real time alert: our plant sale and open garden is tomorrow, Friday the 24th, and Saturday the 25th, from 10-5.
Now back to our regular narrative flow.
Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Skooter in the morning with his catnip pickle:
The weather was grey and cold, which would have been ok, but also shockingly windy, which did not feel ok at all. Fortunately, the house at our first job blocks the north wind. I was so grateful that we no longer had a job at the port; working at the Freedom Market, especially the curbside bed and the wind tunnel walkway leading to the front door, was miserable on a windy day.
J Crew Cottage
My plan was to dig up two close together Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’, one on each side of the driveway, to make room for cosmos later, and at the same time to acquire them for Diane who wanted grasses for two blue pots. There is no nursery locally which sells my particular favourite grasses, so Js’ driveway is my panicum nursery bed! I thought the grass digging and some light weeding would be easy. I had forgotten all the Spanish bluebell that needed pulling.
My panicum nursery beds, after:
We also weeded the front garden.
Ilwaco Post Office
I added two plants to our volunteer garden, one tall aster, either pink or purple, which I feared that if I put it in my plant sale, I’d find that I had sold my only copy of it (because of how much I moved my garden plants around since autumn), and one a gallon plant that I cannot identify, which is either a rudbeckia cultivar or a heliopsis, also something I might only have the one copy of. I hope they make this garden better!
Looking at this photo, I think the central clump elephant garlic is bringing down the tone, so I will remove it next time I venture out.
I can’t say I am very pleased with my efforts here. It looked so much better with the Stipa gigantea in the middle of the garden, but then the flowers would block the name of the town.
Diane’s garden
Holly was waiting for us and got her biscuit.
We potted up the panicum grasses in Diane’s new pots to liven up her enclosed front patio. Somehow no photo got taken of them and we won’t easily see them again because the patio locks from the inside. You can see the pots next to Holly, though.
Allan had some ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glory seeds from Spiffy Seeds which he planted along the fence (I also planted a few at Js’), along with a couple of lavender plants.
I did some general weeding and combed out the Stipa gigantea, which I had realized in last week’s photo…
…looked shabby in front.
Better now:
I was thrilled to find a stipa seedling with two flowering stems right next to the big one. I had noticed that on the septic vault…
….the garden which was supposed to have three well spaced Stipa gigantea has two blooming and one that was just a tuft. We dug up the pretty big seedling and replaced the sad one. Two flowers, if it doesn’t sulk and lose them, will be better than no flowers.
The Red Barn
Cosmo, the barn cat, who we haven’t seen on the last two weekly visits, appeared today but wouldn’t come out and say hello. This might have been because of the bitter cold north wind which whips across the pastures with nothing to break it. Allan had commented when we got there from Diane’s more sheltered garden that “the climate can sure change from one garden to another.” I had put on a warm sweatshirt and woolly winter scarf.
We weeded and watered.
I had intended to also check on our volunteer garden at the Ilwaco fire station. It was just too cold and miserable, and everything had taken longer than I thought it would, so that after a visit to the bank and to V’s market and to Patty’s to pick up some lovely fresh produce she had brought us from the Astoria Coop, we just went home. Allan said he’ll check the fire station garden on his own later this week. I watered my plants in containers and was very glad to get indoors at six, while Allan whipper-snippered around the garden beds in preparation for mowing soon.
We’ll have warm and comforting British beans on toast for dinner and will watch the series finale episodes of Lewis, which we have very much enjoyed (first Endeavour, then Morse, then Lewis).
We were quite sad at the end of Lewis. Such excellent characters, and writing.
I had not heard of that garden task, Stipa giganteum combing. I will tuck that away, in case I’m ever tempted to acquire that specimen. 🪮
Good luck with the garden open. Clever marketing, the book cover!
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It’s a great plant. I think you are really not supposed to cut them back except for the flowers, although we have, to good results.
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I had to laugh as you made the same typo that I do (over and over) “J Crew Cottage… My plant was to dig up” oh that “t” that our fingers naturally want to add…
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Oh my gosh I’ll have to look. I proofread it twice 😹😹😹
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To clarify for later readers, the typo was “plant” for “plan” and I missed it twice! It sure is a common one in garden blogs. I really appreciate people who catch typos and tell me so I can fix ‘em.
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I hope that the plant sale goes well. It was good to see a sweet pea. Ours are showing promise and have avoided being eaten by sparrows so far.
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