29 August: a head start

Tuesday, 29 August 2017

front path before leaving for work

This could have been an all Ilwaco day, had I not wanted to get a head start on tomorrow.  We have some planting to do at Diane’s garden, and I’m not sure how long it will take, so best to get ahead by getting other jobs done today.

On the way out of town, we noted to our sorrow that the street sweeper had knocked out the patch of volunteer poppies that Allan has been nurturing all summer.

poppies reseeded in the street, at sunset last night

today 😦

But wait.  If that was a mechanical street sweeper truck, why did it leave cigarette butts and all?

We delivered our B&O tax form belatedly to Ilwaco City Hall.  It is such an easy form to do; why do I put it off?

Allan noticed this showy nasturtium in a city hall planter.

The Depot Restaurant

after watering

‘Fireworks’ goldenrod hints of autumn.

I hope folks parking here in the evening have enjoyed the scent of Nicotiana ‘Fragrant Cloud’.

Petunia ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ and gold sweet potato vine, combined by Basket Case Greenhouse Roxanne.

spoon petaled African Daisy (osteospermum) in purple…

and white

Long Beach

I belatedly delivered our B&O tax to city hall.

Meanwhile, Allan did some clipping of lambs ears on the west side of city hall.

before and after

Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ does not have many blooms, which can be an advantage if all you want is the soft silver foliage.

City Hall west side

There is much crocosmia to pull in the narrow part of the garden (not planted by us! I have almost totally gone off planting Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’).

Meanwhile, I did some sightline pruning in the wee popout a block north of city hall, where a maple that was once planted, then cut down by the city crew for sightline reasons, is returning in a bushy way.

before

after?

really after

That area gets no supplemental water so is pretty sparse.  I now think I should make that determined maple into a wee rounded shrub.

The Anchorage Cottages

Apparently I had sight lines on my mind.  When we had to park by the street below the Anchorage Cottages (due to a big truck in the parking lot), I got the urge to “lift” a tree to make for a better view of the road for folks leaving the resort.

before, looking toward the Anchorage exit

after

Mitzu comes to see what’s what (Allan’s photo)

Mitzu supervising

debris from two trees whose branches I clipped

I’m glad the soft foliage of chameacyparis is set well back from the street.

I then joined Allan in weeding and deadheading by the cottages.

center courtyard

Melianthus major

Note to self: The soil looks thin again, mulch it this fall.

Allan found a painted rock, from a “rocks” group in Pocatello, Idaho.

a late Tigridia (Allan’s photo)

north end of courtyard: Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ and Hebe ‘Quicksilver’ looking grand.

south end of courtyard: same two plants, not so great

Soon the row of seeds from Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ will look a lot like the rope in the painting.  I planned that (not).

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer” seedheads mimicking the rope in the sign in a previous year

Ilwaco

We stopped at home to get the long hose for watering the east end curbside garden at the port.  I could see so much that needs doing in my own blown-about garden.  My foot hurt so I knew I would be doing none of it at the end of the day.

so much dead-leafing to do.

We watered at the port, Allan at the east end and me at the west.

east end garden (Allan’s photo)

I look forward to some rain and to not having to drag hose down the sidewalk.  Just when I was feeling quite tired and sore whilst watering in front of Time Enough Books, a woman came up to me and asked if I wanted any Shasta daisy seeds that she had in her car.  I said no, because they don’t do well in this dry gardens.  Seeing the cosmos in the boat planter, she told me that they were a favourite of her mothers. Then she kindly offered me a large paper cup of sweet tea that she had just bought at McDonalds in Long Beach.  I said no, because it would make me have to pee.  (Well, it would, which is a problem when busy gardening!)  She laughed and said she was prepared for me, though, and she reached into her bag and handed me this present!

So thank you, Christina from Nemah, who is clearly on a mission to spread joy wherever she goes.

looking east from Time Enough Books…

…and looking west

Minutes later, a fellow walked by with a black lab.  Of course, I wanted to pet the dog, and learned his name was Tai and that “he can spell!” said the man.  He then showed Tai a treat and spelled out “S-P-I-N” and Tai spun around.  Next came “S-I-T” and Tai sat.

