21 Sept: more than expected

Thursday, 21 September 2017

Ilwaco post office garden

I always think I do not like the yellow evening primrose. And yet look how pretty this accidental one is.

Long Beach

We began Long Beach at city hall with the plan of pulling a lot of the Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and then then clearing out the boring Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ planter by the gazebo, getting new soil in buckets from city works, and redoing the planter with the plants we had brought with us.

cars and flowers meet at the edge of the parking lot

There is a whole wall of Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ on the south of the west side (not planted by us! I would have picked something else.)

before

I set out to clip back the Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’ from the sidewalk.

I then noticed that one of the two escallonias had produced three feet of new growth and decided to clip it away from the building.  Look who I found while clipping:

Pacific tree frog and snail

I am so glad I got that photo just before froggie jumped off.

As I clipped the escallonia, Parks Manager Mike drove by and called out a request, that we clip back the roses on the big pop out, one block south, because of sight line issues.  That changed the day’s plan considerably.  Soon after, I decided to cut the escallonia down very low so that it would better match the much smaller one at the other end of the garden.  Meanwhile, I asked Allan to take the pick and remove the big armeria on the corner by the escallonia; it was a haven for creeping buttercup and was too far out over the wall.

Allan’s photos: before…

and after

after

While Allan finished, I clipped back the huge Aruncus (goats beard) on the north side.

during

after

The aruncus has gotten too big for that spot.  Later this fall, we plan to dig it out and put it somewhere in Fifth Street Park (with a division going to my garden; it originally came from my previous garden).

Very little Crocosmia got pulled. 

The one thing we went there to do hardly got done at all.

Before even going to the pop out, we had so much debris that we had to dump.  We need revitalizing, yet the coffee drive through had four cars waiting so Allan said “Let’s go to the two guys.”  I knew exactly what he meant: Abbracci Coffee Bar, owned by Tony and Bernardo.

a Pink Poppy Bakery shortbread

fifteen minutes of relaxation

and a dulcimer player

Allan’s photo

While we were by Fifth Street Park for our coffee break, we went ahead and deadheaded there.

fall crocus (Allan’s photo)

At two o clock, the post-tourist season town was so quiet.

SW quadrant looking grand with Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’.

9-21-17

Next: the big pop out project.  As we parked, I thought that there was no way the sightline could be blocked by the rugosa roses.

before: You’d look left, and you’d look right when you were further out….

However, in recent years we have taken the pick and tried to push the roses back (to no avail, but at least they stayed shorter for the summer).  I did not mind cutting them.  I had told Mike I wished we could redo the whole thing, rebuilding the wall and putting in all new soil.  By we, I mean the city crew and big equipment.

after; we will prune the rest of the roses down hard later.

As we were working on this, a fellow on a motorcycle stopped and wanted to give us a $20 tip.  The same thing, with a different man, happened in Long Beach a couple of weeks ago, and that time I was able to kindly refuse.  Today’s gentleman would not take a refusal; he tucked the $20 in among the stems of the rugosa roses (and we did not leave it there).

A kitty came to visit.

Her roundness reminded me of my Mary.

With another full trailer, we made another run to city works, and this time we filled buckets with soil for the original project, redoing a city planter. 

While Allan got started digging the boring old geraniums out of the planter, I walked four blocks worth of planters to deadhead.

I saw a pug.

And the pug saw me.

On my walkabout, I collected some Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, some creeping succulents, and some cut leaf saxifrage and then joined Allan at the planter project.  The sun had become hot, and the town had become busy with lots of onlookers, and we only had two hours to get the project done before a social event. The Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ roots are so pervasive that we had to dig a lot of soil out.  Even then, I thought maybe we had not dug enough.  I was afraid to put in the two Geranium ‘Rozanne’ that I brought.  Rozanne (blooming from late spring to first frost) is related to Johnson (which blooms for about a month, if that), and if Johnson got mixed up with Rozanne, then Johnson could use Rozanne as a base to try to take over the whole planter again.  I’ll wait to see how much JB sprouts back before I add Rozanne to this planter. Allan took all the photos here.

before

before

after; we salvaged two santolinas and two agastaches.

after

As the sun was setting, we checked on the kite museum garden.

kite museum (Allan’s photo)

During our planter re-do, I had gotten a text that changed our dinner plans.  We had been going to meet Dave and Melissa at El Compadre Mexican Restaurant for our weekly dinner.  Instead, we were all invited to the home of Lynn, who until recently was our beloved server at the Cove.

sun setting as we arrive (Allan’s photo)

Our destination was next door to Gene’s garden, which you may remember from the 2013 local garden tour.

Here was Gene’s garden in 2013:

And here it is now, with the changes that Gene made since then:

good job, Gene!

in 2013…

and now with a new west facing deck

Gene’s cottage

Next door, pretty porch lights welcomed us to Lynn’s cottage.

She had stocked the cooler with our favourite cider.

The cottage inside was every bit as perfectly beachy as the best Cannon Beach Cottage.

windowsill lights with shells

Bitty protecting her lair

Chloe was much friendlier than Bitty (who warmed up to us eventually).

my new friend

Chloe’s nook

We dined with seven friends on a pizza assortment and snacks. With Dave and Melissa, we stayed till late, sharing thoughts and stories.

At home, I found it satisfying to erase “planter re-do” from the work board.

 

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Aug 7: Garden club tour, part three

We had three gardens left to see as I toured with Ann’s garden club from Vancouver, Washington.

Next was Jo’s garden, always a big favourite on a garden tour.  Ann had seen it before but agreed that it was even better this year.

entering Jo and Bob’s little paradise

honeysuckle arbour and gate

I have seen over and over how joyous expressions accompany Jo’s garden.

This colourful garden brings happiness.

