24 March: sweet peas

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Basket Case Greenhouse

We made our first visit of the year to the Basket Case to get some violas for Diane. She loves pansies and violas. I love violas.

Veg in second gr

I like the ones with faces.

Three plants for me. I did like the very black pansy but wished it was a viola instead.

More plants outside

Diane’s garden

I organized the violas and some potted up sweet peas in a tray on my rollator and turned away. Bang, here came Whiskey the dog and flipped the plants upside down. None were damaged. I thought it was just his usual four year old exuberance but learned he had mysteriously gone blind four days ago. I feel so bad for him even though he seems his usual cheerful energetic self. He’s the same age as Holly, his sister, and lives across the street. Holly got her biscuit, but without a photo as I was quite distracted at that moment.

I planted the potted sweet peas (that I’d grown all winter in a cold frame) and some sweet pea seeds out along the road, where Allan had done some weeding.

We weeded and mulched the driveway garden, planted violas in some containers (I was still too distracted to take a photo) and Allan weeded the septic vault.

The Red Barn

Garden got weeded, Cosmo got treats, we saw pretty horses. We think maybe a horse pulled out a sedum from a boot shaped planter (it got replanted).

Long Beach

We looked to no avail for the one last on-off valve in one more planter on one of the north blocks. Allan has made a tidy map of the faucets and valves for the city crew. There are two blocks that remain mysterious to them and to us. But at least the water is on and the faucets work.

Susie’s garden

Susie had a major foot surgery recently. We weeded and planted sweet peas as a get well gift and a thank you that she and Bill pick up groceries for us when they go overseas (across the river). We may have banked some future grocery favors with our weeding session today.

Sweet pea plants and seeds went along the fence.

I planted some colorful California poppy seeds in the front garden.

Allan’s weeding was particularly notable, a strip along the house where Susie wants to put pavers. I wanted to put shade plants there like some small ferns, epimediums and pulmonarias but couldn’t talk her into it!

Port of Ilwaco

I planted sweet peas plants and and the port while Allan did some weeding to keep busy. We don’t have huge success with sweet peas there. They must battle large horsetail, bindweed and snails. The few that survive are satisfying to see.

Ilwaco

We pruned some lower branches off the street tree in front of the Azure Salon, by which I mean I pointed and Allan pruned. Some of it was sticking out into the sidewalk in a way that could be quite annoying for someone six feet tall or more. I try to remember the tall people like Joey Ramone and Todd Weigardt when I prune next to a sidewalk.

I can see in the after photo how we could prune just two more parts of branches and reveal the business sign. We will take the chainsaw on a stick and do it.

The work board tonight:

My thoughts after the work days this week is that I had forgotten how hard it is to work this hard.