Then “W-A-I-T” and Tai waited while his guy walked away.  Tai joined him by the green metal box (background in above photo) and the man spelled “J-U-M-P” and Tai jumped up onto the box.  All three of us were delighted.  Tai still had soft puppy-like fur.

Allan joined me at the west end by the Freedom Market, where I watered while he ran the string trimmer down the sidewalk edge.

before and after: Can you tell the difference?

Tai came by again

I still wanted to do a garden along the bark strip by Freedom Market, where in midsummer almost all the plant starts (which were not many) that I had put in there were stolen. Another problem is that people walk through the bark area.  Maybe, thought I, I could plant just around the two existing roses.

would look nice with some flowers

I think I have given up on this idea after this evening, when I saw two young male customers run right through between the roses, where one tiny yarrow start remains, and vault the log.

If that’s a path, too, I think I give up!

Or….maybe I’ll try planting Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and see what happens.

Our neighbour Devery arrived home at the same time we did.  Her dog, my little friend Royal, got very excited.

How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the beautiful tail!

As predicted to myself, my foot hurt so I got no evening gardening done except for watering essential potted plants.  I hope for lots of gardening energy when the weekend days off arrive.

Here’s a text that arrived today from Todd, showing his new puppy on the job.

Todd’s photo of baby Ansel! (black and white dog/Ansel Adams)

I have not yet met this pup and hope to remedy that soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 August: hot but working

Thursday, 3 August 2017

Ilwaco Post Office garden

I realized that the tall lilies are getting pulled down by a rather pretty and pretty annoying perennial sweet pea vine that volunteered in this garden.  I waited too long to try to eliminate it and now am stuck with this look.  I’d break the lilies if I fought with the vine now.

Rudbeckias donated by Our Kathleen

I’d like to have balls of silver santolina running all across the front.  But I have no budget, and no one has good ones for sale at the moment.  I will stick in more cuttings this fall.

Long Beach

We weeded Veterans Field gardens.  The Jake the Alligator Man birthday party event will be there this weekend, with lots of bands and some “Bride of Jake” contestants.  I won’t be going because, great though the event is, for me it can’t compete with a day off at home.

Just before heading to the main street to water…

Today, we decided the trees needed watering again because of the heat.  That meant I again watered most of the planters.  The trees, while fewer, are harder to water because the faucet connector is underground in each one.  Watering was a good job for this 80°F day.

SO HOT.  Yet 81 felt so much better than yesterday’s 95.

Photos from my walkabout:

Bees loving Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Tigridia

I wanted to take a photo of this round ball of lavender, but it was missing some lavender colour….

Because someone had picked themselves a bunch, coming armed with clippers, and leaving stubs.

The other side! I thought….only to find…

…another batch had been picked.

An accountant from Powell Seillor had something to show me.

She had found a beautiful sunflower painted rock!

bonus art on the back

tigridia

more tigridia

and more

My “Ann Lovejoy” plant, pink oenothera, has reseeded at the curb.

Gladiolus papilio

Gladiolus papilio inside

worth a close look

For a refreshing scent on a hot day, smell the santolina foliage.  Lemony!

I love the white catananche

Because Jake the Alligator Man resides in Marsh’s museum, I gave some attention to that corner of Fifth Street Park.  I planted some new lilies last fall.  Apparently, I did not read the description well, because they are ridiculously short.  I like lilies to be at least four feet tall.

Ridiculously short!  Will move them to a planter somewhere.

huge flowers and one foot tall = just silly

Love Helenium!

the carousel

We get lots of compliments on the flowers (and the Basket Case hanging baskets; I always say where they are from).  Sometimes when I am elsewhere, I think about how people are enjoying the flowers right at that moment.

I noticed a huge blackberry in the back of Third Street Park and was unable to pull it down and clip it.

gazebo in Third Street Park

At the Bolstad intersection, I spotted an ugly plant problem kitty corner from where I was watering.

brown flowers on lady’s mantle

only had time to clip some of it

 

I adore agastaches.

Allan’s walkabout photos:

sidewalk traffic jam

I noticed this cutie, too, and remembered my friend Coco who moved away.

