20 June: evading wind

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

We woke to one of those soaking misty rains that appeared to have been falling all night; I had heard the dripping into the rain barrel outside my window at 2 AM.  This led to a slow start on the day.

As I was carrying a change of clothes to the van, I saw three young women walking by saying “Oh, what a cute garden! Look, it says Tangly Cottage!”  Then the speaker saw me and said. “Oh, it’s YOUR garden, no wonder, you garden for the whole community!”  That was nice.

Allan took two photos while dumping a wheelbarrow for me in the back garden:

Primula vialii fallen over

Cobwebs on the sprinklers show we have not yet had to use them this year.

I’m sure the windblown Ilwaco post office garden needs attention.  I just looked at it because it was so wet.  It was a winter clothes day because of a strong wind and I did not want to start out with damp sleeves and pants.

I had a few lambs ear starts from cleaning up the port office garden’s sidewalk area after the storm.  The Freedom Market garden, which I have so far failed to make beautiful, seemed like a good spot for them.

The curbside garden is attractive.

Allan planting the lambs ears in the shop’s own garden, where they might not get stepped on when they resprout.

I found several big dandelions in the curbside garden.

All the port gardens are on schedule for a thorough weeding next week before the July 1st fireworks show.

We had debris left over from Thursday’s post-storm clean up in Long Beach.  Our first stop was to dump it at city works.

The killdeer parents got very upset when we arrived because they have two little babies.

The mother birds tried to guide us away from the babies by fluttering and making a lot of noise and pretending to have a broken wing.

Allan’s photo

the broken wind feint?

Eventually, she seems to have realized we were not much of a threat so she rejoined her babies.

Our plan today had been to do Long Beach and Ilwaco watering, but with the extra rain and with the strong, annoying wind, we decided to do two more sheltered gardens instead.

Klipsan Beach Cottages

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

At KBC, we could hear the wind roaring through the tops of the surrounding trees.  In the garden, all was more peaceful as we tidied up storm damage.  Mary and Denny had been on a trip for a dear friend’s birthday over the weekend, and the staff and other residents told them that the wind had been fierce and the place had been a mess of small fallen branches and leaves, all cleaned up by the time Mary and Denny returned home.

The main plant that I had expected to be affected by wind was the towering Thalictrum ‘Elin’.

And indeed it was.

had to cut some of it off

Mary watches the struggle.

It took me and Allan and some long black string to truss it up in a way that I hoped looked moderately natural.  Allan went under the rugosa roses to find a strong enough branch to fasten the string loop to.

It doesn’t look too unnatural.

This rose had many rain sodden flowers and few leaves; I ended up choosing to cut it way back and fertilize with Dr Earth.

After a long work session, I took some photos for the KBC Facebook page.

east gate

Dianthus ‘Charles Musgrave’

birdbath view

Allium nigrum

driveway garden

Right now is the beautiful time for lady’s mantle’s chartreuse flower sprays.

The Anchorage Cottages

Our good friend Mitzu greets us.  (Allan’s photo)

Another somewhat sheltered garden is the Anchorage.  The wind does whip across the parking lot, but some moments of shelter can be found in the garden.  As we entered the driveway, I saw some sightline pruning needed to be done on a large shore pine by the street.  That led to some more pruning of dead branches on the chaemacyparis trees  by the road and to the removal of a dead willow, the whippy thin-leaved kind.

Beth and Mitzu all got involved in the pruning and hauling, and then Allan fertilized all the planters and window boxes while I weeded (and planted some starts from my bucket of extra lambs ears).

two of four window boxes

the other two; I try to coordinate the flowers with the signs.

center courtyard

New Dawn rose, would be quite perfect except she gets blackspot.

north garden

north garden

Allan’s photo

I pruned the rhododendron before Beth started to express worry about it reaching up to the gutters again.  I like it to provide some window privacy for that cottage.

Long Beach

On the way home, we assessed what work needed doing in Fifth Street Park and admired the lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis); I usually am off this plant until the all to brief period when it blooms.

It is all chartreuse and frothy.

hideous horsetail edging in the damp southwest bed.

