23 August: work and wilt(?)

Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Yesterday, I noticed some disturbing wilting on the Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’ by the garage.  I posted a couple of photos to Facebook this morning….

By the time we got to our first job, Ann Lovejoy had replied that it might be verticillium wilt. (One of the greatest things about Facebook is being Facebook friends with gardeners I admire.)  Anxious Googling ensued.  Turns out this is all too common a disease.  I’m amazed now that I’ve escaped having it in all the years I have gardened.  Just in case that is for sure what my Quicksilver has, I realized it might have to be removed.  It was a daunting thought on my mind all day.  What if it spread to my Japanese maples or worse yet my new Acer campestre that I want to see get huge?  However….I had to turn my mind to work.  I will admit I was googling verticillium all day between jobs.  I learned that Eleagnus is especially susceptible to it.  And that maybe Davidia is not; I certainly hope that is true because my beloved Davidia ‘Sonoma’ grows in the same bed.

The Depot Restaurant

north garden

Red Barn Arena

Allan’s photo, before

and after trimming Shasta daisy foliage

Allan trimmed and watered while I walked across the pasture to…

Diane’s garden

Misty hobbles across the pasture to greet me.

The toll was a belly rub.

Arriving at Diane’s, I immediately noticed that the septic box thingie had been cleared of weeds.

an empty palette for planting

My inspiration for planting this will be Somsri’s garden.

Misty again

the roadside garden

I look forward to a fence being put up along the road edge of the lawn so that the narrow verge garden can be replanted.

I weeded next to the porch….

…and petted Holly’s paws and schnozz.

a narrow gap by the wall

AlLan joined me just as I was planting a stray penstemon into the septic garden.

Long Beach

While passing through town, we made an emergency stop to stake and tie a gladiola.

Allan’s photo before it was fixed

The Anchorage Cottages

Mitzu (Allan’s photo)

The key drop box had a new resident who Beth was afraid  would get hurt if someone dropped keys into the box.

way down inside….this little frog comes out sometimes.

bikes to borrow (maybe guests’ bikes, too)

sweet peas

center courtyard

north end of center courtyard with walk through to west lawn

Bells of Ireland

The Planter Box

We stopped just to say hi to Theresa, whom we had not seen for awhile.

in the big greenhouse

fuchsias and begonias (Allan’s photo)

succulents (Allan’s photo)

by the entryway

pretty little portulaca (moss roses)

After a brief visit and some moaning about my possible verticillium wilt, we headed back to work at…

Klipsan Beach Cottages

…where after an hour of weeding and deadheading, I took some photos for the KBC Facebook page.

looking in the east gate

the birdbath view

bright new rose foliage

Strobilanthes atropurpureus

Helenium

I love this plant.

lilies and Thalictrum ‘Elin’

threadleaf coreopsis and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Soleirolia soleirolii (baby’s tears) was one of my grandma’s favourite plants.

cottages on the ridge

sit spot under Tetrapanax ‘Steroidal Giant’

clipped some ivy to reveal a frog

sanguisorba

St Francis in the dog memorial garden (Allan’s photo)

We had time for more work, so on the way home we weeded in Long Beach at

Veterans Field….

where the flag pavilion garden is getting taken over by Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’.

I like it.

home

I clipped and clipped at the Eleagnus branches and the more I clipped, the more I knew the whole plant had to go. (One gardening source said to “put the bed [where verticillium wilt occurred] to lawn for 15 years”.  !!!)  Teresa advised soil removal, as did other sources….  I think I am instead going to try planting resistant plants here.

Allan helping

Huge roots invading in all directions is one reason it had to go.

Looks like it had nitrogen fixing roots…just too many of them.

I don’t know if this cut shows verticillium wilt inside or not.

It is gone. I moved a volunteer cotoneaster to take its place for now.

From the past…Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’ by our garage fills the whole front garden with fragrance right now.

Sure looks different without it.

I had originally planted it for privacy in case a bad neighbour moved into Nora’s house.  Now we have Devery next door and we dote on her, so having the big shrub gone is not a problem.  I would like a cool eucalyptus for the spot; they resist verticillium wilt.

And of course, we also have Devery’s dear little Royal as our neighbour next door as well.