NIVA green

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ by Wind World Kites

a cool bike

audience

I sent Allan after the big blackberry.  His photos:

before

also a fireweed (rosebay willowherb)

I had noticed we were losing the sidewalk to rugosa roses on the south wall of the police station, so we finished downtown Long Beach by trimming them to make room for all the Jake brides to sashay by.

Allan’s photos:

Allan tidied the corner garden in Veterans Field while I worried over my foot, replacing the bandage on my sad little toe and removing the Superfeet insert to make the toe feel better, even though that makes the heel feel so much worse.

a sad moment

We hauled water out to just one planter on the dry Bolstad approach…

the Lisa Bonney memorial planter

And we checked up on the city hall garden.  The office staff was sad that someone had stolen the “Horton Hears a Who” flower, the elephant garlic,  I told them I will plant dozens here in autumn.

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and clipped elephant garlic (Allan’s photo)

Ilwaco

Allan watered the street trees and planters while I weeded at the boatyard garden.

I weeded from the north end to here…

and as far as the gate.

Tomorrow morning we will finish the southern section.  Our…

…is that there will be an art walk at the port Friday evening, with a few downtown businesses joining in.

Cosmos ‘Seashells’

I suddenly realized I was no longer hot and miserable.  The sun had dropped enough to make the temperature enjoyable.

More of those ridiculous new short lilies, almost hidden.

a helianthus that I acquired from Andersen’s RV Park…quite a runner.

street tree poppies (Allan’s photo)

poppies resseded at the curb near a planter (Allan’s photo)

Helenium (but which one?) at the boatyard (Allan’s photo)

desperately trying to get the horsetail by the gate

the gate

We stopped at seven.  One more hour and I could have had it all weeded to the south end.  However, we were having our North Beach Garden Gang dinner a day early this week because Melissa was going to Portland Friday to visit her mum.

We did not have far to go because our destination was Salt Hotel at the port. (It was busy and we got a seat toward the middle, thus no window views for your entertainment.  We could see the view with diners that might not appreciate being photographed.)

delicious smoked tuna melt with salad subbed for fried

Melissa’s burger

crab mac (Allan’s photo)

nachos for Dave (Allan’s photo)

Tomorrow, we will finish weeding the boatyard.  I also noticed, before dinner, that the Time Enough Books curbside garden needs watering for art night.  I would like to make three art night bouquets for my favourite businesses, and we need to get to the Klipsan Beach Cottages garden, which got postponed due to heat, and we need new plants for the empty Ilwaco planter which now DOES have a hole drilled by the city crew.

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11 July: accomplishments

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Skooter in the morning, very much wanting to be let outside.  He has to stay in at least through Saturday, and it casts a pall on my mood as well as his.

Allan’s photo

Our volunteer garden at the post office

We actually had a work day that we could just use for weeding projects, with only a small amount of watering to do.

Long Beach

We started at the westernmost planters on Bolstad, tidied them, and I wished they got more water but we are not hauling buckets to all of them.  That said, a few of the ten or more did get the water we had with us.   They get a misting with the city water truck once a week, enough to stay alive.

The city crew was working nearby on preparatons for the Sandsations sand sculpting contest which will take place this weekend.  During the week, starting on Wednesday,  display sand sculptures will be constructed at the end of the beach approach.

Allan’s photo

In the Lisa Bonney Memorial Planter (Allan’s photo)

The ground level garden gets no supplemental water.  It has survived this way for over four years since we last had water out there to hook hoses up to.  It has been a good test of a droughty windy sandy place, to see what will grow.  Mainly rugosa roses, Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, stressed looking coreopsis, and santolinas.  The escallonias are looking less distressed that the mugo pines.

broken barberry (Allan’s photo)

after Allan tidied it up

It took less than three hours to do an adequate weeding of all 13 parts of the beach approach garden.

Brodiaea ‘Queen Fabiola’ (Allan’s photo)

working our way east

Armeria (sea thrift) deadheading, before

and after (Allan’s photo)

Parks Manager Mike Kitzman driving by on the sand project

We got to meet Beachdog’sBeachdog’s new rescue Dane, Teacup.

Beachdog Keith and Teacup (Allan’s photo)

Teacup (Allan’s photo)

Lots of people stop to talk about the gardens.

finally at the very end

We took time to deadhead all the sea thrift at city hall.

