31 May: better than expected

Tuesday, 31 May 2017

The workday began late because when I was walking peacefully with a mere 1/3 watering can to the greenhouse to water my tomatoes, my back went into a spasm.  I hobbled in (after watering the tomatoes!) and stood against a door for awhile to straighten up and slathered on some Traumica, the miracle cure that Jenna gave me a sample of awhile back.  I am a skeptic about natural cures so it’s not a placebo effect when I say this stuff is amazing.

I was still somewhat disabled as we took off for work, and I felt anxious about the day.

Looked at my post office garden from my passenger seat instead of getting out to pull a weed.

Because of the late start, I decided to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow and slingshot around the sun by not doing Diane’s garden first, as originally planned.  The task awaiting there was to move about a half yard of river rocks. They had been used to edge the roadside garden.  We had stacked them against the house when we dismantled that garden for the septic installation project.  That had seemed like an ideal place until we recommended the brilliant Steve Clarke to install her new lawn.  He was going to wrap it around the side of the house, so now the rocks had to go to a new storage spot.  Maybe by end of day I’d be able to bend over to bucket up the rocks.

The Depot Restaurant

I watered; Allan ran the string trimmer by the parking area.

Depot garden today

We lowered the escallonia to make the sign show. (Allan’s photo)

The Anchorage Cottages

I filled in the planters with some painted sage while Allan did some weeding.  I put off till next week the pruning of the center courtyard virburnum, which is sneaking forward into the perennials border.  My back was feeling considerably better by now although I still moved cautiously.

our good friend Mitzu (Allan’s photo)

Anchorage center courtyard

The Planter Box

I had used up all my painted sage so needed some for Diane’s garden.

white dahlia at the Planter Box

a bit more painted sage and some fish fertilizer

some chicks (Allan’s photo)

Klipsan Beach Cottages

As we parked behind the fenced garden, we heard a great screaming ruckus up in the trees.  “It’s a bald eagle,” said Allan.  In a rather horrible way, the eagle appeared to be eating out of a stellar jay bird nest.  The jays were off to the side screaming and shrieking.  (Allan later pointed out that the jays are also known to raid other birds’ nests.)

looking up

Not a nice bird at all. (Allan’s photo)

talking back to the angry jays (Allan’s photo)

In the garden, Allan’s project was to prune the honeysuckle over an entry gate.

before

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

view from on high (Allan’s photo)

after, no longer raggedy with uppies

After weeding and grooming the garden, I took some photos for the KBC Facebook page.

driveway garden with purple and pink Geranium sanguineum

pink Geranium sanguineum

with chartreuse Lady’s Mantle

a crevice garden!

dianthus

Allium schubertii getting starrier.

Allium albopilosum just getting started

Allium bulgaricum

Thalictrum ‘Elin’ getting taller (in front of the dark pink rugosa rose)

Another angle: The thalictrum has the blue-grey foliage.

birdbath view

I asked Allan to take some photos of the big rhododendron by where we park.

The Basket Case Greenhouse

Allan’s photo

I needed to pick up some plants for one beach approach planter in Long Beach.

a hen visiting from the house next door (Allan’s photo)

another bird

hens n chicks

afternoon snack

Allan’s photo

got two of these gorgeous diascia for me

Gazania ‘Sunshine’

I also had the pleasure of picking out two baskets for our house.  (I’ll have to get photos of them later at home.)

Allan’s photo: The center basket with pink and yellow was one that I picked.

Diane’s garden

We got to Diane’s at five, prepared to move a pile of river rock.  As we entered the garden, I saw the most joyous sight:

Steve had already moved it with a back hoe!

yard looks leveled in preparation for lawn installation

Allium (Allan’s photo)

Allium albopilosum (Allan’s photo)

some of the back garden pots

I squeezed Diane’s painted sage into a couple of the pots rather than out in the garden bed by the road; that bed seems dusty now with everything that is going on.

my good friend Misty

I also got to see the new puppy, Holly, twice!  Once here, and once at our last job of the day…

The Red Barn

Diane brought Holly over while checking on Diane’s horse.