Lavatera and Cosmos

taking pics and taking notes

chatting with Jo

A suspenseful situation was brewing while we were at Jo’s.  The next garden was to be Gene’s garden, and because of the story of how it had been created by him and his late wife Peggy,  it mattered to me greatly that he be there.  There is something that happens after a garden tour if you are going through a hard time in life.  The tour preparation can be very absorbing and distracting, and the tour day is an exhilarating high…and then one crashes and reality sets in.  This happened to my friends Tom and Judy when their garden was on tour while he was going through chemo.  Right after the tour, reality hit them with a thud.  (I am happy to say he is fine over a year later!)  The same happened to Gene:  the let down after tour day and all the memories that he was able to share about Peggy’s garden.  I knew having Ann’s club come through the garden would be a pick me up, just as it was last year for Tom and Judy.  So  I called him as soon as we got to Jo’s to say we would be at his home in about half an hour.  He told me there was a problem:  he had to meet briefly with an engineer.  He’s the Long Beach City Administrator so has many responsibilities.  I decided (conspiring with Ann) that I had to delay the tour, somehow, even though the garden club members were getting hungry…so after Jo’s, I took them next door to see the garden at the Boreas Inn, just two doors north.   The beautiful interior of the inn (which we walked through) and the gardens on the west side between the inn and the dunes kept them occupied for a little while longer.  I was so anxious about timing that I forgot to take any photos of them there.

After that, I could delay no longer and we went to the south end of Long Beach to Gene’s garden:  The Peggy Miles Memorial Garden.  Gene had not yet returned…

the garden club at Gene’s

Ok, if he could not meet them, I decided I would at least have a photo for him, and I gathered the club members in the courtyard.  (They had already oohed and ahed over its every detail.)

Ann is third from the right.

But then, as they began to leave the courtyard, I had an idea.  I did not want them to miss the essence of this garden, so I called to Ann to get them to wait while I looked something up on my iPhone.  Of course, it took a long time to load…and I could not find the photo that I needed on Facebook…and then I remembered Debbie Teashon’s beautiful article about the garden on her website, Rainyside.com.  I knew the photo was there…and it loaded.  So I exerted all my crowd control and gathered the ladies back into the courtyard.  I said, “You must hear these words to understand this garden completely.  This was what Gene wrote and had on a display of photos of Peggy and her garden for the guests to read on tour day.”  And I read from my little phone screen, somehow without crying:

Gene’s story of the garden

The garden club was so moved, all were misty eyed, and one was weeping.  They expressed awe at how beautifully written the words were.   We then went around to the front of the townhouse so I could get one last photo of the group for Gene.

around the house for a photo

One group member said she was still crying.  As I took the photo…he drove up!  You can see the members of the club turning their heads as his car turns into the drive.

My mission was complete, and there was a little time for visiting.  Gene was told how much they appreciated what he wrote, and that they were not sure all husbands would do the same for their wives.  The mood was lightened when I said that is exactly what had been heard on tour day:  Women saying “I don’t think my husband would do this for me!”  Gene spoke of how he had gone to grief counseling and learned that you really do not “get over” such a loss, and it is okay, or good, to not get over it.  (Who would want to “get over” someone they loved?)

Gene and the garden club talk of love and loss.

After that, we had only my garden to walk through.

Ann’s garden club in my garden

an Eryngium being admired

We walked round all the beds and talked plant talk.   The garden club is comprised of women who, I realized when I rode around with them, talk of country clubs and travel at an economic level that is miles beyond my working class life, but they have just as much interest in a good garden attached to a humble “double wide trailer” as they do in a fine garden in a gated community like Butterfly Shores.  I like that.

more attention for the Eryngium!

And then they all departed to have their lunch, with lots of appreciation for their tour day, leaving me with the late afternoon and evening to do my own preparations for the edible garden tour which would be just four days hence.

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August 5: Gene>Jo>Crank’s Roost

Monday, August 5th, we needed to do a check up on Gene’s and Jo’s gardens because on the 7th, I would be coming around with a ladies’ gardening club.

Gene’s garden, the Peggy Miles Memorial Garden

Looking west from the street: Gene’s garden would catch any gardener’s eye.

the street-side garden

the obligatory painted sage photo!. Courtyard gate and veg box in background.

I knew the courtyard would be a big hit with the garden club.

the cozy, shady courtyard (looking north from the gate)

a blue Scabiosa from 7 Dees

I love this flower that Gene acquired and planted.

One of Gene’s containers

featuring a fabulous annual verbena that he found somewhere!

His little drainage garden is going strong and I knew the club would love it.

drainage area by the street

We did some very light weeding and deadheading just to make it perfect.

Jo’s garden

Jo and Bob were still out of town so we put in a good session of deadheading and weeding while I worried about whether they would be back in time for the garden club.  Without them, the water feature in the patio would not be functioning and it adds so much to the garden.  (I won’t leave you in suspense:  They did get back.)

the newest perennial planting, still luscious

lily still blooming, waiting for Jo’s return

and another

and another

and more

and more

the tall dark red one

another, with daisies

and one in bud

I was so very pleased that the lilies would still be blooming for Jo; had been afraid she would miss their biggest show.

looking west

view from the deck, looking northeast

on the deck

Crank’s Roost

We ended the day with a weeding and pruning visit to Crank’s Roost.  This might be our last visit to this garden that we took on a couple of years ago.  No, four years ago!  It is about to be sold, but its owners are very likely moving to another garden which we quite admire.

It was rather poignant taking the last photos of the garden after we were done.

front porch

front window

patio

hammock

back porch

north side

The north side of the cottage is the area we have worked most on, developing paths and plantings in what was a boggy wilderness.

shady sit spot

I had planned to plant lots more lilies…

From outside the gate…closed for maybe our last visit here.

maybe the last photo…as we leave

I did not get all verklempt about it.  At some time in the next 12 years, I am going to have to let go of a lot of gardens as I doubt I can keep working this hard into my late 60s.