City Hall west side

Allan’s photo

sea thrift before

and after (Allan’s photos)

Gladiolus nanus

and another Gladiolus nanus

I need to get more of these or spread them around.  (Allan’s photos)

astilbe on north side city hall (Allan’s photo)

I pruned more aruncus on the north side.  That’s the Strange Landscaping truck.  More on that later.

From city hall, I could see the heroncam pond and was reminded that its surrounding landscape needed weeding.

Allan out by the waterfall, scrimming off horsetail.

His photos:

before

after

It was high time we attended to this area.

Brodiaea ‘Queen Fabiola’ and santolina

honeysuckle

The Anchorage Cottages

We had to park down below and schlep up the slope, which felt rather like Mount Everest.

Mitzu the Shihtzu was not at work today.

south end of parking lot (Allan’s photo)

First blooms on the sweet peas.

north (office) courtyard steps

by the office window

center courtyard

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ (Allan’s photo)

Erygium ‘Sapphire Blue’ and lady’s mantle (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

World Kite Museum

While working at city hall, we’d had a drive by chat with our friend Ed Strange, who told us he has started on the landscaping project at the kite museum.  We had time to have a look on our way south.

Yay, the tatty row of hebes is gone.

landscape fabric is down

river rock to cover the fabric

Allan’s photo

Our little garden will really show now, so we had better pay more attention to it.

Without the hebes crowding the garden, the soil inside might not get as rooty and compact as it has been.

schmoozing with Patty while Ed works

We quit pestering Ed and got back to work at the…

Port of Ilwaco

Our project was to water the east end curbside bed and the Loading Dock Village garden.

Easternmost curbside bed gets watered about every other week.

Crocosmia, quite possibly plucked by deer (Allan’s photo)

People often stop to chat with us while we are working. Usually, at the port, the conversations are as much about boats as about gardens.

This was Allan this evening.

This was me yesterday evening.

lavender in a nest of Nasella tenuissima

Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’

Loading Dock Village garden

west of the Loading Dock Village

Allan’s photo

at home

While watering…

astilbes

Sanguisorba ‘Lilac Squirrel’

fluffy red poppy and yellow achillea

 

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20 April: easy work

Thursday, 20 April 2017

Pouring rain almost put an end to the idea of work.

We’d had this much rain overnight.

And then it stopped by midmorning.

I scheduled an easy day, which included a visit to THE Oysterville garden.  That self -guided tour will be our next post.

At home before work

Azara microphylla ‘Variegata’ and Skooter (Allan’s photo)

Erythronium (dog tooth violet)

Allan digging a Tetrapanax sprout, too close to the maple

Acer campestre ‘Carnival’

Acer campestre ‘Carnival, acquired from Dancing Oaks last year

Our post office garden looks unexciting so far.  I planted some bachelor button seeds.

The Depot Restaurant

I planted the wee sprout of tetrapanax in the garden on the south side of the dining deck…my second attempt to get one started there. Light weeding and deadheading ensued.

north side of deck

Tulip ‘Akebono’ (Allan’s photo)

the barrel by the east window

Tulip ‘Virichic’

Long Beach

A stop at city hall to pick up our cheque led to some deadheading and weeding.

the ramp garden

north side: pulmonaria still blooming

north side

signs of finger blight

city hall west side

Basket Case Greenhouse

I’m collecting plants for the upcoming Planting Time, so far just perennials.  I consider it too early for annuals, and yet, as always, I am concerned that folks who plant (too) early will get all the good stuff before I’m ready for annuals (round about Mother’s Day).

Darrel waters the many tempting plants in the annuals house.

Me and Roxanne with Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and some Erysumum ‘Bowles Mauve’

Buddy behind the desk

YOU, yes you (those who live here), should snap these callistemon.  It’s rare to see them for sale on the Peninsula!

heucheras

and more heucheras

Buddy woke up.

We left the Basket Case and took ourselves to Oysterville to tour its premier garden, one of the top two gardens on the Peninsula (the other being Steve and John’s bayside garden).  If there are better gardens here, I have not seen them. That will be tomorrow’s post.