I asked Allan for a photo of the lady’s mantle on the east side of the park.

evidence of rain

When we got home, I suddenly felt inspired to remove the bricks from the edge of a former garden bed in the nearby Norwood lawn so I could cross it off my work list.  I did not take my camera.  The garden bed is now defunct and will become part of the lawn; it is right inside a hedge and is competing too much with roots and has been allowed to go back to grass.  I used most of the bricks to make a little path to the faucet.

one down on the work list

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1 June: all Ilwaco

Public Service Announcement:

Here is the poster for the most excellent garden tour put on by the local Master Gardeners; this is by the same group whose tour in Aberdeen was so great last year.  I do not exaggerate when I say I am counting the days in anticipation, especially after talking with one of the organizers about this year’s tour:

Thursday, 1 June 2017

There had been this much rain overnight. I figured that meant we did not have to water the port gardens.

That made me very happy.

We had four hydrangeas to plant at two other gardens on our block.

The J’s garden

all Allan’s photos here

scilla to pull by the driveway, before

quite tatty

trying to drive a hole through the landscape fabric under one of the old hydrangeas

We had transplanted this one before realizing that there is horrible landscape fabric underneath.  At dinner the day after driving some holes, Todd said he would just take the hydrangea out, again, and cut the fabric, and put it back and water it a lot.  So we might do that quite soon.

more scilla to pull

We also simply must dig up and replant the sad hydrangea to the right.  It cannot grow upright because of the darned fabric (installed by the previous owners).  I did not have the confidence that they might survive transplanting in June till I talked to Todd about it the next day.

All we have are tiny leaf buds…and a cattywampus sideways plant.

old Hydrangea paniculata had definitely died.

new one in

Planter Box Teresa says this hydrangea caused a sensation in a garden on last year’s local tour.

Norwood garden

Top heavy hydrangeas were probably forced for Mother’s Day.

Port of Ilwaco

We got to stay in Ilwaco all day, weeding the port and boatyard in preparation for an Art Walk on Friday evening.  (We won’t be attending because it will be in early evening while we are still working.)  Because we wouldn’t have time for the whole strip of curbside gardens, we prioritized the ones that would be most walked by during the event: From The Ilwaco Pavilion (restrooms) to the west end.

Howerton Avenue curbside gardens:

by Ilwaco pavilion

by Ilwaco pavilion. Still have a space, left, for another Helianthemum but could only find the dark red one. I want yellow or orange.

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ (Allan’s photo)

Armeria maritima (sea thrift) (Allan’s photo)

Chatting with the captain of the Mabel Grey

Dianthus ‘Raspberry Swirl’ (Allan’s photo)

Cistus (Allan’s photo)

We both grumbled over a stolen Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Allan’s photo)

I was shocked that a few of the Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ were drooping their heads, so despite rain last night, we did some watering.

Wilting. WHY?? You are supposed to be drought tolerant.  (It stood up after being watered.)

watering the Time Enough Books garden (Allan’s photo)

in the Salt Hotel curbside garden

columbine (Allan’s photo)

Ilwaco Freedom Market curbside garden (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

I am frustrated with the “garden” by the Freedom Market parking lot.  The plants keep getting stepped on even in areas where I thought they would be safe.

I thought the log would be enough to keep people from walking on this elephant garlic.

Picking little weeds out of a barkscape without interesting plants to enjoy is not my idea of pleasant work.  I have to figure this garden out better.  I think starting with small plants did not work.  This fall, I might add a whole bunch of substantial Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ in order to make more of a “This is a GARDEN!” statement.  I would think that marijuana users of all sorts would enjoy some flowers.

I’d been in a positive mood that we would get everything on Howerton done in plenty of time to have hours left for the boatyard.  Nope.  We got there at 4:30; I’d been hoping for 3:00.

looking south at three blocks worth of weeding

Stipa gigantea hanging too far over the sidewalk; we clipped it.

cut Stipa

Stipa gigantea

From the garden side, we always hear interesting conversations (and some swearing) from people working on boats.

I had eighteen painted sage to plant here and I delegated that to Allan because I could not stand one more planting job.

Painted sage comes in pink, white, and blue. I had marked the leaf as R for “rose (pink)”.

some water for each new plant

poppies out in time for Art Walk  (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ (Allan’s photo)

A few successful sweet peas are fighting it out with horsetail. (Allan’s photo)

wild lupines and poppies (Allan’s photo)

lupines (Allan’s photo)

By 6:30, I had reached the gate and Allan had weeded the garden south of the gate.