I was snubbed by a whippet again!

He breezed right by me.

Our little Red Barn garden

At home, I was able to erase more from the planting list.

Allan prepped for our first job tomorrow by hauling soil amendments two doors down.

Guest photo:  Steve and John saw an Allium bulgaricum in Astoria and sent me this photo from a small garden on Exchange, just above the Fort George Brewery:

Steve’s photo

And Melissa sent me this from THE Oysterville garden:

Melissa’s photo

 

 

 

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18 May: some accomplishments

Thursday, 18 May 2017

Captain of the good ship Ann Lovejoy

our post office garden (Allan’s photo)

creamy California poppies (Allan’s photo)

picking a peck of snails

They went into the garbage with some weeds to snack on. (Allan’s photo)

added some of my perennial begonias to the planter at Round 2 in Ilwaco

We planted up one flat of red trailies in two planters by the Cottage Bakery in Long Beach, and some blue trailies in the police station planter, and then went to…

Diane’s garden

I miss my long streetside garden! It will return eventually.

lots of pots to fill

Allan’s photo

It’s quite a production to plant many small containers.

Diane’s azalea (Allan’s photo)

Misty and Diane

Basket Case Greenhouse

at the Basket Case (Allan’s photo)

I quested for more plants to complete the Ilwaco planters.

small Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ are my favourite size to plant; making sure the base is well foliated.

Ooooh, for me, I found some old fashioned cup and saucer campanulas.

The ever patient proprietor, Darrell, listens to my plant thoughts.

Red Barn Arena

We added some gazanias to the barrels.

Allan had an audience.

Long Beach

The two planters by the Cottage Bakery had looked empty.  I don’t have my main agastaches for center plants yet, so we added some Cosmos ‘Sonata’ to just four planters (which was all the cosmos we had till next week).

Tulip ‘Formosa’ still blooming

Ooops, a car had driven into a garden, and left part of its mirror casing, too.

Narcissus ‘Baby Moon’ still blooming.  Bulb foliage mess makes it hard to have these planters look good right now.  I try to plant narcissi with more delicate foliage; some big strappy ones are left over from volunteer days.

After planting (Allan) and checking on a block and a half of planters (me), we weeded Veterans Field, and I remembered that a special Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’ was getting swamped by monarda.  Allan fixed that:

before

after

Ilwaco

Although I was mighty tired, we needed to do two little jobs when we returned to our street.

mowing the back (wet) lawn two doors down

took two passes by Allan

rhododendron behind the house to the west (used to be Nora’s parents’ house)

I weeded in the front garden of the J’s until I could weed no more; I had to give it up to finish tomorrow morning.  Seems it is pretty impossible for me to go for a nine hour work day now.  Eight is the limit.

Before, a gazillion little dwarf fireweeds. Too tired to take an after.

Allan mowed the pocket lawn in the back, and we both admired the roses.

Allan’s photos

At home, I reorganized the work board, and I cheated by erasing Ilwaco planters even though we have four more plants to put in tomorrow morning.

planting round 2, cosmos, coming up

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11 May: Bayside Garden between storms

Thursday, 11 May 2017

As one storm passed over and another was due, with far worse weather predicted for tomorrow, we arranged to visit one of our favourite gardens a day earlier than planned.

While this Willapa Bay garden merits a visit at any season, rhododendron time is its peak.  Some of the rhodos had already bloomed, starting in February. (As I was looking something up for this post, I ran across this article that I think will please rhododendron fans.)

Join us as we walk with Steve and John from the house, down through the gardens and back.   In the photo captions, which we hope are correct, R. of course means Rhododendron.  All mistakes in identification are completely mine and will soon be corrected, because Steve and John will catch them.  I have virtually no expertise in rhododendrons.  Until I began to visit this garden, I had no idea how wonderfully varied they are.

close admiration of the tomentosum (soft underside of foliage) on a trio of R. pachysanthum by the front door

One of a curve of five or six Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Vintage Gold’

John at the start of a new path laid by local landscaper Steve Clarke

A well-built Steve Clarke wall guides the path around to the pump house.

chives in the kitchen garden (Allan’s photo)

A soft and misty space between rain storms.

Allan’s photo

To our left, R. loderi ‘Venus’ carried its fragrant flowers almost out of reach this year. Underneath is the white R. ‘Olympic Lady’.

looking up into R. loderi ‘Venus’

R. loderi ‘Venus’

new foliage on an old pieris

golden Taxus (prostrate yew) embracing several plants, including R. ‘Ken Janeck’

Allan’s photo

We are looking at an Osmanthus burkwoodii that is just recovering from the winter and early spring winds…

Garden bed to the north of the driveway:

Corokia virgata ‘Sunsplash’, center

textures

Allan’s photo

shapes, including Pittosporum kohuhu (nicknamed golf ball pittosporum).  Note the twirly conifer to the lower left.  My notes just helpfully say “little twirly yellow guy.’

Steve IDs for me as Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Lutea’
(Nana Lutea Dwarf Hinoki Cypress)

Allan’s photo

Walking into the upper north gardens…

two toned pink R. ‘Perry Wiseman’ and, in the background, the white R. ‘Pohjola’s Daughter’

a wealth of pink tones on R. ‘Perry Wiseman’

Allan’s photo

a variegated wiegela, I think (Allan’s photo)

an impeccably perfect hosta

the brightness of new growth

Allan’s photo 😉

new growth on R. ‘Winsome’, a word that we agreed has fallen out of use.

This area around a tree had been the dreaded salal just two days ago, and now look:

sword ferns

Walking down toward the irrigation pond….

Tall R. ‘Beauty of Littleworth’ blooming above a pair of new rhodos

close up of the young pair, R ‘Scarlet Wonder’, in the above photo, one blooming and one not.

twins with different personalities

R. ‘Butterfly’

Allan’s photo

looking back at the de-salaled tree

R. ‘Milky Way’ with flowers like powder puffs

R. ‘Milky Way’ (Allan’s photo)

R. sinofalconeri (species) with fuzzy new leaves

R. stenopetalum

Thujopsus dolobrata

Allan’s photo

Looking south across the driveway, you can see the same full grown thujopsis that the driveway was made to curve around.

more bright new calyxes

R. ‘Susan’

R. ‘Susan’

Crossing over to the south side of the driveway…

cinnamon fern

Allan’s photo

more fuzzy new growth on R. leucaspis (species)

Steve’s favourite, ‘Starbright Champagne’

Rhododendon ‘Starbright Champagne’ blooming a couple of years ago

Looking west, I gasped when I saw (below) a vasty new area that Steve and John had grubbed out of rough undergrowth:

I know this will soon be a display of wonderful new plants.

Below is a new area created last year:

looking east

The paths are delightfully soft and springy underfoot.

impeccably pruned sword ferns by the stream ditch that bordered the estate; you can see on the other side what they look like uncared for (just brown and tatty).

new area made last year

a handsome Disporum ‘Night Heron’

strongly textured R. erosum

Allan’s photo.  The background of native meianthemum is not a favourite and will be controlled as time permits!

Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’ showing off

Allan’s photo

Athyrium ‘Goliath’, Japanese painted fern

a soft and kind Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’, no prickles!

more of the new area

Kalmia latifolia ‘Sarah’ (Allan’s photo)

perfectly trimmed deer ferns (Allan’s photo)

bluish new foliage on R. lepidostylum

R. ‘Little Carmen’

stunning new silver foliage. (The fuzz on the top of leaves is called tomentosum.) Steve says: R. sinofalconeri (like the other, smaller Vietnamese form we identified before, but this one goes 10-30′!))