Driving south from Oysterville, we saw Todd gardening at a Nahcotta bed and breakfast.

in front of the Charles Nelson Guest House

Todd Wiegardt at work

Allan’s photo

Klipsan Beach Cottages

We spent a pleasant two hours at Klipsan Beach Cottages. In a preview of Planting Time, Allan planted four Nicotiana langsdorfii, one Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’, and an Agastache ‘Acapulco Salmon and Pink’.

Sarah

driveway garden

Tulip bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’ has been going strong in this spot for years.

looking in the east gate of the fenced garden

Allan planting

He found a furtive dandelion.

tulips (Flaming Spring Green and a parrot in bud)

the burgeoning garden

Tulip ‘White Parrot’

blue inside

Tulip ‘Artist’ hiding under rhubarb

Tulip ‘Artist’

tree peony in bud

fringed pink tulip

Thalictrum ‘Elin’ will get about 7 feet tall.

“pink” narcissi

more narcissi

Fritillaria meleagris, in the lawn bed that I note needs mulching.

double hellebore

white narcissi

Podophyllum (Allan’s photo)

Mary, her friend Katie, Bella, and Katie’s dog Libby, back from the beach (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photos: a hard to reach blackberry sprout across the pond

He got it.

Ilwaco

We drove around by the port on the way home, just to see how lively the 4-20 event was at the Freedom Market pot shop. (Their outdoor barbecue looked well attended.)

garden boat at Time Enough Books (PV=Plant Vessel instead of FV for Fishing Vessel).  Allan’s photo

Tulip ‘Akebono’

While Allan mowed at the J’s (across the street), I planted some poppy and bachelor button seeds in the back garden.  The weeded spots in the east and west bed have seeds, and the unweeded spots will let me know where I can put new plants (after more weeding).

a seeded spot

At the J’s (Allan’s photo)

Next, our tour of the Oysterville garden.

And we really do have to get back to the beach approach weeding!

 

 

 

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11 April: one down, twelve to go

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Today, after eleven days inside, Skooter could go back out.  He was befuddled by the cat door, just like when he first moved in with us.  The sequence, as it happened:

The green jug of water helps keep the door secure at night.

He growled at the door, perhaps remembering his bad experience when a little dog chased and bit him at 1 AM, 11 days ago.

Erythronium (dog tooth violet) at home.  I won’t tell Skooter it’s called dog tooth.

Long Beach

We had good enough weather to start the first beach approach weeding of the year.  Of course, I had big dreams that maybe we could get three of thirteen sections done, or at least two, even though past experience does not support that dream.  We started at the west end this year.

before, looking east

before, looking west

Allan using the pick to hack out rugosa roses along the edge.

It is hard work.  (Allan’s photo)

I did post on Facebook that anyone who wanted could come get some of the rugosa rose starts.  Our only taker was a random passerby (and I did warn her how thuggish they are).

the occasional poppy seeding from last year!

Dave and Melissa dropped by so that I could share some poppy seeds for a former job of ours, Erin’s garden.

Dave and Allan

southwest of us, still lots of standing water in the dunes

weeding

As I weeded, I thought about how long I’ve been doing this garden and remembered years ago, talking with my then partner Robert about the latest plot developments in Buffy The Vampire Slayer (my all time favourite show).  Just then a family walked by and a boy, about ten, said to his parents, “Into every generation a slayer is born.”  I exclaimed, “I was just thinking about Buffy!” and the mother said that the dad had recently introduced their son to the show.

Another family walked by and the young children complimented our work.  The mother said “They know it’s hard work because they weed our own garden.”  When Allan commented that he had not been able to get his daughter to weed, the mom said “Well, they want to eat!”

Four hours later:

One section done!

Allan’s photo

I love this prostrate juniper…

“Juniperus conferta is a species of juniper, native to Japan, where it grows on sand dunes.”  When I read that years ago, I decided to try it out, and it does love to grow on sand.

I did figure out one thing that amazed me for not having realized it before.  Allan paced off this westernmost section and said it is 70 feet long.  The next section is 45 feet, and the ones east of that are 55 feet long.  No wonder the first section takes awhile!

I was way too sore from the repetitive posture of working here to go on with another section.  While Allan swept up, I walked to the westernmost planters to sow some poppy seeds.