I was pleased with our work.  Not every horsetail had been caught, but it was the best it had looked yet this year and while not perfect, it was perfectly fine for people walking along here during Art Walk.

Someone told me once that the boatyard garden desperately needed water because all the flowers were drooping.  I rushed to go there and water, and when I arrived I realized that the poppy buds were what she had seen.

This is just the way poppy buds start out, drooping and then standing upright.

The workboard has only one planting project now.

 

While we were weeding the boatyard, the owner of the interesting little garden at the Loading Dock Village at the port asked if we would take it on.  It is a charming little garden and I could not resist saying yes.  There is no gardening day that I like better, other than my own garden, than an All Ilwaco Day.

 

Loading Dock Village garden in 2014. I love the metal edging and big metal wall.

 

 

 

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3 May: port gardens

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Even though I had high hopes of being able  to erase the boatyard from the work list by this evening, I found it hard to get started in the morning.

Before work, Allan caught our neighbour munching in Allan’s garden.

Onyx!

Howerton Avenue at the Port

We began, not at the boatyard, but at the east end of the curbside gardens and worked our way west.  Howerton will be busy on Saturday because of the children’s parade and the opening of Saturday Market.

Narrow curbside gardens run from east to west all along the landward side of the buildings.  You can see the line of green just below the words Howerton Ave.

chasing down the horsetail and sorrel

looking west

That garden bed is the only Howerton Avenue garden with a horsetail problem, which makes it time consuming to weed.

At my request, Allan dug up three clumps of tatty old kinnikinnick.

before, when I thought clipping might be sufficient.

Then out came the pick because I am tired of this plant.

after

Next door at CoHo Charters

further west, the rocky garden by the old Port Bistro with a California poppy seeded in.  (Allan’s photo)

Allan has to do all the river rock beds nowadays because they kill my knee.

I had had big plans for extensive pruning of the Shorebank shrubs.  We had lost too much time this week to rain so now that won’t happen till autumn.  At least we had time for Allan to trim off the wind damaged parts.

before

arbutus before (Allan’s photos)

after

California wax myrtle, before

and after

Look at the difference between one of three columnar pears (left) that were in full wind, and the ones (right) protected by the tall Shorebank building.

I added some free clumps of chives to several of the beds.

my favourite Howerton garden

Allan took all the rest of the photos today.

the marina

cushion bush that did not make it through the winter (When I saw this photo, I realized I did not tell Allan to pull it out.)

Lots of little grasses were in the river rock by the Powell Gallery.

long telephoto: We were regaled all afternoon by the school band practicing for the weekend’s parades.

some ladybug love

the last chive goes in at the west end garden

By the time we were weeding down by Ilwaco Freedom Market, we had been at these gardens for five hours.  I let my longing for complete perfection go because we had to get on to the boatyard.

west end, where I hope all the volunteer dog daisies will hide some leftover weeds.

I just think this captured how worn out I was by this moment…pre-boatyard.

Boatyard Garden

The Long Beach trolley went by as we approached the boatyard.

Asked Allan to remove this yarrow, with too much clover in it to bother weeding

better

This boatyard dog had rejected me the other day.  Now I know his name is Spencer, and I got to pet him today.

Lady Allison was past the halfway point and I got my hopes up that we would finish to the south end of the garden by 7 PM.

All of a sudden right here I hit the wall.  I could not take another step (except to get into the van and hobble into our house).  It was 6:45 and it had become clear that we had at least half an hour more weeding to do.

We’d come a long ways in 2 1/2 hours.

Allan dropped me at home and went to dump.

view to the east of the marina

When he returned, he had to shift annuals back into the greenhouse.  I was spent. I deserved a nice cuppa Builders Tea but was too tired to make one. 

Allan noticed a big snail halfway up one the of the very tall bamboo poles in the front garden.

And a snail drinking from rain barrel  water.

rather precious, really

By then, I had read the news that the Affordable Care Act might be repealed tomorrow, and that the new “Trumpcare” plan would, along with other bad things, greatly raise insurance rates for older people.  I am physically not capable of working any harder to make more money to pay higher premiums than what we have through the ACA, so we might soon be in the pickle of being unable to have medical insurance.  When younger, in our 50s, we paid about 1/3 of our annual income for our medical insurance.  Now that we are older, and I, at least, cannot work seven ten hour days in a row all gardening season long, our annual income does not even cover what our premiums would be without the ACA.  I will be in suspense about this vote, even though it will not be the final blow and there will still be hope for a later defeat. I’ve made phone calls, written letters to our Republican representative, and last time I spoke with her office I was told she plans to vote against it…but she is just one of many.

And to add to that gloom, I still did not get to erase “weed boatyard” from the work board because I had just plain pooped out.

One bright note: During our workday, Nancy from the port office and one of the boat dwellers had given us some fresh asparagus, picked yesterday.  In a few minutes, I’ll be sat in my comfy chair watching telly and dining on fresh buttery asparagus.

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27 April: exhausting and satisfying

On Monday, our friend J9 dropped by some delicious mulligatawny soup as a belated birthday present.  She also showed me this postcard I had sent her 25 years ago. I met her in 1993 when I was working at the Sou’wester Lodge and she was a guest.  She came with her old dog, Cassie, and her lovebird, B-bird.

J9 , Cassie, B.Bird in 1993.

Thursday, 27 April 2017

at home before work

Akebia on the arbor

Akebia

Allan’s photo, wild cucumber vine

Port of Ilwaco

We did a brief deadheading all along Howerton Avenue because of the Saturday Market’s early opening this year (on April 29 to coincide with the Long Beach Razor Clam Festival).

east end

 

sneaky dandelion

Allan’s photo

heading west for more deadheads

Note to self: Must trim up these shrubs before the May 6 children’s parade!

I am thinking of cutting the wax myrtle all the way down, because usually they come back quite nicely.  However, the one a couple of gardens west has not revived from being chopped last fall.

hmmm.  I don’t really want it here, anyway.

The maybe dead wax myrtle is part of this garden by the Ilwaco Pavilion.

I tire of BIG shrubs that were planted at the port (not by me) and need frequent pruning to preserve traffic sightlines.

The driveover garden got driven over (or something).

some smashing happened…

This is why it’s “the driveover garden”.

Port office garden with some orange tulips…

and spaces for at least two new plants

Next, we finished a rough weeding of the boatyard, to be repeated next week in a more perfect way before the children’s parade.

before

a boat coming in (Allan’s photo)

an hour later (boat was being power washed, too)

at the south end, a tangle of bindweed left unpulled for now

Sunday, before we go to an afternoon Indivisible event at Black Lake, I hope we can find time to make a trench or gap by pulling grasses along the back of the chain link fence.  I’ve done it in previous years and it is easier than it sounds.

While he was taking a couple of boat photos (below), Allan talked to the port manager, Guy, and his dad, also Guy, who happens to be our lawyer.  The elder Guy commented that our garden at Diane’s was gone.  It is nice to know the roadside garden was noticed.  Allan reassured him it is not gone for good and that we will be recreating it.

Allan’s boat photos:

Long Beach

We went to the beach approach with the hope of getting one more section done.  I decided to shake things up by weeding four sections of thick rugosa roses.  There is no way to weed the centers of those sections without thorns and eye pokings, so they actually go faster than the more open sections.  I also wanted to get the roadside edge dealt with before all the traffic arrives for the weekend’s clam festival.

a painted rock by where we parked  (Allan’s photo)

before, looking west

Allan’s photo

another painted rock (Allan’s photo)

more edge pulling of roses (Allan’s photo)

4.25 hours later

before, looking east, 1:45 PM

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

6:10 PM

Allan’s photo

 A dog named June out by the restrooms.   Part boxer part Great Pyrenees! (Allan’s photo)

During the job:

I might have left some clover “for the bees”.

Allan pruned some but not all the stubs on mugo pines that keep getting cut back (not always by us) for traffic sightlines.  

after

I’d like to find time to tidy up all the pines.  Some of them look so beaten by all the wind that I’m not sure they will provide any soothing greenness this year.

in the wheelbarrow: an accidental narcissus casualty

Fortunately, Martha walked by with her dog Ray, so I was able to give her the flowers.  She said it was the most beautiful casualty she had ever seen.

The lawn ponds across the sidewalk are finally drying up.

thick grass in the thickest rose thicket

I am hoping that next fall, we can cut back the three thickest rose sections to the ground, giving us a chance to weed in fall and early spring.  Meanwhile, I hope the roses distract passersby from the weeds.

