27 Nov: surely the last full work day

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

Of course, at this time of year, a full outdoor work day for not-morning-people is only five hours long.  And a good thing, too.  I had every intention of just doing a few short tasks and keeping my problematic ear out of the cold wind.  It did not work out that way.  Surely fresh air is good for any ailment??

Ilwaco

We pulled the last of the cosmos at the boatyard garden.

Allan’s photo

Solidago ‘Fireworks’ starting to bloom again low down.

the last sweet pea (Allan’s photo)

pink achillea still blooming

Mot of what is left is structural and will look fine all winter—although I may have to cut down this baptisia if it goes all black.

baptisia (false indigo)

We next worked at Mike’s garden, three blocks east of our house, just to rake the front path and apply another bag of mulch.

What a shock to arrive and find that the lilac on the north side had been removed, as planned, but also the Escallonia ‘Iveyi’.

this past September

today

Escallonia iveyi in Mike’s garden in summer

today!

It is an empty slate that will need shallow rooted plants because of the plumbing lines—something to do in 2020 after I find out what Mike and Mel want there.

We added some more mulch to the front corner.

The Depot Restaurant

All I meant to do was to to pull yellow agyranthemums out of the whiskey barrel planter.  We found an hour’s work instead.

after cutting down some more perennials

Some raking called out to us.

A bit of work needed doing next door.

some crocosmia to pull

Allan’s photos

Next door’s lawn landscape (around the Depot office) gets some attention from us maybe thrice a year, including today.

Long Beach

The main reason that we were working today was that Parks Manager Mike had asked us to tag any plants at the back end of Coulter Park that could be moved when that area is  cleared to make way for a parking garage for the new police station.  (I am so happy that the west end of the park with its blackberry and salmonberry problem is going away.)

On the way, we did a drive-by look of the Bolstad beach approach while I pondered whether or not to pull the Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ or leave it till early 2020.

What to do?

At Coulter Park, all I could think of that could be moved (to where though? maybe the middle parking lot berm) were a cluster of hardy fuchsias and a sword fern.

We made a cash donation to Shoeboxes of Joy, which is setting up its annual operation in the old train depot at the front of the park.

Shoeboxes of Joy in the old train depot

The shoeboxes will be packed with small gifts and goodies for local elders in need.

I got to pet two dogs….

…and to visit with our friend Yudy, who we met when we toured her “Little Tyke” garden ages ago.  I apologized for being so anti-social.  We agreed that we think kindly of each other often.

Yudi, to the left

I like it when people don’t take it personally that I don’t pursue socializing.  I would love to see Little Tyke garden again next summer.

The beach approach crocosmia weighed heavily on my mind.  I decided some clumps had to be pulled, and some clumps just had to be thinned, today.  Surely even with that, we’d be done by two o’ clock.

We worked our way from one end of the long narrow garden to the other….

looking east

looking west

…ignoring the weeds, pulling crocosmia, and finding that we also had to clip some rugosa roses that were sticking out too far into the sidewalk.

Allan’s photos:

I got to pet this dog.

A detectorist was working his way along the other side of the approach.

He occasionally found something, probably not Roman coins.

I longed to tell him about The Detectorists show but restrained myself.

Another small task was calling to me. We moved over to the main street.  I did a wee bit of holiday gift shopping at NIVA green….

inside NIVA green

while Allan cut down chrysanthemums in two of the planters.

But the bright yellow chrysanthemums at the main intersection will stay, despite the cold forecast for tonight.  I read an article that said a touch of frost intensifies their colour.  And I have figured out that I can check on that clump of flowers from home via the Heron Cam!

See that spot of yellow to the left of the planter?

I look every day now to see if the chrysanths are still blooming.

The last Long Beach task was to see if I could cut down the pineapple sage in Fifth Street Park.  I could not.  It will still be feeding the hummingbirds.

Super Dorothy rose is still blooming.

milkweed seeds

Ilwaco again

By now it was an hour till dark and I wanted so badly to erase the port gardens from the work list that we weeded the two remaining weediest areas in 45 degree weather, just for the half an hour required to call the job done.

some very cold weeding

coreopsis tinctoria still blooming (Allan’s photo)

At home, I was able to re-write the work list by just simply dropping a couple of tasks that can now wait till late winter, and rewriting the others in a way that, reassuringly, shows that they are small things…surely.