At home, I had another edible success:  a really quite impressive salad from the garden!

less than a week till the August 11th edible tour!

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July 30 and 31: work (lilies!)

As I continue to catch up with the work blog….

July 30

We begin at the Port where the garden at Time Enough Books needs some water.

I admire the Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ which is at its peak in the gardens on the north side of the Port Office.

looking east

looking west

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’

Then…on to Gene’s garden in south Long Beach.  It is still looking very good from the tour, but I am going to be guiding a garden club tour there on August 7, so we want to make sure it is deadheaded thoroughly to keep the cosmos going.  (I have no idea why I write some posts in present and some in past tense, if any editor types are wondering.)

front (SW) corner of street-side garden

painted sage at east end of street-side garden

I never tire of painted sage and hope my 50? readers don’t either!

looking east

I spy a hummingbird on the Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’!

garden detail

in the courtyard

Gene’s upcycled pallet composter and how it opens at the base

courtyard table

Gene planted this Farfugium on the shady courtyard wall.

looking south in the courtyard

Some fragrant lilies would be amazing along the east fence of this courtyard.  Gene would have to diligently protect the new sprouts from slugs.  The scent would fill up the space.

From the outside, just a hint of the courtyard’s beauty

Next, we go to Jo’s, also with the purpose of watering and deadheading while Jo and Bob are out of town.  (I can only say this because I am writing it three weeks later!)

Jo’s colours still going strong

Jo is missing some of her lilies and I hope they will still be blooming when she and Bob return.  (They were, I am happy to say!)

downfacing lily

upfacing

tall and deep red

with Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

daisies topped with Lavatera ‘Barnsley’

We then return to Ilwaco to spend a long session weeding in Ann’s garden

Ann’s fenced veg garden

It doesn’t look like much, but I planted a small river of Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (just three) down a slope on the west side of the garden.

Rozanne with potential

It will look good sprawling and climbing near Ann’s stunning blue hydrangea.

July 31

We begin at the Depot where a passerby has a wonderful Saint Bernard.  This, of course, causes me to strike up a conversation in order to pet the dog.

It turns out the dog’s person is on the board (President, I think) of the Water Music Festival, so he knows who I am (in that I do the Facebook page for the Music in the Gardens tour) but due to face blindness I did not recognize him.  Have also forgotten the name of the wonderful sweet dog, but have not forgotten that the website of the man’s guest cottage has a photo of the dog as a pup.  Years ago, when the larger cottage and the guest cottage belonged to Bev Rolfe, Robert and I put in a garden there.

an excellent dog

He is a dry mouth St Bernard; I did not even know there was such a thing.  My cousin raised St Bernards and I remember the massive drool along with the sweet personalities.  (We were handed towels upon entering the house.)

a cute little chickadee

Alert reader Kathleen Shaw informs me that this is not a chickadee but instead a sparrow.  She thinks it is a white crowned sparrow.

and I almost forgot, what with the dog and all: the garden

Next, we make a stop at The Planter Box to take some photos for a pre-tour sneak peeks album for the Edible Gardens page, another project of mine.  Ray Millner has a glorious veg garden just north of the garden center.

At Ray’s garden, the chickens came running out to greet us.

veg of great beauty

strawberries by the pond

by the pond (a small lake)

chickens by the water

Then on up the Peninsula to Marilyn’s, which will also be on the Aug 7th little garden club tour, so I want to make sure it is deadheaded.

Marilyn’s looking south

and looking north

Heading back down to Ocean Park, we check on the Wiegardt Gallery garden….

Lavender and Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’

hoping the deer don’t eat the lilies

broken stemmed Alliums tucked into the Cistus

north side (Eric’s studio) with elephant garlic

Next: Oman Builders Supply where the garden is showing some stress from not getting enough water.  Our job here is not to water, and it is complicated because one needs a long hose and a key (which we have) to turn on the faucet, and time to stand around and water if the soakers are not doing a good enough job (they are not!)

OBS, looking south

Next, we spend the usual time thoroughly weeding and deadheading at Klipsan Beach Cottages.  I am pleased that a dahlia which did not do much last year is spectacular now.  We planted it in a pot because the garden has a snail problem.

dahlia at KBC

KBC is another Facebook page that I do, and I am way behind on uploading garden photos there, which I used to do on a weekly basis…till this year when I started blogging here daily.

The KBC sweet peas are doing better than at any of our other gardens.

sweet peas

As with all the gardens, the lilies are fabulous this week.

I feel there is no such thing as lily overload, although I do wish they did not all go through an awkward stage after blooming while we wait for the stem to die back (and clip a little off every week).

Agapanthus

garden overview

You can see Allan on the left, above, pruning the New Dawn rose over the south gate.  While I swan about taking lily photos.  Really, I do work.

Next, we go to Golden Sands Assisted Living.  This time, my expectactions that the watering problems will be fixed are very low.  I know it is too soon, but I hope the wheels of progress have begun to turn.  So we hand water (with our long hose) the whole courtyard.  We have to drag our own hose in because theirs are firmly fixed to the ineffective twirly sprinklers.

The white hydrangeas would get no water at all except for our hose watering.

SW quadrant

SE quadrant

It’s gone rather dull now that the blue scabiosa has gone over.  It would look so much better if we had time to groom and weed rather than standing around hose watering.

At present there is no time to weed this area, which only gets water from us.

Daylilies are a plant that gets overused in a situation like this because it is so easy to get them for free.  Here they sit, not doing much at all.

The NE quadrant outside my mom’s old room is still the best…

Whoever is living in my mom’s old room can’t see out the window because of overgrown shrubs.  It is not our job to fix that, but I would if I had the time.

NW quadrant

The NW quadrant is still pitiful due to lack of mulch.  (Need I even add…no time…)

If the sprinkler system gets fixed, the corners will get water!

Next, we go for our weekly session at Andersen’s RV Park.  A man who introduces himself as Bob the Basket Maker (I think) has set himself up there for a few weeks making wonderful baskets.

Basket maker

His baskets are selling well.

artist at work

Walking back, I see a view of the garden that I usually do not see from that far to the west.  The camera does not show it the way my eyes see it, but a severely squashed by telephoto shot sort of does…

The whiskey barrels are not that close together; again, Allan works while I….ooops.

Deadheading Payson Hall is time consuming at this time of year.

The picket fence garden

Down at the garden shed border, the Alchemilla (lady’s mantle) so very much needs deadheading, but we are about to run out of daylight so we just do not have time.

why I don’t especially like lady’s mantle….

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Music in the Gardens: Peggy Miles Memorial Garden

from the program: This pocket-size townhouse garden was created by the late Peggy Miles and continues to thrive in her memory with tending by her husband Gene. The front porch abounds with the charm and beauty of colorful hanging baskets and potted plants. Narrow beds surrounding the house are planted with deer-resistant plants. The jewel of this garden is the tucked-away courtyard in back, filled with a bold composition of shade plants and well-chosen ground covers placed in crevices between pavers and river rocks. At the end of the courtyard is Gene’s upcycled pallet composter and a chiminea-seating area.

The first garden we visited on tour day…after getting a bit of a late start so our friends could visit the Port of Ilwaco Saturday Market…was the Peggy Miles Memorial garden. We had been working on it since Peggy’s husband had asked for our help a couple of months before, but most of the gardening preparaton for the tour was his, on the foundation of the garden that he and Peggy made together.

the garden viewed from the street, previous day

on tour day

Gene had set up, by his garage, photo boards showing the progress of the garden along with pictures of his late wife, Peggy, who had died of ovarian cancer in the spring of 2013.

the story of the garden

Peggy Taylor Miles

Gene’s beautiful eulogy

I am sure my friend Sheila was not the only one who wept when reading the story of the garden.

Later in the day, Gene brought out delicious snacks and served wine; we were north touring other gardens by then, so I am borrowing a photo taken by Peggy’s daughter:

photo by Annalisa Taylor Smith

Gene told us later that he served to tour guests the first batch of wine and brought out more from his personal cellar! The little caprese pizzas were a hit.

Shelley Loring was the musician at the Miles garden.

storyboards, tent, music, in the garage driveway

Next to this display, the front porch overflowed with beautiful containers that Gene had planted, along with hanging baskets from The Basket Case Greenhouse.

Annalisa Taylor Smith got a good shot of how the porch relates to the garage entrance.

front porch

porch banner

I love the way that Gene has containers lined up all along the driveway line between his and the neighbouring townhouse.

Gene talking to tour guests by the streetside garden.

The main thing we did to help Gene prepare was to choose plants to go in the streetside garden which was new and had only spring bulbs in it when we started, except for a big beautiful lavender at the far corner.

streetside garden

tour guests

You can see, above, the big lavender encircling the lamp post.

As always, folks wanted to know the name of the painted sage (Salvia viridis).

Everyone loved the sweet little garden in the drainage spot by the road, planted up by Gene with absolutely no help from us and just adorable!

a miniature garden

looking from the tiny garden to the townhouse garden (across entry drive)

Our friend Kathleen Sayce took this photo from the lavender corner of the driveway, looking toward the porch.

two plants by the house, planted by Gene: a salpiglossis and a ??

These photos, taken the day before the tour, show the two narrow beds running along the house and street.

Gene plans to make the bed next to the house curvier to echo the outer bed.

at the east end of the garden, a box planted with edibles, and a potato cage (left)

Just next to that wire cage planted with spuds is the gate to the beautiful little sheltered courtyard. Our friend Kathleen Shaw took a good photo showing the entry to the courtyard:

daylily at SE corner of house by courtyard gate

through the open gate

(Above) The medley of groundcovers and shade plants was designed by Peggy with the addition of baskets and, on the left, a new area planted by Gene in the early summer.

photo by Kathleen Sayce

pavers and river rock

On the back wall of the courtyard sits a composter that Gene built from old pallets.

Gene’s compost bin

looking south from the courtyard…such a pretty green oasis.

I appreciate my friends letting me use their photos. It is hard to remember to photograph everything on tour day in a garden with which I have become so familiar. I think this garden spoke to a lot of people about loss, love, and memory and it’s important to me to show every view of it.

“In one sense, there is no death. The life of a soul on earth lasts beyond her departure. You will always feel that life touching yours, that voice speaking to you, that spirit looking out of other eyes, talking to you in the familiar things she touched, worked with, loved as a familiar friend. She lives on in your life and in the lives of all others that knew her.” Angelo Patri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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pre-tour work week, part three

Thursday, July 18th

Our very first thing on Thursday was to go to The Planter Box garden center to take some photos for the Peninsula Cash Mob Facebook page. Some of our friends were there, so we timed it well. Unlike offseason cash mobs, we could not wait around for more folks to show up. We heard later that Tom and Judy went and bought another Japanese maple for a grand total of 31 in their small garden.

friends at the cash mob

Then we began our work day back in Long Beach checking on the planters on the Sid Snyder beach approach. I want to share how good the World Mark resort garden looks at the west end of the road. It had been languishing and looking pretty awful a few years ago, with tatty overgrown Phormiums and lots of weeds. Local landscaper and nurseryman Steve Clarke took it on a little over a year ago and now it looks wonderful.

garden by Steve Clarke

We checked on Gene’s garden and did just a little more weeding and deadheading to keep it absolutely spiffing for tour day.

Allan weeding Gene’s cute little streetside pocket garden

ready for tour day at Gene and Peggy’s garden

Peggy, who created this garden, died of ovarian cancer late this spring. She would have been so proud of all the work Gene has done here. The arrangements of pots and hanging baskets is all his (with large baskets created by Nancy Aust of the Basket Case Greenhouse). All we did was add plants to the long streetside garden and do some advising and weeding on the rest of the garden.

Gene’s porch and driveway arrangements

Next, the Depot Restaurant, where the Dierama is in its full glory.

at the Depot

Cosmos filling in at the Depot

Then…

the weekly deadheading and horsetail purge at the Long Beach welcome sign

And on to Jo’s for the last thorough check up before garden tour day.

newly planted area looking good at Jo’s

friendly little bird at Jo’s

no telephoto required for Jo’s birds!

Jo’s garden is looking wonderful and would get one more pre-tour visit.

We next weeded in Long Beach’s Coulter Park because a “Railroad Days” event would take place the next day in the old train depot building there. (I love the annual Railroad Days but this year its weekend would be all garden touring instead.) It is so difficult to weed where a neighboring house lets salmonberry and bindweed grow up thickly on the other side of the fence so that it pops through both above and underground. I despair.

Coulter Park disaster

I had found a solution to the problem of having to water the Long Beach planters again. We would do them again on Thursday, and that would hold them through the weekend. We just would not have time on Friday. The plants must have been thrilled to get delicious water two days in a row…unheard of! Allan watered the tree gardens and bucket watered the Bolstadt beach approach planters (so tiring) and I did the city ones. No resting on the cute bench by NIVA green!

NIVA bench

By seven thirty, we were back in Ilwaco giving a good watering to Larry and Robert’s garden. Tom and Judy came across the street and visited with us while we finished up.

the boat needs more plants!!

right: Larry and Robert garden, and across the street, Tom and Judy’s

Finally, in the later evening at home I had a bit more time to check my garden. Even though I was expecting three discerning garden friends to visit I had not had time to make it perfect. That will have to wait till we are on the Edible Garden tour on August 11!

a lily at home

in the back garden

Friday, July 19th

We had cleared the decks of work and only needed to check the three tour gardens one last time! At each one, I took a series of photos of the garden in perfection, as I knew that on tour day there will be people milling about (another good photo subject, but I would like some clear shots of each garden as well).

We took our best table and chairs up to Marilyn’s lawn.

and only found this many weeds and clippings to remove!

Marilyn’s mom, Nancy, is ready for tour day!

and so is the garden, all filled in on the edges!

Yes, the Round Up disaster was successfully thwarted and the garden looks lush.

“Marilyn and Nancy’s healing garden”

Just down the street, a deer demonstrated why this garden is a good example of how one can have lots of flowers even with deer browsing by the house windows.

by the road

We made a quick stop at Jo’s and found very little to do other than take lots of photos to add to the tour day album.

Jo is ready, too.

Coco would love to meet all the people on tour day.

Coco

But Coco is going “to the doggy spa” on tour day so that there is no chance she might escape the garden with all the gates open and people going into and out of the house.

Sorry, Coco!

At Gene’s, we met his daughter who had come to help on the last day. Gene was off buying food for the tour since he, as all the tour hosts, were going all out on hospitality.

Gene’s garden is ready!

And finally…after texting them several times to report about how close we were to being done with work…we got to Olde Towne Café in time to join our friends from out of town!

Kathleen, Olde Towne owner Luanne, and Sheila!

Debbie Teashon showed up shortly after this photo was taken and the party was complete.

Later that evening we gathered for a Serious Pizza dinner in our garden along with Tom and Judy, our wonderful gardening neighbours from down the block.

pizza party with Sheila, Judy, Tom, Debbie, Allan

Kathleen was staying at the north end of the Peninsula so we would not see her again till Saturday.

Just outside the fence from our party patio (where we have quiet, good neighbour gatherings only!) sits my late neighbour Nora’s house. I miss her and hope that someday when it goes up for sale that some wonderful gardener neighbours buy it….someone like my friends here.

Oh for a good neighbour

Next, the Music in the Gardens tour! But first, do let me remind you of a wonderful tour coming up on July 27th:

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pre-tour work week, part one

Monday, July 15

After a Sunday off during which I weeded at home and did not take a single photo, we began our work week with a check up on all three tour gardens just to make sure all was well.

Gene’s garden continued to fill in nicely:

definitely tour ready

We did some light weeding and some deadheading because I still have not shown Gene exactly how to deadhead the cosmos to keep them blooming lavishly.

The director of the Visitors Bureau drove by while we were there as she had heard that Gene’s garden would be on the tour.  She took this photo of me deadheading:

at Gene’s, photo by Andi Day

The rest of the jobs got more time-intensive visits.

We added some more plants to the Kite Museum garden, a task I had felt was urgent because I had not been happy with its sparse look.

the very small kite museum garden

better with more perennials

We concluded from the state of the cosmos that it simply has not been being watered enough but with tougher plants and a bit more water it should improve.

Then on to the next tour garden, Jo’s.  We had brought up a hosta container to enhance a bare area and we went though Jo’s garden shed for some decor to add.

better

Jo plans to turn this areas into a shade garden sans tired old rhododendrons next year.

At Jo’s, where the birds are so friendly they will sit on your hand.

the crocosmia staking project from last week

Susie and Bill of the Boreas had been out of town so we checked on the watering there.  The relief manager had been doing a good job, and the garden is looking so much better than last year after our landscape fabric removal project.

Boreas west side garden

Even from where we park our car, one can tell something colourful is going on there.

Boreas west side garden over the long grass

Next, we drove all the way to Surfside for a quick check on Marilyn’s garden to make sure it was being well watered enough to be all fluffed for the tour.  Yes, it was.

Marilyn’s

We distributed some appropriate garden decor there as well.  I had realized the garden had no birdbath or water, odd for a wildlife sanctuary, and of course our Deer Crossing sign from NIVA green was completely perfect for the path where the deer walk and browse.

water and sign

(Heather Ramsay of NIVA green will make you a sign to your specification with, for example, the name of your house on it.)

We weeded the whole garden thoroughly because if a garden is on the tour, one wants to do the last big weeding a few days in advance so the garden does not look at all beaten up the day of the tour.

Tuesday, July 16th

On our way out of Ilwaco, we had to pull over at Black Lake to take a photo of an interesting canoe.

on Black Lake

Our mission over the next two days would be to get a lot of our regular gardens that would NOT be on the garden tour all taken care of for the week.  First, we went to the Anchorage Cottages, where the beautiful white escallonia was in bloom.

Escallonia iveyi

pleased with Anchorage windbowboxes!

I pruned some more on the viburnum that had swallowed an Eryngium and gone too far over the patio.  I’m not thrilled with how it looks but it will fill in quickly.  The rocks underneath used to be at its front, so it had crept out way too much.  Sneaky!

Viburnum, more well behaved

Petunia ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ at the Anchorage Cottages.

At Andersen’s RV Park, we put in a two hour weeding session, hoping to get everything done before I had to be back down in Long Beach for a Rotary meeting.  We did not get everything done, and I felt so hurried and harried that the only photos I took were from the car driving off.

leaving! (Payson Hall)

west side garden viewed while driving off

One of the Rotary groups meets at something like 7:30 AM, an hour I rarely see, but Nancy Allen, garden tour organizer, and I attended the one at the more civilized hour of  5:15 PM.  Our purpose: to talk about the upcoming Music in the Gardens tour, explaining how it benefits the local school music programs and (my part) describing the various gardens in the glowing terms they deserve.

the Rotary meeting

The meeting opened with one of the members talking about the Rotary “Four Way Test” which would be a good thing to live by:

Of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

After we spoke for about ten minutes, Nancy and I each signed a children’s book which will be donated to the schools.  Appropriately, they had picked something related to gardening: a book about a caterpillar, perhaps the very hungry one.

signing the book

Now that is a sweet ritual for guest speakers.

Nancy drove me to Ilwaco where I rejoined Allan who had gone to do the Ilwaco watering.  I weeded the boatyard garden and after he had bucket watered the planters, Allan came behind me watering.

a cute, elderly boatyard dog

after weeding and watering

Just as we finished watering, the skies opened in a brief, exhilerating, and intense downpour of rain.  I was thrilled as I hoped it would help the Long Beach planters hold out for one more day without water.  I had poked at them Monday on the way home from work and found them faintly damp and had decided they could wait till Tuesday.  Now, on Tuesday, they had still looked all right on a driveby and I thought it they could just wait till Thursday, after having last been watered the previous Friday, we would only have to water them once on this very busy week.   I would later regret having entertained this hope.

At home, our own garden looked refreshed and I had just a bit of time to walk around admiring.

evening in the back garden

east side bed

west side bed

this much rain in the wheelbarrow

lilies

I have so many clumps of this one, it must have been a Costco bag!

my young Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’

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Tuesday workday: up and downs

July 9

Tuesday was a bit of a roller coaster of a day in Long Beach.

It started well with a walk of admiration around our own garden. I wanted to make sure to get a photo of Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’ at its peak.

Etoile Violette

She is magnifique from every angle.

Would that all my clematis did this well!

In the front garden: Melianthus major and lily

Everyone who visits has to be shown how the leaves of Melianthus smell like peanut butter. Rarely, someone thinks the leaves stink of old socks.

Lily and Joe Pye looking well together.

and a handsome pink veronica

We checked on Gene’s garden first, one of the upcoming tour gardens, and very satisfying it was to see how well it had filled in. He has been working hard on it in memory of his dear wife, Peggy.

the view as we drove up…excellent!

Gene’s edible raised bed

the beautiful courtyard

I had felt the weather would be a bit on the chilly side so had taken several layers of clothing to add if need be. Watering can be a cold job. Little did I imagine that the wind would soon kick up to a bone chilling 20 miles an hours. Worse yet, I did not expect it to be Sandsations weekend. Two years ago, Sandsations was at the end of July. I realize now that it changes around depending on which Saturday has the proper time of low tide for building sculptures on the beach. CITY Sandsations takes place downtown the week before, and there, next to Veterans Field, were big mounds of sand.

sand!

sign!

one of three horribly unweeded parking lot berms!

Ironically, just last week I had made some noises about how a summer intern could weed the berms because we could not make enough extra hours appear in the week…and here we were, faced with lots of people in the parking lots areas and the berms looking just awful. The day’s plan changed. (We had been hoping to get to a private garden that we’ve been neglecting due to tour prep.) Because there are few special plants in the center berm, Allan went back home to get the weedeater while I started watering the planters. And the cold wind blew.

Because of working in unpleasant conditions, I had considerable swings of mood over the next two hours.

cold wind: bad! (looking up at one of the hanging baskets)

Seeing Tiny in the front door of Niva green: good!

Then I got to talk to Heather of Niva green when she arrived home at that opportune moment…and got to pet little Tiny. Very good.

But then I left my clippers on the other side of Bolstadt, whose streetlight is the one I call the Light of Mystery because it takes so long.

My clippers are way back on that planter by the Pharmacy. Bad!!

But then I saw a motorcyclist with a cute pomeranium in his jacket. Good!

a happy sight!

But then…a razor blade left on the side of a planter, leading to dire thoughts of what if it had been hidden in plants.

potentially very bad

But then I looked across the street and saw how wonderful the circle garden at the front of Coulter Park is looking…

I like it.

Diascia and Sunbini are also cheering.