At the city works yard, a killdeer was finding food amongst the green debris.

at home

I can’t erase “boatyard” from the work board till it is done well next week.  I decided to count today’s beach approach sections as three done, two to go.  We have one, the worst  section (rugosa roses and swamp rushes, almost impossible), untouched, and I’d like to do some further weeding of the ones I worked on today, probably less work than a whole section would take.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

‘Tomorrow: a check of all planters and of Veterans Field before the clam festival, and maybe time to finish weeding one berm.

I had been planning to go to a climate vigil in Seaside on Saturday.  It would have been fun to see Pam Fleming’s downtown gardens.  A combination of exhaustion and of not looking forward to the actual ride down there and of my own garden being a mess has me seriously considering Saturday being a day off at home.

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18 April: some easier jobs

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

We were revived by our day off but were not ready to face the rest of the beach approach project. Today would be a day of smaller, easier jobs.

Next to the driveway as we left for work:

tulips

Narcissus ‘Chinita’

Port of Ilwaco

An event this Thursday at a port business inspired us to deadhead narcissi all along the Howerton Way gardens.  We won’t be attending but we expect it to draw a crowd.

We want to make sure the gardens look nice for this business that watches out for flower jackers. (A few weeks ago, Allan got asked from the Freedom Market’s upstairs window what he was doing digging up plants in the garden. We appreciate that vigilance.)

We worked our way from east to west.

east end, looking west

The marina is across the east end parking lot.

 

nautical trash

The scrimmy little horsetails are not my mission today.

CoHo Charters lavascape

deadheads by the old Portside Café (Allan’s photo)

by the Fort George Brewery office

The old Shorebank building (now empty)

kinnikinnick looking really quite nice and making one big buzzing bee happy

Wax myrtle and arbutus that got the full windstorm blast from across the Shorebank parking lot…

Another storm blasted wax myrtle

We will trim up those shrubs before the May 6th Children’s Parade and opening day of Saturday Market.  No time for that today.

Allan went on to deadhead the west end while I weeded between Shorebank and the Port Office, including the little garden on the south side of the port office building.  The tide was low…

looking west

Little brown birds scavenging the muddy rocks

Looking east, with lots of interesting driftwood

In the wheelie bin enclosure, I found a salvage piece which will be great to add to our fence.  Its little doors will provide a peekaboo effect.

This went home with us.

 Interlude at home

As we parked in front of our fence, I thought about how interested I would be to see our garden as a passerby.

I’d be looking over the fence for a better view.

I remembered a few gardens in Seattle into which I used to peer through and over fences.

The cats had something to say about how we should stay home for the rest of the day.

Smokey

Skooter appears

Frosty

Calvin, being not especially outdoorsy, doesn’t much care whether we stay home or not.

Calvin woken from his usual daylong nap

The garden looked extra fine and tempting.

tulips and cardoon

Japanese maple (Allan’s photo)

golden bleeding heart

Tulip ‘Green Star’

Ribes speciosum still in full flower

Ribes speciosum and tulips

patio tulips

a lavishly fringed tulip (and Frosty saying, “Do stay!”)

tempting

I have pretty good willpower about going to work (necessary for longterm self employment).  Off we went.

Allan photographed this good old dog when we stopped at the bank to put a cheque in.

The Anchorage Cottages

Beth and Mitzu (Allan’s photo)

We expected to just deadhead and weed.  However, Beth needed help with the climbing hydrangea which had fallen over in the recent big windstorm.

They got it pushed back and well tied to the new trellis.

The wind was hard on a lot of the tulips in containers, especially in the office courtyard.  They fared better in the more protected center courtyard.

center courtyard; an array of pots is just to the right

some courtyard containers

purple fringed tulips

pink fringed tulip

window boxes with tiny species flowers

narcissi and unfurling sword fern

Long Beach

Next, we picked up from the city works yard as much Soil Energy Mulch as today’s buckets would carry.

our mulch stash, with plants that were removed from a defunct planter

Our first mission was to mulch the corner bed at Veterans Field.  Some sort of Veterans walk is beginning there later this week so we want it to look fluffy.

Allan’s photos, before….

during; an annoying and constant wind made the day cold.

after

With that done, I went on a deadheading walkabout of the city planters and street tree gardens, while Allan went to weed and add some mulch in two areas of Fifth Street Park.