(If you think I can read my notes on all these names, think again.  At least a third of these rhododendron identifications involved emails to Steve. Every time I visit this garden, I plan to spend the next winter making a proper database for my garden…and don’t.)

R. quinquefolium

R. quinquefolium , one of those you would not even guess was a rhodie!

Allan’s photo

looking back as we walk toward the house

a brief detour to look across the pond

drizzle begins (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

R. ‘Carmen’

R. ‘Medusa’

R. ‘Kodiak’

detail, R. ‘Kodiak’

Allan’s photo

mossy backdrop for R. ‘PJM Compacta’

looking back

Rain started as we approached the house…

However, despite rain, I had to see the ladies in waiting.

R. ‘Tall Timber’

Due to rain and over-excitement I only got a fuzzy photo of this amazing R. benhallii that looks like an enkianthus.

Steve told me that Professor Ben Hall at the University of Washington has finally had this rhododendron named after him.  You can read more about his research here.

a covetable euonymous

weird and wonderful R. spinuliferum

By now, the rain was quite serious.

from inside the house

the dell of evergreen huckleberries

from the north window: the succulent pump roof landscape had frozen out over the winter.

Steve showed us some photos of how the pump roof had looked in close up late last summer:

like a miniature forest, we all agreed

It was time to warm up with tea and a treat.

John’s coconut banana bread (Allan’s photo)

A torrential and noisy sheet of rain fell. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

As we finished our cake, tea, and plant talk, a beautiful light fell over the bay.

Allan’s photo

From the front door (telephoto), Steve pointed out the glow of the red maple in the far distance.

On the way down the drive, departing, we took a few more photos of the early evening light.

A silver shower of rain suddenly fell off this tree.

Allan’s photo 😉

north of upper driveway

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

a row of redtwig dogwood along the lower driveway (Allan’s photo)

by the entrance drive (Allan’s photo)

the entrance driveway (Allan’s photo)

Steve’s photo

 

Allan cropped his photo because of raindrops on the lens.  I got the full view of the driveway, above, from Steve. I asked for the names, and here they are: “From the east, R. ‘Red gold’ — then two numbered (unnamed) crosses by Jim Elliott (from Knappa).  Next, four of R. ‘Gala’ — then two (low) R. ‘Naselle” — then R. ‘Lem’s cameo’  — then three R. ‘Nadine’ with  R. ‘Golden gala’ (not in bloom this year) on the very west end [closest to the highway].”

This rhododendron-lined driveway is shared with the home next door, which has just  been listed for sale.  It was once Clarke Nursery.  We all want to see gardeners buy it, and you’d have the best neighbors in Steve and John.  Here is the listing.  Here is the garden on the Rhododendron Tour.  And here it is on the July garden tour.  Just imagine yourself driving past that line of peachy rhododendrons to your own piece of bayside paradise.

We were glad to have found a time between storms to visit.  The next day began with a pea sized heavy hail storm that I imagine might have damaged some of the blossoms at the Bayside Garden, and rain and wind continued during the whole of Friday.

Skooter enjoyed reading this blog post along with Allan.

 

 

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5 May: countdown

I was so tired while writing that I called yesterday’s post “Friday” instead of Thursday. In real time, here is a PSA:

Friday, 5 May 2017

The predicted rain storm and thirty mile an hour winds did not arrive!

I was so hoping we could accomplish a whole lot of garden tidying pre-Sunday’s parade so that we would not have to go back to Long Beach on a crowded Saturday afternoon.  (We will be attending the Saturday parade in Ilwaco, but not the Sunday one in Long Beach.)

Others in our household had no particular worries:

on the porch

Smokey and Skooter

Skooter is not to be walked on.

Peace was soon restored.

later

Ilwaco

Before leaving our block, we did two tiny garden tasks: mowing at the J’s and weeding round the Norwood garden.

