16 May: planting day one

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

The Red Barn

After a slow start due to cat antics, we finally got to the Red Barn. The first I noticed was that the Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ had dried up in the planter by the barn door. In the background, barn cat Cosmo waited for petting, not much of which was forthcoming because I didn’t have much time for a petting break.

I had not brought a plant for that space, so we just transplanted a Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ from the garden and added two red diascias.

Two of the three other barrels in the garden bed had lost their Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ over winter and got new ones, and some diascias; some of last year’s diascias have survived. These planters have to be tough because they don’t get much water. They couldn’t have cactus or agaves because a horse or dog might get poked.

Bentley and Quinn appeared, requesting biscuits.

Holly appeared on the run from Diane’s next door for her biscuit; she got half.

Cosmo was very disappointed in me today.

Diane’s garden

I cleaned up lots of bulb foliage and planted annuals in the containers.

Allan planted cosmos in the driveway garden.

Holly got her other half biscuit.

While I finished the containers, Allan planted cosmos down the middle of the septic vault garden.

Although the containers look sparse now, they will fill in. I wish I had time to go overseas (across the Columbia River) to seek out some more unusual plants than the local offerings, but…I do not. And Diane really likes the old standbys and will be happy with this.

Port of Ilwaco

Allan watered at Time Enough Books and the Freedom Market

Ceanothus at Time Enough.

At Freedom Market, the Tiger Eyes sumac that I had planted and thought was dead is finally leafing out! I thought it was a goner.

The entry garden is difficult, as I knew it would be, because people walk in it to jump the log.

The curbside bed is more successful.

I watered at home.

I was pleased that my Davidia ‘Lady Sunshine’and my full moon maple had come through the heat wave still looking fresh.

Fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’

Nickel enjoyed his couch.

When Allan got home, he saw a frog (one of many that make a deafening evening chorus) in the water canoe.

After watering, I had to put all the gardening books back on the shelf because of the morning’s cat escapade (yesterday’s post). We had moved the shelf back against the wall so that it no longer provides a secret cave for cats. The books seemed to have multiplied during the day. My plan to have them all organised failed and they ended up stuffed in till autumn or another too hot or too windy or too rainy day off.