Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Our mission today was to get three jobs done so that we could spend the rest of the week concentrating on Long Beach and Ilwaco. This weekend will be the annual parades in each town.
Ilwaco

at home: Tulip ‘Formosa’ proves again to be one of the latest of all.

at home, tulips and Allium bulgaricum

at home: Anthriscus ‘Ravenswing’ is threading its airy white flowers through the Melianthus major.

Ilwaco post office garden, lots of green waiting for flowers.

Post Office: Allan calls this “Dog Poop Corner’ because there is often a dog poop deposited there and not cleaned up.
Anchorage Cottages

Mitzu greets us (Allan’s photo)
We got the two remaining window boxes ready for them to put in place when the brackets are done (tomorrow).

flowers will be mostly orangey to go with the sign

honeysuckle, center courtyard

working on center courtyard (Allan’s photo)

Allan did lots of weeding and bluebell-pulling in the center courtyard garden.

Allan’s photo
Manager Beth told us that not all the cottages came from Fort Canby, as we mentioned the other day. A couple of them came from the nearby golf course and a couple of them were built on the property.

Tulip ‘Greenland’

Tulip ‘Green Wave’, my weird and wonderful alltime favourite

Green Wave

our good friend Mitzu

Mitzu could go to a Prince memorial dance party in her purple coat.
I would go to a Prince memorial dance party if there was one nearby.

Last week’s window boxes installed with new brackets. More annuals to come with warmer weather.
I had to change into warmer clothes at the Anchorage because of a brisk and chilly wind.

The rhodos are getting tall enough to provide some privacy again.

Three yellow rhodos in a courtyard that is difficult to make look good.
I am so not a fan of bark, at all….”Just say no to barkscapes” is our motto (one of them). However, maybe some very fine very DARK bark (shredded, not horrid nuggets) would look better around those shrubs, although I would prefer a soil based mulch.

callas and climbing hydrangea
Golden Sands Assisted Living

Allan’s photo

from the hallway to the courtyard (Allan’s photo)
At last, I got the bag of dahlias planted, an assorted mix of pinks and maroons. Each quadrant got some weeding. There never seems to be time to achieve perfection. The four flower gardens are in a green stage between spring bulbs and late spring flowers. Quite dull:

Future mission: beat back the horrible salal that is jumping into the garden.
I would love to see salal completely out of this whole courtyard….I hope we can remove some every week between now and fall. By we, I mean Allan.

a bit of colour with daylilies and mom’s Joseph’s Coat rose.
One of the residents told us that a new resident has enjoyed the tulips and been reminded of the tulips she had at her own home.
Klipsan Beach Cottages

driveway to “Joanie’s Cottage” next door, where we park when we work at KBC (Allan’s photo)

looking south from the driveway (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo
He pruned a sword fern that we had missed on the outer lawn:

before

after (much easier to clip when dormant!)

from our parking spot, we can see Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’ aglow.

Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’

Tulip ‘Marilyn’

Allan’s photo
We missed the elegant shape of that tulip before it opens, as shown below:

My favourite crazy Tulip ‘Green Wave’

Tulip ‘Spring Green’

I cannot remember what this blue flower is!

Tulip ‘Formosa’

Allan’s photo
When good plants go bad: After years of being well behaved, Allium sphaerocephalon has turned into a grassy looking mess, just like another grassy allium in Fifth Street Park.

very annoying and messy

sword and deer ferns

sword fern and weigela

Camassia cusickii

looking into the fenced garden

looking south from the bench nook
At the A frame garden, Allan tucked in a teucrium that I’d taken out of a pot at the Anchorage (in prep for something more interesting).

tucked in between tree roots

deadheaded narcissi at the A Frame

Allan produced lots of deadheads.

Hydrangea ‘Lemon Wave’ (probably) Allan’s photo

unfurling fern by the clam shed (Allan’s photo)
Ilwaco again
I had clipped back a rosemary at Golden Sands that had been mysteriously bent sideways. (One of the residents agreed it was like a bear had lain on it, but no bears can get into the courtyard.) We delivered the clippings to Salt Pub.

an armload of rosemary and “Don’t take my picture!” as I was feeling decrepit.
The curbside gardens need weeding before the weekend…at least, the ones that are not all river rock, because at this point I cannot even walk on river rock, much less stand on it to weed it. Today I had some plants with me to add to the Ilwaco planters. I was just too tired to do it.
When we arrived home, Dave and Melissa were about to leave their big pruning job two doors down.

We admired the spiffing job. If you cut this too hard, it will not grow back from the brown centers. (Allan’s photo)

Melissa pointed out two deer dossed down in Nora’s back meadow.
I told Nora’s grand daughter (now owner of the house) that it is good to have a wildlife refuge with mown paths back there.

Allan’s photo…and our deer fence
On the other side of the yard, a darling waggle tailed dog watched us. Allan could read his name tag: Dickens.

Allan’s photo

We were smitten.

the hedge yesterday

today, a job well done. (The brown cut on the end was already that way…had to be because of the gate.)
Now we have three days to get Ilwaco, the Port of Ilwaco, and Long Beach parks and gardens as perfect as possible before parade weekend.
1995 (age 71):
April 26: Finished planting begonias in baskets and pots. Was able to get them all in by moving Forest Farm plants outside. Next big job is planting the dahlias.
1997 (age 73)
April 26: 11:00-4:00 warm and sunny Planted the Tristar daughter plans in 3 rows except the small ones which I put into square tray. That job took until 5:00. Turned on garden faucets. Watered strawberry rows. Then started weeding the pathway until I quit when I was exhausted.