We spent a little while weeding our volunteer garden at the Ilwaco Post Office.  The garden is still looking rather dull.  While we weeded, an old man said “Why don’t you plant something I like so that I’ll have something good to look at?”  While I chuckled weakly, here is a hint: Gardeners  prefer to not be teased while they are working.

dullsville garden at the moment

Depot Restaurant

Just some quick deadheading…

north side of deck

Tulips ‘Night Rider’ (left) and ‘Virichic’ (right)

Tulip ‘Flaming Spring Green’

Tulip ‘Green Wave’

Long Beach

When we got to the welcome sign and I opened the back of the van, I was momentarily appalled to see a flat of bidens sitting there, that had not been unloaded last night.  I then decided to just plant the darn things, since the welcome sign was their destination.  I would usually wait for annuals planting till the magic date of Mother’s Day (which is next Sunday).

low yellow bidens along the front edge

The tulips on the back side had gone over, every one.

all moldy and unattractive

too much rain! (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Too bad that boring moment between spring bulbs and annuals happened this weekend.

Here’s how the whole welcome sign would look if we didn’t control the horsetail:

the east end, around the faucet….

cheatin’ weedin’ with string trimmer (Allan’s photos)

The Red Barn 

Part of the weekend’s events will include a “cowboy breakfast” at the Peninsula Saddle Club.  Figuring that the patrons might spill over to the Red Barn Arena next door, we detoured to make sure the little garden there looked ok.

after some weeding (Allan’s photo)

Diane’s garden

I was eager to talk to Diane about garden plans, while deadheading her narcissi.

Misty, as you can tell, is getting older. Diane and I discuss….

The roadside garden will return as soon as a fence is built. (Allan’s photo)

Long Beach

Allan and I finished the north parking lot berm at last.

North “berm”

 I had high hopes that the second one would also be done today.  I even had a fantasy that Allan would have time to do the string trimming that is the way we handle the less planted middle berm.  I left Allan to it….

south berm

Allan’s photos:

cleaning up along the edge

…while I went to groom four blocks of tree garden and planters.

lots of Baby Moon narcissi still blooming for parade day

‘New Baby’ is white and yellow.  (really)

fringed tulips still blooming

escallonias that would like to be eight feet tall (left over from someone’s volunteer planting)

crocus foliage

I used to tidy up foliage like that before parade day.  Now I leave it, on the theory that it is good for the bulbs…and that the fuller the planter is, the less likely to be sat or stood upon.

Primulas have been blooming for weeks.

thrilled that Fifth Street Park, west side, did not need weeding

Fury: Out of 20 of these late blooming tulips in two adjacent planters, all but 7 had been stolen.

I called Allan to see how he was doing…and due to the plethora of weeds, the south berm was still not done.  We had to abort that mission so that he could de-horsetail by the Heron Pond while I tidied the north two blocks of trees and planters.

more late blooming narcissi on the northernmost block

These tulips might hang on for Sunday.

As I weeded the tree garden outside Dennis Company, a friend and business owner stopped by to tell me of her anger at a politician who had just said that “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.”  (Really? It took me less than one minute to remember two people I knew who had died of exactly that.)

As I deadheaded tulips in a planter five minutes later, a friend and valued community member walked by and told me how she and her family are seriously exploring a move to Canada.  I felt sad to hear it but I certainly understand.

Meanwhile, Allan’s project:

before

Someone had deposited painted rocks at the edge of the waterfall (without falling in).

“love” rock and some leftover easter egg decor

after

sidewalk edge, before

after

We still had the east side of Fifth Street Park to check up on with some light weeding.

Darmera peltata leaves…

and flowers (Allan’s photos)

7 PM shadows

Just last year, I would have been able to push till 8:00 PM to try to finish the berms.  Now, I find that I just cannot.  We drove by to look…and found a stack of lost buckets!  Allan said he thought he was running inexplicably short on buckets.  This is a sign of how tired we both are.

He had been too tired to remember where the buckets had gone to…. They had been just sitting by the north berm.

Nobody’s parade day is going to get ruined by some weeds in the parking lot beds and so…we are not going to finish the berms till next week.

workboard tonight

Planting Time is starting to show up on the work board.

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2 May: rainy Oysterville tulips

Wednesday, 2 May, part two

After working two jobs in the rain, we drove north of Oysterville on a mission to see the always impressive Oysterville garden’s tulip display.

Arriving in Oysterville, we took the scenic loop.

Peter and Linda’s garden

arriving at our destination in increasingly heavy rain

THE Oysterville garden

Join us in our usual walk around the garden that looks as fine in rain as it does on a perfect day.  I kept my camera pointed down between photos and felt very lucky to not get a water spot on the lens.

We walk along the roadside verge, looking in….

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

with tetranpanax and camassia (Allan’s photo)

We turn in at the driveway…

This southerly bed will have plants taller than me come summer.

Allan’s photo

the glorious terrace

at the back of the garden

The gardener puts on the crisp lawn edge with an old fashioned half moon edger.

the allée of Hydrangea ‘Incrediball’

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

onto the north lawn

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

yellow Welsh poppies

woodsy garden west of the lawn

rodgersia and camassia

Allan’s photo

primulas

Allan’s photo

 

Allan’s photo

returning to the front, to see the tulips from the inside.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

a trio of golden barberries

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Erysimum (Allan’s photo)

honesty and digiplexus

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

lunaria (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

from across the street

That opulent display of tulips was well worth the drive and the drenching stroll; in fact, I did not even notice the sensation of rain (other than being aware my camera was wet yet again).

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2 May: rainy work

Tuesday, 2 May 2017, part one

Even though more unfortunate rain had arrived, it was not such a cold and windy rain, so we decided that we could polish off two jobs and two errands and make a pilgrimage to a favourite local garden (which deserves a post of its own, tomorrow).

The Anchorage Cottages

not an ideal work day

Mitzu greets us (Allan’s photo)

I had brought four Nicotiana langsdorfii to plant.

lots of narcissi deadheads  (Allan’s photo)

sword fern unfurling (Allan’s photo)

so much scilla in the center courtyard (was there when we first started this job years ago)

center courtyard

species tulips

Some of the larger tulips in the office courtyard had just gone all moldy from rain, leaving some pots empty till annuals planting time…which is fortunately coming up soon.

just sad

I was going to put the little pot into the big pot, above, for some interest, but the sides of the little pot were also sadly moldy.  (Manager Beth said she will clean it and do the tiered pot arrangement.)

My favourite Tulip ‘Green Wave’ still looked good.

Spring bulb window boxes will be switched out for summer ones soon.

The Planter Box

We made a brief stop to buy some fertilizer and check on our cosmos seedlings.  I did not actually walk back to look at them, just got a good report from Teresa.

potted narcissi for sale

Soon we will be shopping in the big greenhouse.  Mother’s Day is my target date to start planting annuals.

Allan’s photo

Klipsan Beach Cottages

Even though the rain and wind were increasing, we knew KBC would be more sheltered from wind and figured we could stand an hour of weeding and deadheading, and we did.

Clematis in bloom

clematis and evergreen huckleberry (Allan’s photo)

ajuga at its best (Allan’s photo)

Pieris

Euphorbia characias wulfenii (deer proof, outside the fence

driveway garden

in the fenced garden

fringed tulips (Allan’s photo)

narcissus

lilies and Thalictrum ‘Elin’

Tulip ‘Green Star’

Tulips ‘Green Wave’ and ‘Flaming Spring Green’

tree peony buds

more tulips

Mary had placed out some new dianthus to plant.  Allan planted them.

Now we have more chives to plant in the port gardens!