Then I saw that the curry plant and lavender had grown so far over the bench on the northernmost west side planter that I started to fear for the sidewalk passage.

worrisome

But the plants are covered with bees.

very good!

And my eyes feasted on the way Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ POPS against the dark green building behind Coulter Park.

stunning

Best of all, Allan had finished the weedeating and clean up of the middle berm and caught up to me watering, so that was done.

Badness: I had forgotten that we needed to check on the Depot Restaurant garden for deadheading, so we had to drive back down to Seaview before the restaurant opened for dinner.

Depot

The Dierama in full bloom there was an uplifting sight.

Back to Long Beach, I admired Allan’s accomplishment on the middle berm.

after

Weedeating the grass and dandelions (he pulled some, too) was a rough job, but since the trees were limbed up last year, all of a sudden this whole new weed territory has appeared and turning it into a rough lawn is all we had time for.

The crows liked it.

We then addressed the problem of the northernmost berm, the one right next to the City Sandsations area. We began to weed it at 5:30, not having time to do a superior detailed job. By this time the wind was so cold and strong that I put on a winter scarf that was still in the back of the car and very glad I was that I had it with me.

before

after (7 PM)

We cheated in spots and just ran the weedeater; what else could we do? At least it is tidy…and we had a trailer load of debris to dump.

Debris from one berm

By the way, they are not really berms, just long beds, not raised at all. I don’t know why we call them berms. We just do!

And there, in the distance, as we prepared to go to the city dump site, we could see “berm” number three. We would have to find time for it later in the week.

berm three lurks in the distance

On the way to the City Works yard, I stopped for one last task of the day. I had created a Facebook page for the Edible Garden Tour (August 11, including our not very edible garden!) and wanted to update one of last year’s gardens. The Long Beach community garden had not looked very good on the 2012 tour as it was brand new. Now it looks just marvelous!

at 11th and Washington North

community garden

clever raised beds

The day was productive but I was awfully glad to come to the end of it.

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our working week: Monday and Tuesday

On the way to work Monday, we touched up the Ilwaco Post Office garden.

not really work, a volunteer project

lily and Eryngium

Then I went off garden touring with Nancy while Allan undertook a Long Beach project on his own: the pond at the corner of Pacific and Bolstadt; it had become a haze of horsetail since our spring cleanup there.

before and after with weed buckets

He had just finished when I rejoined him and we accomplished the replanting of the Fish Alley planters. The Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ had gotten leggy and tired from fighting the wind.

before…and afters

I am determined to have to water these less, as they are a bucket watering chore, so am going with Sedums, Sempervivums, Thymes.

With that accomplished, we did more weeding at Jo’s garden. A weekly visit between now and the July 20th garden tour will keep it in tip top shape.

Jo’s east garden

Jo’s, looking west

one of Jo’s feeders

adorable youngster

north side patio

Not only did we weed but also did a bit of planting; Jo had gotten some lovely plants to fill in the hole where we removed a daylily last time.

newly planted spot

We closed Monday out with some planting at Gene’s garden. I wanted the streetside garden to be full and had felt it needed more along the edges. Gene had bought some Dianthus and some Alyssum from the Basket Case and we had a few more plants to add.

Gene has been working hard on new areas.

I now feel the garden looks full.

ready for the tour! with a month to fill in

Tuesday, we finally made it back to Casa Pacifica. Increasing rain did not stop us from getting the garden looking satisfactory again. We had intended to put in the day on the Long Beach Bolstadt beach approach garden, to get it spiffing for Doggie Olympic Games on the beach the coming Saturday, but an intense wind changed our garden choice to this sheltered somewhat inland one.

no before picture, but this area had been no longer recognizable as garden!

before and…improved

lawn island, before and after

Dusty kept a close eye on my work.

Spook continued to be shy.

the back garden, south side

the back garden, north side

rose campion and lavender

Halmiocistus wintonensis draping the rock wall

and its flowers

 

groundcover wall

I would so love to see this garden mulched with yards and yards of dairy manure, and I would so like to avoid being the one to heft yards and yards of it up over those rocks. I must suggest that perhaps this garden owner could find a young person who wants to make a day’s wages shifting lovely non smelly Cow Fiber.

After almost five hours we left. Unusually for us we ended the work day early. There was simply nowhere else close enough by to finish the day out of the blustery wind (although it did die down enough so that we were able to enjoy our own garden!) First we ran an errand to the Basket Case Greenhouse, where their plants told the tale of how windy it had been.

toppled and strewn about!

We chose a hanging basket to go by our garage. It was a tough choice. Would it be this one?

calibrachoa dark red

Or this one?

double callies

Or this one?

blue and pink

Allan picked this one, liking the way that the yellow matched some of the trim on our house:

new basket at home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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garden tour sneak peeks, 23 and 24 June

On Sunday, Nancy, garden tour organizer, picked me up at 11 and we went to some of the gardens that will be on the Music in the Gardens tour, July 20th.  Our mission: to write descriptions for each garden.   First, a garden on the bay.  I can only show you glimpses, not big spoilers of the whole landscape!

Bayside Garden

Through a gate flanked by totem poles is a parklike landscape.  We think if the owner puts out some tables and chairs it will be a great place for people to stop and have a picnic lunch.

There’s no house here, just a natural landscaped setting and a path to the bay.  There’s also the sturdiest elk and bear fence you’ll ever see.

safe veg

woodland path

seguing to meadow path

There’s a surprise along the way to the bayside, but I won’t reveal it till you’ve been on the tour!  After tour day, we’ll post a detailed view of each garden.

beautiful Willapa Bay

I don’t think Nancy has worked up the description for this one yet.

