Saturday, 18 April 2020
I planted seeds of cosmos and other flowers in the flats I had set up yesterday. Ironically, it was a day of light rain, just the sort that could be the reading day I had longed for, but here I was with a semi-indoor project that was sort of urgent.
Front window view:
When I began my seed planting in the dry greenhouse annex, I found that a tree frog had made a bed in the damp seed planting mix.
Of all today’s seeds, the sea kale was especially irksome to plant as I had to scrape off the outer casing of the seeds, nor did I plant it as early as I should have.
I want to grow it because Derek Jarman grew it.
By evening, I had many flats potted up. I was quite chuffed with my labeling system.
My mint shrub whose name I forget made the air fragrant when I brushed against it.
I am finding my memory for plant names is suddenly worse during pandemic days and I also lack patience to search for the names.
I took a plant appreciation tour in the drizzle:
Pieris and Ribes speciosum
Dutch iris
Bleeding hearts Erythronium (dogtooth violet)little red tulips, probably linifolia, still blooming
More tulips
Fritillaria meleagris
and pulsatilla.
Acanthus ‘Hollard’s Gold’ is still spectacular.
I should break out a better camera than my old iPhone. Here’s a little secret: I’m kind of finding it a tad bit hard to function these days and the easy way is iPhone photos to iPad to blog, easier than a camera and download cord and computer. It keeps the blog rolling along, even if it is blurry in more ways than one.
I found a box of old veg seeds and sorted them into three piles: seeds so old there is no hope, and some with maybe some hope, and some that have a good chance of germinating based on a web search for how long veg seeds stay viable. I don’t have the patience for germination tests with damp paper towels, so I found spaces around my ornamental garden to tuck in many and many seeds that may or may not grow. If some do, I can get some leafy greens at the least.
Allan took a break from boat building and ran some branches through the Pencil Sharpener for me…
…making some mulch that I took back to the southeast Bogsy Wood corner.
His boat is coming along.
The rain was a lovely thing to see and soothed some of my anxieties about all our jobs that, being non essential workers, we are forced to neglect till sometime in May.
At the end of the day, I cut back a Sun Sprite rose which was new and quite happy last year, because I am freaked out by roses that look like this:
I fervently hope it comes back looking better so that I don’t have to shovel prune it.
The pear blossom in Allan’s garden….
reminds me so much of the big Bartlett pear tree in my grandmother’s garden and how she would bring in bare branches and force them into bloom. I love its slightly bitter smell. Here is the old Seattle tree viewed from above.
In the evening, digging into the increasingly lower level in our freezer of food, Allan found a special treat, a piece of salmon caught by our neighbor Jeff. We’d forgotten that we had one more piece. Dinner was extra good tonight.
In farm and garden-related pandemic news, I was startled to learn that only recently was the Washington Master Gardeners program declared essential during the stay at home order “so that staff and volunteers are able to maintain the statewide network of demonstration gardens that produce thousands of pounds of food annually for communities in need..” How very strange that for while, they were not allowed to even volunteer. And here’s me thinking we could at least go check on our jobs for free!
In Yakima, Washington, farm workers are struggling with Covid and with the usual inequality.
In Canada, farmers are short on farm labor.
Here is a deeply touching story about flowers, mental health, and the shutdown.
In my home town, Seattle, the pandemic has inspired veg gardening and chicken keeping.
And locally, because of problems with social distancing…
.
The boat is coming along nicely, and those pear blossoms are so lovely. The problem that Basket Case Greenhouse is having illustrates the problems business are going to have with social distancing when more are open. I’m not sure what the answer is, but businesses are going to have give a lot of thought.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, and we are giving deep thought re our job that’s half our income but will be thronged with tourists, probably. We still have tourists coming here even now.
>
LikeLike
Oh, gosh! Good luck and keep us posted. What a topsy-turvy world!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our Demo garden is maintained by 1 main person, and us volunteers are unable to work in it.
LikeLike
That is appalling.
LikeLike
Wait, maybe I misunderstood. Maybe the one person isn’t a volunteer, and it is getting maintained? If so, not so bad, but a lot to do for that one person?
LikeLike
‘Red Willow’! No way! Back when the pattern was popular, in the 1950s, most of it was blue. The red was rare, and is even more rare all these decades later. I got mine from someone who really liked red (like to the extreme). It was in my kitchen while I was in college, and is still around. Yours looks exactly like mine, and is likely labeled with the date of about 1958 on the backside.
LikeLike
Interesting! I have four of them. They say Willow Ware by Royal China underglaze N52. Probably got them second hand. My parents had blue patterned dishes with country scenes that were grocery store bonuses and my grandma’s good dishes were Blue Onion (which I still have).
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, my mother had blue onions too, from the 1960s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These are trying times. I hope that you get through them without too much personal or business damage. I like your planting, very methodical.
LikeLike
Thank you. Maybe my chaotic nature is why I find planting seeds so tiring!
>
LikeLike
Some of your readers have very sharp eyes….I’m embarrassed to say I was too busy looking at the FOOD to notice the plate….China collector that I am (hoarding!)….I once saw a yellow Willow plate. I don’t collect willow, but many others, ironstone, lustre ware, don’t get me started…
Sorry. My reason for posting was for your rose clippings. At first I thought they looked ok, but in the center of the photograph there are a few new growths (pale green shoots) that look suspicious. If the plant is infected it will show up on new growth. 🤞
LikeLike
The local charity thrift shop sells dinner plates for a dollar each, and sometimes has a half price sale on top of that. As a result I have a few too many plates, resistance is futile and only achieved by me staying out of the store. 🙂
LikeLike
I love old plates. In and out of the garden.
>
LikeLike
I’m keeping a close eye on that Rose. Any further weirdness and out it goes. And even my grandma’s rose would have to go.
>
LikeLike
PS. I love old plates and teacups etc.
>
LikeLike
Hmmm, more than a few farms here were under the impression they could bring in foreign workers and not have them quarantine for 14 days…when they knew full well all returning Canadians had to quarantine. Then they were shocked! dismayed! to realize quarantine quite rightly applies to everyone, or what is the point.
Love your seed tagging system! So envious of your leanto greenhouse.
LikeLike
Very interesting re quarantines. Plus the farmworkers would need to be housed and fed during that time.
>
LikeLike
Yeah, federal government gave the farms 1500 for each worker to cover quarantine costs. Our province also offered to do the quarantine, including the meals too.
LikeLike
That is good. So much better than we do.
>
LikeLike
I know this is not your gig, but if you did your garden jobs at sunrise I guarantee you there would be few people and no tourists. Call the sheriff/police and tell them your intent.
LikeLike
Ha I don’t know if we’d survive that.
>
LikeLike