driveway “garden” (potatoes and weeds and debris dumped from work) and got it clipped and layered in into the compost bins, filling bin three and heaping up on top of the other three bins. I must admit the last couple of loads just got stuffed on top with no chopping.
As I worked, I fantasized about us driving to the free wood pile at the port and finding five more pallets and making two more bins on the other side of the aisle. I reminded myself that if we semi-retire in a couple of years, we will no longer be bringing home such large amounts of compostable material. It is tempting, though, to expand… I will have to wait for these piles to settle before I can start sifting again.
A new addition today is a leaf bin, made from a round of wire and a couple of rebar stakes. Marion Cran had written eloquently of leaf mold in her books, and with my two plastic bins now full of leaves and chippings, I needed more space. Allan set it up.
I wanted more leaves from the Norwood driveway but simply did not have the strength to hobble over there again.
When I received Allan’s photos of the day, I learned that he had also done a little project I had forgotten about: freeing the welcome frog from the jail that had happened with last minute Halloween decorating.
Allan noticed the Joseph’s Coat rose is still blooming.
My compost accomplishment called for the last bag of Builders Tea, because this garden was not built on chamomile.
Indoors, Skooter spent the evening, typically, in his favourite spot, where he gets petted every time someone walks by this intersection of hallway and kitchen.
He is still not much of a lap cat.
Another pleasant stroll through your day! I feel like I spent some time with you. Would like to try that Builders tea with you some day. It must be strong, to get you through your gardening work.
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You motivate me. I have a big scattering of leaves right outside my front door waiting for me to make it into a leaf pile. I’m about to go to it. I’ve been looking forward to your stay-cation all week. Love the Callistemon. It’s just lovely. Hope it thrives in its new home.
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Thank you!
I’m obsessed with how I can snag more leaves without too much traveling. Two doors down is far enough.
Mostly conifers around here.
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The callistemon is beautiful! I had a laugh at “this garden was not built on chamomile”! Where do you buy the Builder’s Tea?
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Land-a-mercy, I have to laugh at the Callistemon. We had bunches of the red variety around my first home in Livermore when I was a baby. I hated it then because of how bees love it, and they scared me so when I was a wee one.
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Interesting. I have seen a lot of kids be scared of bees in gardens.
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What an impressive pile of compost. Well done.
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Thank you. It’s drooling a bit off the front but will get tucked in for the winter.
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Our garden is looking so much better! ❤
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Thanks! Mulch always makes a nice winter blanket.
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That callistemon is pretty rad. I do not recognize it. Callistoemons seem like an odd choice for there. They are useful here, and really should be more popular than they are, because they do not need to be watered once established.
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Xera Plants and Cistus Nursery have popularized callistemons in the Portland area. They are still unusual here at the beach. I have them in the driest part of my garden.
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Callistemon citrinus gave the entire genus a bad reputation, which is sad. There are a few other species that are very different, with several more modern cultivars. I happen to like Callistemon citrinus in the right situation.
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I’ll have to look that one up. I have one from Xera called ‘Wetlands Challenged Mutant”. 🙂
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ew . . . that is . . . . weird
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