Marilyn’s Garden

Those who follow this blog already know about Marilyn’s garden, a wildlife friendly landscape on a city lot (50 by 100 or something like that) in Surfside.  When Nancy and I arrived on Sunday, these two were just crossing into the neighbour’s yard.  I would not be surprised if, as has happened before, the fawn was born in Marilyn’s garden among the ornamental grasses.

mother and child

description (first draft):

Marilyn and Nancy Gorshe garden

Instead of being “deer resistant”, this garden is wildlife friendly and proof that you can coexist with deer and still have plenty of flowers.  Nancy and Marilyn call this their healing garden because while recovering from knee surgery and from cancer, they have been inspired and comforted by watching plentiful birds and a mother deer and fawns living in the garden.  Designed and planted by Tangly Cottage Gardening to be viewed and enjoyed year round with structural perennials and ornamental grasses for winter interest.

Butterfly Shores

Next we checked out a tour garden in Butterfly Shores where a meadow, just over the foredune from the ocean, is exposed to the salt wind and storms and still thrives with well chosen plants selected and planted by local gardener Diana Canto.

meadow effect

Description (first draft):

This large meadow garden on the dunes of a Butterfly Shores estate showcases the many plants that thrive in full exposure to salt, wind and winter storms.  As you wander through the meadow, notice the garden art, collected driftwood planters and sculpture, pond and fountain.  The tall fence around the back gardens protects artful bird feeders from bears, raised-bed vegetables from deer and encloses a sheltered patio.  Garden designer:  Diana Canto

intermission

I must break from the tour to show you two ocean front houses that caught my fancy.  One, across from the tour garden, is known locally as “The Microsoft House’ and is built, it is said, to withstand a tsunami.  That would be quite a feat as it is the first house in line from the shore.

designed to survive

I was also intrigued by a narrow house further to the north.  Unfortunately, neither photo shows a feature that I liked:  Part of the house (the north end) is separate and reached by an elevated breezeway.

an unusually narrow house for such a setting

Jo’s garden

Jo’s is another garden that readers of this blog might feel they already know well.  By the time we got there, the rain was pretty intense so Jo, Nancy and I sat inside and talked about gardening and about the garden description.  Coco sat on my lap.

Coco

I think she likes me.

Here’s a sneak peek of Jo’s from when I worked there the next day:

Jo’s garden

Description (first draft):

Cottage gardens wrap around this 1896 home in a succession of outdoor rooms, each filled with breath-taking color and whimsical garden art.  Flowers and feeders provide a sanctuary for birds, which you will surely hear as you  meander on the brick path.  The welcoming deck is a haven for friends and family.  This exquisite garden will be a great inspiration to those who garden in small spaces.

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On Monday, we went to two more gardens.  We again looked at the Deemer garden which we had visited earlier in the month. I do long to show you all of it but mustn’t post spoilers for the tour!  Let me just say it is one of my top three favourites on this tour.

Deemer garden

just a hint

birdhouses

perhaps more than a hint, but there is much more to see!

Nancy hasn’t sent me the rough draft of the description, but it will be about the many garden areas, the shady retreats because Laura likes to get out of the hot sun, the specimen trees and  shrubs, the pond, and the original metal garden art.

Dickerson garden

We also visited a garden that was on the tour back in 2008;  I missed it then because that was the year our own garden (our former garden) was on the tour.  I have wanted to find time to see it, but life keeps slipping by.  The owners’ daughter, Madeline of Pink Poppy Bakery, says it has changed much since 2008 so there will be lots to see even if you have toured it before.

One of the prettiest chicken coops I’ve ever seen

expansive beds of flowers and veg

clever ideas

I photographed this and the Deemer garden extensively but can’t share all the photos yet!

description (first draft):

Allow yourself time to explore this expansive, one acre country garden where edibles and flowers grow in harmony, surrounded by mature conifers which provide privacy and some wind protection. As you enter the front gate, see swirls of lavender and rosemary filling deep perennial beds.  After circling a ring of dahlias,  head for the cutest chicken house ever, “The Imperial Chicken Palace,” which is filled with 13 gorgeous hens.  Meandering through the property you will see  2 and “1/4” poly tunnels which shelter tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and more.  Edible landscape masters, the owners have lived and worked on the grounds for 19 years.  The garden is full of clever ideas for watering, fencing, and decor.

Peggy and Gene’s garden (Peggy Miles memorial garden)

Finally, we visited Gene’s garden where he carries on the memory of his late wife, Peggy.  Allan and I helped with the weeding and with the planting of the streetside bed.

mossy courtyard detail

townhouse porch

description  (first draft):

This pocket-size townhouse garden was created by the late Peggy Miles and continues to thrive in her memory with tending by her husband Gene.  The front porch abounds with the charm and beauty of colorful hanging baskets and potted plants.

Narrow beds surrounding the house are planted with deer-resistant borders.  The jewel of this garden is the tucked-away courtyard in back, filled with a bold composition of shade plants and well-chosen ground covers placed in crevices between pavers and river rocks.

At the end of the courtyard is Gene’s up cycled pallet composter and a chiminea-seating area.

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Another garden that will be on the tour is the Painted Lady Lavender Farm, about which I have raved on this blog before.

Where to buy tickets:  Tickets may be purchased with cash or check one week before the tour. Credit cards are not accepted, as the ticket-selling venues are doing so on a volunteer basis.

The English Nursery
corner of Highways 101 and 103
Seaview, WA

Peninsula Landscape Supply
15289 Sandridge Rd
Long Beach, WA

Adelaide’s Books & Coffee
1401 Bay Avenue
Ocean Park, WA

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On Monday, before we went to see the official gardens, we visited one that is not on the tour this year because it is so new, but I think it is pretty special.

Nancy and Phil’s garden

‘Sweet Magnolia’ peas!

just wow!

lettuces

veg boxes

eight month old flower border

Alllium albopilosum and schubertii

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’

Maybe next year, or the year after, Nancy will feel her garden is ready for its own tour day.

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