Mary and me

We visited the rain drenched garden in Oysterville (next post) and checked on the way home if some interesting new shrubs had arrived at

The Basket Case….

where we learned that said shrubs were being fetched today.

at The Basket Case

tomato in a bag

Basket Case doggie

We were cold and wet and yet very pleased to have the Anchorage and KBC done for this week.  Now we can focus completely on parade garden prep during the next three days that are supposed to deliver nicer weather.

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28 April: Long Beach prep

Friday, 28 April 2017

a postcard promising a new exhibit at our local Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum

Today our main mission was to get Long Beach gardens as fluffed up as possible in the areas where the annual Razor Clam Festival would take place.  But first:

The Depot Restaurant’s 

….garden needed deadheading.

This is not a good beetle.  It was inside a curled up leaf.  I haven’t identified it, though.

north garden, with tulips, looked better in person

lily foliage and tulips

Long Beach

The wind and some deer damage (at the right end) have diminished the tulip display on the front of the sign.

The backside is still awesome.

We checked the planters on the west end of the Bolstad approach…

no Autumn Joy left in the most western one 😦

I felt a sense of mild and unsurprised disgruntlement and disappointment in human nature. But the Autumn Joy was not stolen from the next three planters to the east, so that was good news.

ducks on a pond or are they gulls? (Allan’s photo)

just off the beach approach, path from restroom parking lot is a pond now (Allan’s photo)

Allan then worked on the Veterans Field gardens and the north parking lot berm while I walked around and checked on all of the Pacific Way planters AND made notes on what plants each one might need.

Vet Field (Allan’s photo)

berm, before

after (Allan’s photo)

across the street from the berm (Allan’s photo)

my walk around:

the first flower on a Geranium ‘Rozanne’ recently added to a planter (and first Rozanne of the year)

red tulips to match red building

parrot tulip ‘Rococo’

note to Allan: must weed this horsetail before the parade on Sunday, May 7

No time to visit NIVA green today

must put nice edge on this little garden in Coulter Park before the parade…and weed the whole park…next week.

Sometimes vehicles make it hard to weed the tree gardens.

possibly Tulip ‘Madonna’

bud of T. ‘Flaming Spring Green’ and some cute yellow hoop petticoat narcissus

would love to find the energy to totally dig out and redo this planter of boring, once blooming blue geranium (left from volunteer days).  It is a mad runner and fills back in every time I thin it.

thrilling asphodel, last year’s birthday present from Dave and Melissa, from Plant Delights Nursery

Fifth Street Park still looking nice with mulch.

Tulip bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ STILL blooming

I called Allan to meet me at the last four planters because I was exhausted.  He weeded the very weediest street tree garden while I finished the planters.

before

after

southernmost east side planter; Allan in view weeding that difficult tree garden (right middle of photo)

We weeded at city hall and the big pop out because lots of folks will be walking by this weekend.

city hall detail with Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ (Allan’s photo)

Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’ foliage (Allan’s photo)

After checking on the Sid Snyder Drive planters…

sweet little species tulip in a Sid Snyder Drive planter (Allan’s photos)

Tulip batalinii ‘Bright Gem’ with a poppy seedling

and the kite museum garden…..

just a touch of string trimming at the kite museum….and those tatty hebes are still there!

…we filled up the rest of the day with more weeding of the north parking lot berm.

berm, weeded (Allan’s photo)

but did not QUITE get it done before time to meet Dave and Melissa at

The Cove Restaurant

two tired gardeners (Allan’s photo)

delectable clam chowder; I made Mel take her spoon out so I could get this photo.

dinner salad

Thai street prawns (spicy)

vegetable stir fry

fish and chips (Allan’s photo)

curry fish dinner (Allan’s photo)

Melissa and I always agree that our North Beach Garden Gang dinner is the highlight of our week.

All of us had been working hard to the point of pushing ourselves to the limit and it felt mighty good to sit and eat and talk about gardening.

Tomorrow: I hope to work in my own garden!  We won’t be attending the clam festival; you can read about it from a past year here.

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