He found this big lily bulb…

a bright orange tulip

and some annoyingly persistent horsetail

My photos while walking the planters:

Tulip ‘Flaming Spring Green’

foreground: parrot Tulip ‘Rococo’ in bud

Tulip bakeri  ‘Lilac Wonder’

bench sitter

Reminder to self: Put “dig out planter ivy” on the work board so I will remember it.

horrible variegated ivy.  I blame myself from many years ago.

exciting bud on Asphodeline

orange tulips

and a painted rock placed by California poppies that might be orange later on!

pink fringed tulip, and progress on defunct planter (the lamp post has now been removed)

some big tulips, windblown, chomped by deer, broken, or picked

In the same planter, Tulip bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ have been blooming for weeks.

Note to self: plant many more ‘Lilac Wonder’.  They are my favourite species tulip and they do so well here.

Tulip bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’

I was awfully tired for the last two blocks of deadheading and figured as soon as we got home, I would sit down.

at home

At home, I took four buckets of deadheads out to the compost bins while Allan (almost always a man of boundless evening energy) set to mowing the lawn.

The compost bins inspired some compost turning.  A day of varied jobs is much less exhausting than an all day, same place weeding project.

I had gotten all excited when seeing the bottom of bin B:

It looked like it might be siftable!

It wasn’t.  But soon will be if I keep turning frequently.

bins after today’s turning

I need more green stuff before flipping another layer.

While Allan also mowed the next door lawn for our next door neighbour, I checked the hydrangeas over at the J’s garden for signs of life.  The twigs are green when snapped but still no leaves, not even at the base.

good looking sword ferns at the J’s

Back at home, a stunning narcissus with a deep green center (and tiny spider):

I got a bit of a start when I thought each leaf of my Davidia tree had a snail in it.  No, those are flowers buds

Not like the horrible snails everywhere in my garden due to lack of time to properly police them.

Allan’s photo

Tomorrow, yet another storm is due.  I look forward to reading a book.

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2 April: Sunday in the park with us

Sunday, 2 April 2017

After breakfast, I looked out the (not entirely clean) kitchen window and thought about how much I appreciate the dogwood buds just outside.  Because I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent deaths of friends, I wondered how many more springs I will have to see this sight.  If I live as long as my mother, 23 more.  My grandma…15 more. Not guaranteed by any means. I gave the buds close attention.

We finally had some warmth and sunshine.

Allan’s photo: The wind gauge is still!

Allan hoped to get home in time to mow the lawn.

Port of Ilwaco

We finished weeding and deadheading along Howerton Avenue at the Port.

Allan’s photo: Powell and Artport Galleries curbside garden

curbside garden by Don Nisbett Gallery

I dead headed many narcissi and pulled a few weeds on the south side of the port office.

Port Office, south side

Armeria (sea thrift)

strollers

low tide

north side of port office

lots of tulips in the Time Enough Books boat

Allan’s photo: Time Enough Books garden

species tulips (probably linifolia)

more species tulips

Allan’s photo: tulip buds and muscari

westernmost Howerton Ave gardens

looking east from the west end

muscari and armeria buds (Muscari ‘Ocean Magic’, right)

I had envisioned planting sweet peas at the boatyard next, then realized that I like to use up all the leftover sweet peas there.  Until we had the seeds planted at Klipsan Beach Cottages and the Anchorage and Long Beach and home, I don’t know how many will be left.  (Sort of like not knowing how many years are left.)

Long Beach

a pause to admire tulips at the welcome sign

detail

We went straight to city works and filled up eight buckets with Soil Energy mulch.

the dwindling pile

plus two buckets of grass clipping for my compost bins

At Fifth Street Park, we weeded and mulched and planted sweet peas.  I have had no luck with sweet peas in this park for the last few years.  I blame snails.  Yet I live in hope of having a show like the one from several years ago.

Fifth Street Park, one of the years when the sweet peas were glorious.

dreaming of sweet peas

I said to Allan that next time we work in LB, I want to get more mulch for this park.

no time for delicious crab rolls today

 

Anchorage Cottages

our good friend Mitzu

While I planted violas in the window boxes and sweet peas against the chimney on the office courtyard, Allan weeded all round the garden.

