28 November: three sets of bulbs

Sunday, 28 November 2021

I was resolved to work on at least two short jobs no matter what the weather. Allan was agreeable.

Ilwaco Community Building

We had a short mission: to dig up a Sanguisorba ‘Pink Elephant’ and replace it with a hardy fuchsia (just an ordinary magellanica). Pink Elephant had inspired some unknown person to climb into the garden and cut it to the ground while in full bloom, I guess because the flowers draped over the railing of the tiered garden.

It had made me feel territorial to see a plant that I had chosen to fill the space with a tall haze of pink bottlebrush flowers, which I liked very much, hacked down in an unskilled stubby way by someone who had been so bothered by it that they had climbed in under the railing. To protect the garden from being treated that way again, the hardy fuchsia won’t be as likely to hang flowers over the railing.

Allan did the work while I offered moral support.

I suggested he switch from the big strong Fiskars shovel to the Root Slayer, and he switched, seeming to then pop out the tough plant with one dig, this proving me right on tool choice. (I always choose The Slayer.) He pointed out he had already dug all around it with the Fiskars. But The Slayer did prove best for dividing the plant into three pieces so it would fit into buckets.

Mulch and fuchsia start added.

I checked on the library entry garden. I must remember next spring to put stake protectors around the new fuchsias for when the wall gets painted. I am sure the garden will get trampled some then…but the wall will look better. It would look even better if grey instead of beige.

The white and pink heathers throughout the parking lot beds are starting to bloom.

Time Enough Books

We planted yellow tulips in the garden boat and some bulbs in the curbside bed: Fritillaria meleagris, Galanthus (snow drops), crocus, some assorted little narcissi, anemone blanda, Iris reticulata, some brodiaea.

Allan pulled a tatty old aster that I noticed in front of the Captain’s Quarters sign.

The sign has a dual personality (and neither of the websites worked for me in both Safari and Chrome).

On the other side of the port office

I suppose we should check the south side port office garden before we declare staycation has begun…but that was the windy side today.

Mike’s garden

I planted the same sort of bulbs while Allan cleaned up the gravel path and preemptively pulled the cosmos so that we don’t have to return and pull it later in December.

Fuchsia ’Grayrigg’, one of my favorites

Hesperantha weighed down by rain

At home

I had the third batch of bulbs to plant, most of them the same little ones that would look great in my faux stone troughs (water vaults). This inspired me to finally move one that has gotten overshadowed by Grevillea ‘Canberra Gem’.

Pondering proper placement

I am going to move that sad conifer, Thuja ‘Forever Goldie’, to the back garden soonish. It got scorched in the heat dome.

I refreshed the soil and plantings in three of the vaults and had room to plant new plants from the closing sale of Joy Creek Nursery, which has sadly closed permanently.

Dianthus ‘Dad’s Favorite’

Dianthus ‘Bath’s Pink’

Dianthus ‘Mom’s Cinnamon Pink’

I did quite a lot of weeding in the driveway bed in the gentle rain, and then divided a surprising lot of pups from my lone agave that was given to me.

Wasn’t easy but I got more than ten pups of various sizes.

Meanwhile, Allan disassembled more fence that was all askew from the bear invasions.

He will be installing a transparent wire fence, which should look awesome!

We both got fully drenched during our projects.

It was not until dusk, when I took a tray of agaves around to the south patio, that I saw that my tree dahlia (Dahlia imperialis) was blooming. Usually it just get buds that are blasted by the first frost. Allan even went up on a ladder to get pictures.

The work board tonight: