Tuesday, 17 May 2022
While there is still plenty of planting to do at home and some additional plants needed in a couple of parks, probably cosmos when the ones I’m growing get big enough, the main push of Long Beach planters is done. What a relief. I hope we don’t have to replace any Cosmos ‘Sonata’ if a 39 mph wind comes tomorrow. Tiresome. Couldn’t wait any longer as need the planters looking fresh and nice for the big Memorial Day weekend.
We started at the welcome sign, where I realized I needed one more Agyranthemum ‘Butterfly‘ and two more uppies for a planter. How could I be one short on uppies? But I needed some plants for one small Ilwaco planter for local artist Wendi Peterson, so a trip to the Basket Case would be in order if we could find time. We needed to knock off hours early for a port commissioners zoom meeting, where public comment would be devoted to the port’s lease to the company that is evicting mobile home park residents. (That’s what tax records classify it as, a more protected category than an Recreational Vehicle park, when it comes to evictions.) So we were in an all fired hurry and had even started work almost two hours earlier than usual.
While I added cosmos to seven planters, Allan redid a couple of planters by the Veterans Field stage with red salvia and some red diascias and yellow bidens. I didn’t succumb to adding blue. I didn’t have anything blue left, nor did I have anything white.
He weeded the arc garden, which unfortunately had not gotten weeded before a time capsule centennial shindig that happened at the park last weekend. My fault, I have fallen out of practice at following the LB schedule for which park should get special attention when.
We did some tidying of a tiny parklet. A hydrangea had been blasted by the cold.
He helped me finish up by pushing some plants firmly into the soil in the big Lewis and Clark Square planter. I am hoping the rain forecast for tomorrow comes true so we don’t have to water them later this week.
Then off to refill the plant supply.
Basket Case Greenhouse
Back to Long Beach
I had acquired two white diascias so had Allan switch them out with the yellow bidens at the stage planters while I planted the last two uppies in a street planter.
We added the one last Agyranthemum to the welcome sign. While shopping, I had realized that I may have been buying a new one called ‘Vanilla Butterfly’ with bigger paler flowers. So now I have one bright yellow one. Or not. I am all mixed up. It was not intentional, as bright yellow was my goal. Sigh.
Ilwaco
We made it home, greeted by a neighbor, Cheyenne…
…in time to burble the rest of the new plants in a bucket of water before our zoom. The public comments were heartfelt, well thought out, and on point. At the end, one local citizen had some very stern words for the port commissioners. I just pointed out that it was easy to Google the new owners of the park and see that their park business model has been written up unfavorably in a couple of newspapers.
The meeting lasted for a over an hour; we felt it would be rude to leave zoom before it was over, but eventually we did so that we could get more work done. As we left home, I noticed a triad of golden foliage in our front garden.
We planted up Wendi’s planter, color coordinated with her gallery, which is known for its window displays…
…and then spent probably an hour on our very weedy volunteer garden at the post office.
“I just pointed out that it was easy to Google the new owners of the park and see that their park business model has been written up unfavorably in a couple of newspapers.”
And you have to wonder why this did not happen. Renoviction is not something new, it has been a peril for many regions for years. You would think, that any government department, be they port or city, that deals with land leases, would be at the top of their game making sure that bad outcomes are mitigated.
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I had not heard the useful word renoviction. Very useful. Thank you.
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I hope that people were paying attention to you.
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