Thursday, 19 April 2018
I was surprised in the morning when Allan woke me up by saying breakfast was ready and that he wanted to go to work. As (I think it was) Mark Twain said, the proof that worrying works is that most of what we worry about it does not happen.

Skooter having a drink on the plant table (Allan’s photo)

I picked a bouquet for the Shelburne.

Allan dug some borage and red mustard starts for the Shelburne.

removing a deadhead at the Ilwaco Post Office.
The post office garden is looking drab. Mulch would cheer it up but there is a limit to how much mulch I can provide from my own budget. Soon the plants will cover the grey looking soil.
I told Allan we could have a light day with just some fertilizing, planting, and deadheading. (The usual story!)
Our first stop was at
The Planter Box
to buy some Dr. Earth fertilizer.

Allan’s photo

at the Planter Box
With our bags of Dr. Earth loaded up, we headed south again to
Long Beach
and gathered up the very last of the pile of Soil Energy mulch.

all gone, need more
We weeded and deadheaded at city hall and added the mulch to the wide part of the west side garden, where it had been looking beaten down and sad.


much better

even better with horses
Horses make the landscape more beautiful. –Alice Walker

Allan’s photo
We weeded the narrow beds along the side; we did not plant the top tier and would not have chosen so much Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, because it has a short season of bloom. I’ve mixed some elephant garlic in along the top because the office staff loves it so. Last year, the flowers got stolen as soon as they opened; I hope that with MUCH elephant garlic, some will be left.

We checked on Veterans Field again, the main site of this weekend’s Razor Clam Festival, and I remembered that I had wanted to plant some chives in the corner garden. I happened to have a bucket of chives with me and realized the red mustard would look good there, too, evoking the Farmers Market that takes place there on summer Friday afternoons.

species tulips and nigella (love in a mist)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo
I have realized that the red monarda is spreading like mad throughout this garden, even though I had thinned it earlier.

monarda all over the place; will have to thin it some more.
We went after more of the scrimmy little horsetail and too much hesperantha (schizostylis) in Fifth Street Park and added Dr Earth to this area.

looking much better
Instead of putting the Dr Earth bag behind Allan’s van seat, I put it behind mine so I could access it better when parked in traffic.

camassia just colouring up (Allan’s photo)
I stopped a sweet dog named Bananie from running into the garden to snuffle the fertilizer.



Good Bananie. (His person was nearby.) (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo
We saw a U Haul with interesting artwork.


We like garter snakes. They eat slugs.
On the way back to city works to dump our debris, we remembered to deadhead the little garden at Culbertson Field.

We also remembered to deadhead by First Place Mall….


Tulip ‘Silverstream’ (I still forgot to check it for scent and for silver edges to the foliage.)

Tulip ‘Silverstream’…I can see the variegated foliage in this photo by Allan!

Tulip ‘Silverstream’ (Allan’s photo)

Tulip ‘Silverstream’ (Allan’s photo)
…and, thanks to Allan, we remembered to deadhead the planters on the Sid Snyder beach approach and to deadhead and fertilize the World Kite Museum garden. Manager Patty was just bringing in the display banners.

Our “short” day had now reached 5 PM and we still had the Shelburne garden to do. I was so glad we had spent more time in Long Beach to make it look better for Clam Festival.
Shelburne Hotel
I got the fertilizer bag out from behind Allan’s seat and fertilized the front garden. Then I realized I had been using evergreen and azalea fertilizer. I got the fertilizer bag (all purpose) from behind my seat and added more. When I do fertilize, I tend to under-fertilize, so it will all work out.
Mustard and borage went into the west garden:

I added nasturtium seeds (in the front garden, too) because the chefs need many for garnish flowers. Orchid Cream, Caribbean Cocktail, Vesuvius, Tip Top Mahogany, Alaska, Variegated Queen, Dwarf Cherry Rose.

Also some Calendula ‘Frost Princess, ‘Pink Surprise’ and ‘Kinglet Mix’ and some Bright Lights and Celebration swiss chard for some stem color.
By the pub deck and here and there where it might find a space to grow in the back garden, I planted more night scented stock seeds.
We decided to dine at the pub, as the workday had gone on until 6:45, longer than planned, and moved the van and work trailer a block north so as to not take up two parking places. (Allan took into the pub with him a couple of disinfected wipes to spare the staff from any cold germs on his dishes.)
My bouquet still looked good (especially after I arranged it a little better than this:

Allan’s photo

looking south from the north end of the garden

from the sidewalk
From the front entry, looking south:


looking north
In the Shelburne living room, singer Bryan O’Connor was performing.

He is the spouse of Renee, the creator the tile work in Long Beach that you saw earlier in this post (the sidewalk tile and the obelisk).

I had a most tasty salmon special on black rice, and a cranberry cosmo (with Starvation Ally Cranberry Juice).

and delicious cranberry curd tart
Allan had the black garlic fried rice. I reminded myself with one bite how tasty it is. I could eat a casserole dish of it.

and “beeramisu” for dessert.
A local couple who were in the living room (lobby) listening to the concert bought us our dinner! As we drove away they were just emerging, and I thanked them again. “For all you do!” she called out!
At home: I have whittled down the work board more than I expected this week, and Allan seemed none the worse for wear after a long day.

A most wonderful thing happened: I got an email from the woman who is the little girl pictured in my blog post about visiting the Isle of Skye in 1975, telling me what life was like there, then. She is not, as I always wondered, related to Donovan, but she did know him when she was a child!
Read Full Post »