19 June: fuchsia appreciation day

Saturday, 19 June 2021

Skooter spent another night outside and was found at 10 AM sleeping on the front gravel path, looking like he had rolled in dirt and rocks.

I started my day with a zoom presentation by the author of the Fuchsias in the City blog (now The Fuschietum).

Presented by the Longview Public Library

Allan joined the webinar partway in and was sorry to miss the interesting history of fuchsias and how they came to the west coast at the beginning. I loved all the photos of fuchsias…so many that I don’t have. And one that I did have, ‘Checkerboard’, that I somehow don’t have anymore.

I will be joining the Oregon Fuchsia group…and hoping they have zoom meetings. I like their cute cap, modeled during the webinar by Theo.

It would be fun to attend the annual event if it weren’t for my anxiety level about city traffic.

I enjoyed hearing Theo’s story of getting in trouble for popping the buds of Swingtime fuchsias as a child. So did I. They made such a satisfying pop. My grandmother objected because she believed it would prevent the flowers from opening up property. We never did a controlled study on that. And Swingtime was one of her favorites, that she wintered over every year and grew in hanging baskets and window boxes, and she grew two big fuchsia magellanica with red flowers on the north side of her house (later, my house; they are probably still there).

From my Seattle garden, decades ago: Fuchsias ‘Archie Owen’, ‘Pink Marshmallow’ and ‘Blue Satin’.

When I went outside after the webinar, I was inspired to start the afternoon by walking around admiring my fuchsias (although some are not blooming yet) and the garden in general. I do wish I had labeled all of the fuchsias. I can only identify a few. I also learned that I should be fertilizing them more…must get around to that.

In the background: One of two treelike Fuchsia magellanica, pale pink

Willows Loop West

Delta’s Sara

Grayrigg is my current favorite.

My new Nicotiana ‘Only the Lonely’ from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials is getting big.

Nearby, a clematis is blooming on its way up a red elderberry.

Dipplarhena moraea

Sambucus ‘Black Lace’

Sambucus nigra ‘Laciniatia’ doesn’t grow as large as it should but I love it.

My golden corylopsis is finally starting to grow.

I’m going to move the oriental poppies, which I don’t especially like, to Susie’s garden; she loves them. I’ll put them with her daylilies!

Verbascum ‘Southern Charm’, bless my heart if I remembered it wrong…

Paul’s Himalayan Musk rose is in its perfect glory this weekend.

I almost missed the Iris flowering underneath it at the edge of the pond.

Callistemon viridis by the driveway, the one I got from Klipsan Beach Cottages when our job ended there. Mary’s brother had given it to her and it was in a big pot. This is the first time it’s bloomed since I transplanted it to here.

In the afternoon, someone new to me came over to find my kitchen compost bin so that she can put her kitchen veg and fruit waste in it. I’m thrilled to get the extra compostables and even more pleased that we had a simpatico conversation about many things other than gardening (she’s not a gardener but is a great reader). I emptied some chopped leaves from the bottom of the bin to make room for future kitchen clippings and used it to mulch a bed by the Bogsy Wood.

That’s about all I got done except for making a small start on removing rampant sweet woodruff under the contorted filbert.

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Half a wheelbarrow full peeled out of there hardly made a dent.

I had some plant problems to deal with. Why did half of my Jude the Obscure rose suddenly look so bad? I don’t know, but I removed that whole crispy part and hope the other stem doesn’t succumb.

I noticed another problem with a small tree that took up most of the next day, preventing me from finishing the sweet woodruff weeding. More on that tomorrow.

Allan printed some more of his boating books, with Faerie supervising.

He mowed the vast back lawn at Alicia’s next door, which grows fast because of the high water table.

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This lawn is proof that regular mowing will eliminate a large patch of Himalayan blackberry. It towered over our heads on the west side of the lawn two years ago.

Allan made a space in his garden for a Fuchsia ‘Debron’s Black Cherry’ that MaryBeth had brought us…

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I’ll be able to see it from the front porch. So we begin and end today with fuchsias.