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30 May: round three

Tuesday, 30 May 2017

before work

I had had very little sleep because my mind was consumed by having found online a notice about a garden tour by the Master Gardeners of Pacific and Grays Harbor County…on July 15th.  I had thought it was the 22nd, and had been feeling sad (and kinda guilty) that Allan would therefore miss a barge trip to Long Island, also on the 22nd.  My mind was whirling since I had found the July 15th tour after he was asleep…Could it be that the tour was actually not going to conflict? Or was the one I found online a completely different tour?  I sent messages at 2 AM to everyone who might have an answer and then woke up “early” and had to check.  No answer yet!  I made a morning phone call to a contact number (not something I could do at 2 AM).   I got my reply in a delightful return phone call from a tour organizer (who invited us to come see her garden this summer, as well). The tour, by the same group that did the brilliant Aberdeen tour last year, IS on July 15th, in the South Bend area, so Allan can have the best of all worlds.    This made me very happy.  In our conversation, I told her how impressed I am that the tour criteria includes that the gardens be not entirely visible from the street, thus real secret gardens, and also that they be educational.  You might think I know a fair amount about gardening.  Nevertheless, I learned some valuable garden tips from last year’s tour. You might want to put it on your calendar.

I was even happier when I found out from Todd that the barge trip had not opened to booking, so Allan had not missed out by not having registered yet.

In a great mood, I went out back to dig up a couple more plants to add to a batch that I was leaving in the driveway for a brand new gardener who had asked the “Peninsula Gardeners” Facebook group for some starts.

back garden, center bed

east bed

Calvin following me

digging a clump of snail chomped Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’

wild cucumber vine (Allan’s photo)

a new climbing rose by our driveway (I’ll have to look up the name)

Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’ by our garage fills the whole front garden with fragrance right now.

Dutch iris ‘Eye of the Tiger’

Iris hollandica ‘Eye of the Tiger’

We set off with six flats of Salvia viridis (painted sage) and a few other plants for Long Beach.

On the way, the Ilwaco Post Office got two of each of the three colours of sage.

Long Beach

We were lucky to immediately snag a good parking spot that gave us easy access to 7 planters, including the big Lewis and Clark Square planter.

an excellent beginning

The Clammer

I quit taking photos at this point because a day of all planting is not my favourite gardening thing.   Here are some previous summers’ photos of what the salvia looks like and why I like to have it in the planters:

Salvia viridis (painted sage) at KBC

Salvia viridis (painted sage)

Painted sage comes in pink, white, and blue. Its colour comes from its bracts.

All Allan’s photos till dinnertime:

California poppy needs thinning before planting salvias.

fabulous asphodel still blooming

I found another poor little smashed lavender.

other side of same planter, lavender not smashed.  It is so hard to attain symmetry what with the smashing and thievin’.

Speaking of symmetry: a broken off bunch of Agastache stems…

So now one in a planter looks like this…

I had run across a photo of the circle garden in Coulter Park from a year when I had it planted with cosmos.  Recalling that I had stopped planting annuals there because a sprinkler head was broken which I think is now fixed, I decided I would try again this year.  In the old photo, below, is the bronze fennel that we have removed because it is now listed as noxious.  Damn it all, it is a fine looking plant in the background.

Coulter Park, 4 August 2012

during tidying and planting the same circle, today

after; We may have to hand water this when watering the planter across the street from it.

We had also better half moon edge before a string trimmer takes those salvias out.

I asked Allan to photograph the blue veronica in a planter by Fifth Street Park.  Unfortunately, it has a short bloom time, so even though it is spectacular, it’s not a good planter choice.

Veronica

Trying to reach all outer edge plants with water.

Armeria (sea thrift) and a hardy geranium in a planter that is thick with perennials.

This perennial style planter (above), left from volunteer days, is spectacular right now but doesn’t have much to offer in midsummer.

poor little cosmos with purple leaves because the nights are still chilly.

We finished the planters and added some cosmos to the west side of city hall.  While I set them up, Allan went to the easternmost section of the Bolstad beach approach garden to clip some rugosas that were edging out into the street.  The beach approach is spectacular with roses right now.  I wish they were repeat bloomers.

rugosa rose, single pink

Rosa rugosa ‘Alba’

The Dutch iris are in a planter.

At city hall, I asked Allan to remove a tatty old grass.

before

much better

A couple of empty spots had called for cosmos. The spots will probably disappear by July from overgrowth of larger plants.