Allan’s photo

trillium and astible (Allan’s photo)

the ever annoying glut of scilla (Allan’s photo)

Someone from Oregon had left a painted rock. (Allan’s photo)

Manager Beth had done a wonderful job installing a new trellis for the climbing hydrangea.  (Allan’s photo)

squeezed in three violas to each spring bulb window box

At the very end of weeding, I noticed that a trunk of the ceanothus by the office had died back, as that shrub is wont to do.

Allan cutting the dead trunk off

after, opened up

As we were loading up to depart, I saw two buckets of Soil Energy still in the trailer.  Due to a complete breakdown in communication, they had not got used at Fifth Street Park, so back we went to Long Beach:

Fifth Street Park with two more buckets of mulch

Next time, we will weed this edge of volunteer Bad Aster.

I had big plans as we drove home.  We still had two hours of daylight; Allan could  mow at J’s and Devery’s and I could weed at J’s and Norwood and cross them off the check up list.  And then:

dag nab it

The sun did come out again and Allan got our lawn mowed but by then my energy had disappeared so the two small jobs will have to wait till tomorrow.

work board tonight

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1 April: not the best Caturday

Saturday, 1 April 2017

I had had every intention of going to the Klipsan Beach Cottages garden today.  The cold wet weather changed my mind.

With Skooter having to stay indoors for ten days with his dog-bitten foot, and with the day being poor, I thought I would keep ALL four cats indoors so that he would not feel singled out.

Skooter by the front door.

Frosty by the blocked cat door

Skooter still by the front door

I put down some catnip as a distraction.

Calvin, Frosty, Skooter

That did help.

The distraction did not last long.

I wish I could explain to them why the door has to be blocked.

Calvin and I sat down to read.

Smokey took comfort in a Katnip Kitty Karrot.

Before I finished my book, the weather cleared and we decided to do some work at the port gardens.  Skooter had made the mistake of going into the back bathroom, so we shut him in so the other three cats could go outdoors for a couple of hours.  They lost no time in getting out into their garden.

Port of Ilwaco

Howerton Avenue, east end, looking east

I planted some poppy seeds.

Allan weeded the lava rock xeriscape by CoHo Charters.

by the old Port Bistro, a long-gone great restaurant (Allan’s photo)

I ask Allan to weed the middle of all the river rock beds because it kills my knee to walk on round rocks.

California poppy in the river rockscape by the old Port Bistro.  (Allan’s photo)

We hear that the Port Bistro building is going to be a coffee shop and bakery, although not after several months or even a year of remodeling.

me fuming over finger blight by the Fort George Brewery office

I counted at least 30 stems of stolen narcissi along the half of the port gardens we got done today, and it made me mad.

by the Ilwaco pavilion, looking west

four different muscari (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

the silver santolinas are from cuttings stuck in last year

my favourite garden bed at the port, by Ilwaco Pavilion

My favourite little garden would look better if it had more narcissi…which it WOULD if it were not for the picking.

finger blight! flower jacking!

Someday, perhaps, I will have enough planted to make a good show even with flower jackers hitting the gardens on a regular basis.

The two toned Muscari is probably M. neglectum.

Muscari neglectum (Allan’s photo)

the “drive over garden” (Allan’s photo)

The day before, on a drive by garden assesment, a patch of shotweed had caught my eye and inspired an urgent need to weed.

a big batch of shotweed at the old Shorebank building (Allan’s photos)

after

just across the Shorebank parking lot (Allan’s photo)

cold wind, fog, and the return of rain (Allan’s photo)

We paused on the way home for Allan to photograph the garden bed at the west end.

We had forgotten to bring our clumps of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’.  After dropping me at home, Allan went back to plant them in an empty spot by the Loading Dock Village building.

filling in with free plants; I’d planted poppy seeds in the middle.

I had been so focused on weeds (and flower jacking) that I had not even noticed that the columnar pear trees are in bloom.  Allan noticed on his sedum planting excursion:

Back at home, with all the cats indoors, we blocked the cat doors again.

not a popular move

Skooter was happy enough for part of the evening…

helping Allan edit blog photos

But when he woke up, Skooter started pouncing on the other cats, leading to lots of yowling and unhappiness and to another session sequestered in the bathroom.  (I realized later that we should have gotten out the feather stick toy to burn off some of his pent up energy.)

Nine more days till he can go out…

helping Allan read

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