Patty from the World Kite Museum stopped by to update us on some landscaping plans there, and a good thing, too, because seeing her reminded me to plant some salvias there.  I would have forgotten till we were home.

garden talk

We planted at the Kite Museum even though a kind neighbour was pressure washing the sidewalk.  His machine had a less annoying note than most.

at the kite museum

salvias in

kite museum garden with Alliums and Agastache ‘Acapulco Salmon and Pink’

On the way home, our van decided to take us around the block in Seaview to have an impromptu dinner at

The Depot Restaurant

Allan’s photo

well budded Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ in the Depot garden (Allan’s photo)

summer menu: Asian salad, delicious

Steak Killian (Allan’s photo)

extra good taters

Ilwaco

At home, Allan nipped across the street to mow the J’s lawn, probably one of the smallest lawns ever to be hired out.

time to mow but not to weed in the river rock corner

by our garage: tiny Eleagnus flowers with powerful sweetness

It’s a mad runner and is putting up sprouts far from the parent plant. (Lower middle edge of photo)

Skooter’s dignified greeting

two of three hydrangeas waiting to be planted at Norwoods.

planting list getting smaller

 

 

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3 May: planting at Jo’s

Tuesday, 3 May 2016

The work board just underwent a big change.

as it was

as it is now, entering planting time

The cosmos will be planted after Mother’s Day; some of the other plants can go in now.

Smokey attends to my breakfast plate.

Smokey attends to my breakfast plate. (Allan’s photo)

post office garden

Jo’s garden

Fred had delivered Jo’s large purchase this morning and it awaited us.

flats all line up

Jo gave me a beautiful floral quilt, with roses.

Jo and I survey the work to be done.

I have now been working for Jo for 21 years.  When she hired me, she was a year younger than the age I am now.

placing some plants in the northwest bed

supervisor (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

more plants lined up (Allan’s photo)

all in (Allan’s photo; he always plants this area)

I thought I saw Allan taking photos of our friend Coco, the King Charles Spaniel.  I was mistaken and wish I had taken one myself. Oops.  Coco was especially interested in the squirrel.

I walked around after the four and half hour planting session and took some photos of the results.

looking in the east gate

by the deck

from The Basket Case, already planted

Some of Jo’s favourite snapdragons went in here.  We’ll plant cosmos soon.

middle courtyard

Siberian iris

northwest bed from middle courtyard

northwest bed

west bed

Siberian iris

looking back

We’ll return in a week with lots of cosmos and some more special perennials.

Long Beach

I found out today that the planters in Long Beach that were going to be dug up, now are not, at least not till next fall.  We had time to go to city works, get the last two buckets of our soil from our pile and fill up the one that had been partially dug a couple of months ago. It is a relief that the digging is postponed.

I had an ornamental grass and some euphorbia starts to pop into one of the parking lots berms.  After pleasant weather at Jo’s, an icy cold wind had risen and I was glad we just had a small amount of work left to do today.

corner garden, Veterans Field

a pleasing show of alliums

south parking lot berm with kniphofia from my mom’s old garden

at home

I had a quick walk round the garden.

Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’

covered in little yellow flowers

with intoxicating fragrance

in Allan’s garden

by the greenhouse, Eccremocarpus scaber came through the winter.

Clematis, mostly blooming on the other side of the fence!

more clematis blooming on Jared and Jessika’s side.

Smokey did not want me to go out again.

However, we had a plan for the early evening.

Salt Hotel Pub

“Learn about the early origins of the United States Coast Guard with Stephen Wood, Interpretive Specialist at Cape Disappointment, Washington State Park, as he presents a Salty Talks presentation, ‘Storm Warriors: the United States Life-Saving Service’. With historical photos and anecdotes, this program will provide a glimpse into the lives of “surfmen” as they served at the Cape Disappointment and Klipsan Beach Life-Saving Stations. This Salty Talks presentation will take place upstairs at the Salt Pub, Tuesday, May 3rd at 6:30pm. The event is free and open to the public. Come early or stay late for a bite and a brew.”

at Salt Hotel Pub (Allan’s photo)

view from our table:  The Coast Guard station, and before that some of the Life Saving Service, is located at the base of that wooded bluff.

Allan’s photo

dinner

Betsy Millard, director of Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, announcing upcoming exhibits  (Allan’s photo)

Stephen Wood  (Allan’s photo)

In the opening remarks, Stephen Wood praised Julez and Laila for the amazing job they have done with this old hotel.

and a full house for the fascinating historical talk

Ilwaco Beach is now known as Klipsan Beach.  Fort Canby is now known as Cape Disappointment State Park (but we oldtimers still call it Fort Canby sometimes).

Allan says the semaphore is spelling out the word “Guards”.

We left just at the end, before the questions, because it takes me a long time to go down the stairs backwards.

Tomorrow, cold 30 MPH wind is predicted and it would be mighty tempting to stay home and read.  Surely no plants want to be planted in such miserable weather.

1998 (age 74):

May 3:  I actually did some plant work today.  I started checking my violets after watching 3 basketball games.  I  cut back several plants (now I have about 50 leaves to root).  I repotted 3 trays of violets.  I even worked after the 11:00 news.  I wasn’t sleepy so I potted till 1:00.

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15 May: Annuals Planting Time continues

Friday, 15 May 2015

Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver’ by our driveway

This may be the first year it has bloomed with tiny, intoxicatingly fragrant flowers.

on the way out of Ilwaco, some deadheading of Narcissus ‘Baby Moon’ at city hall; the two dead flowers had been bugging me for two days.

Long Beach

We began with adding a lot of cosmos to the back side of the Long Beach welcome sign.

Cosmos ‘Sonata’ set to go in (Allan’s photo)

all in  (Allan’s photo)

front side, with cosmos added (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Taking up where we left off yesterday, we continued the planting of Cosmos ‘Sonata’ on the two northernmost blocks of planters.  As we worked, blog reader and Facebook friend Merry presented us with two delicious cookies that gave us a boost of energy.

Thank you, Merry!

Allan’s photo

the very last of the tulips (and a variegated Euonymous left over from volunteer planter days)

Some of the planters were planted up, back in the day, by volunteers, with full sized shrubs that require lots of shearing and that allow little room for annuals.  They certainly are beautiful (most of them) and those planters are the easiest to take care of.  I would like to redo one further south that is just red azaleas and is quite dull all summer long.

the newly redone planter by Dennis Co; I can manage to redo just two or three a year.

Diane’s garden and The Red Barn

After the last planter had its cosmos, we headed north for more plants, stopping to count up how many we will need to plant Diane’s containers.

the roadside garden at Diane’s, with Stipa gigantea (ornamental grass)

Allan strimming at The Red Barn Arena

Our quiet rechargeable weedeater doesn’t scare the horses.

The Basket Case Greenhouse

I now had a list of exactly what I needed to finish the annuals planting in Long Beach.

the gatekeeper of the “employees only” greenhouse where we get to shop

Allan’s photo

Kitty accompanies us all around the nursery. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

After collecting our plants, Fred and Nancy and I perused the new availability list for cool plants to order.

Basket Case Nancy and Fred (not to be confused with Garden Tour Nancy)

What to buy….Some Sanguisorbas and Agastaches!

Andersen’s RV Park

Next stop, Andersen’s.  Rose ‘Climbing Cecile Brunner’ is in bloom over the picket fence arbour.

Climbing Cecile Brunner

Allan cleared all the old bulb foliage from Leucojum (Summer Snowflake) from the white brick planter by the house and planted begonias.

Two wheelbarrow loads of foliage came out.

after planting some begonias and New Guinea impatiens

Allan’s photo

We added some assorted Calibrachoa to the Payson Hall planters at Andersen’s.

Payson Hall

All the time, I feel weird about planting them as my feelings tell me it is about to sell.  After all this worrying about my newly planted babies, it will be funny and kind of a relief if we end up working there all summer after all, even though I so very much want one less big job.

planting Payson Hall

Long Beach again

Finally, we added some godetia and blue bacopa to the sidewalk end of the Long Beach welcome sign.

Allan’s photo

We had worked till dusk, and the spotlights were on at the welcome sign.  The last thing I wanted to do was more planter work.  However, on the way home through Ilwaco I saw an annoying sight: a plant pulled up and just left sitting on top of one of the planters.

“Stop the car!” I yelled at this sight.

“Whyyyyyyyy?!?!?!”

The plant was one I had mentally slated for replacing, and we had a fresh new non-leggy Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ to go in its place. I noticed something else really weird at the same corner but in the gathering dusk I did not have the time or energy to do more than take a picture and wonder what had happened, and then put it out of my mind till later; the plants under one of the street trees were just…flat…What the heck???

It would be a couple of  days before I had time to take a closer look at this tree garden. Something is wrong.  Why is it flat?  Too tired to think about it.

At home, the work board got just a bit more erasing.

All the Andersen’s annuals are in and the cosmos are planting in all the Long Beach planters.

I forgot to add this photo from yesterday:  I thought the colours in Nellie’s garden, seen on the way home, with the yellow house to the south as backdrop, looked stunning.

Look how the top of the hedge, all aglow, is almost the same colour as the yellow house,

 

 

 

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