For once, the Lisa Bonney memorial planter had NOT had plants stolen out of it.

Discovery Trail entrance, on the way to the westernmost planter

The planters at the west end had had all the new Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, along with a very nice variagated sea thrift from last year, stolen, leaving blatant holes.

maddening theft holes

more maddening theft holes and the remaining sea thrift (Ameria martima ‘Nifty Thrifty’, not an easily replaceable plant).

where once was a matching sea thrift

I fumed while planting poppy seeds.  I cannot put any more plants in these planters because they will just get stolen, so poppy seeds are my only hope.  There is nowhere to mount a security camera that would prevent the camera itself from being stolen (plus the city budget doesn’t run to security cams on the beach approaches).  These planters would look much better if I could actually plant successfully in them without forays by the thievin’ varmint who apparently just waits for new plants to appear.

It cheered me when our client Diane walked by with a friend of hers.

Whiskey

At City Hall, the red rhododendron had opened its flowers.

Long Beach City Hall

narcissi and aruncus (goats beard)

more narcissi, and I spy finger blight

Someone’s been pickin’.

.We weeded the tiny popout bed north of city hall; it was so weedy with quack grass that it took almost an hour.

before

after

after

I planted these seeds.

sad little mugo pine should probably be cut to the ground….

We finished by deadheading planters in the two north blocks.

heavy double narcissi (planted by a volunteer years ago) (Allan’s photo)

fringed tulip in bud despite deer having chomped the leaves

another fringed tulip

Tulip ‘Green Star’, across the street from NIVA green

On the way to dump debris” Minnie Culbertson Park

Rain arrived while we dumped.

Ilwaco

We did the tiniest bit of deadheading and weeding at the Ilwaco Community Building on our way home, just because we saw deadheads when dropping off some library books.

tiered garden at Ilwaco Community Building

detail

above the bus stop

tulips and heather

Allan’s photo: my cheesy little camera

Narcissus ‘Thalia’, one of my favourites

one beach approach section erased from the work board

I was concerned after we arrived at home and Skooter did not show up when I called him.  Later, I saw him from my window, sitting by the water boxes.  Allan fetched him in.  The new rule is the cats must stay in after dark.  Skooter did NOT want to come inside.  (Allan’s photos:)

herding a cat

disgruntlement

Tomorrow, we expect yet another storm.

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6 April: caught up, just for a moment

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Smokey waiting for morning rain to stop

We were surprised when the weather cleared up midmorning.  Rain, wind, or sunshine, we had been planning to tidy the Ilwaco planters and street trees.  Doing so in pleasant weather was a treat.

Ilwaco

First, we did a bucket’s worth of weeding at our volunteer post office garden.

Post office garden has little offseason structure, leaving room for an explosion of summer flowers.

Fritillaria meleagris, and me weeding

Muscari ‘Ocean Magic’

southernmost planter: finger blight evidence shows why it looks so drab.

Allan’s photo

Even though they are still blooming, we will soon be replacing the woody old Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’.

They have gotten too tatty looking at their bases.

The tree gardens need some mulch.

amazed this windblown tree has not fallen yet.

wish I had not let the bad aster take over a couple of the tree gardens…

Col Pacific Motel’s mini garden

Allan’s photo

“yellow hoop petticoats” (Allan’s photo)

Narcissus bulbocodium (Allan’s photo)

downtown Ilwaco (Allan’s photo)

The weather got so warm that we went back home for summer shirts.

Look who I found snoozing together!

secret buddies Frosty and Calvin

I also noticed a joyous sight: a special trillium from Dancing Oaks Nursery, that had been ever so tiny and that I thought had died, had popped up after all.

We did a bit more weeding at the community building.

Ilwaco Community Building

Long Beach

Deer have left us the tulips at the welcome sign.

They are even prettier inside.

The back of the sign should have pastel tulips soon.

I met a very nice labradoodle named Curly.

checked up on the city hall garden, one of our best….

trillium, which I rescued years ago from the road next to my old house when the road was being widened.

Allan’s photo

Pure white resists being photographed.

hellebore

Physocarpus ‘Dart’s Gold’

Peggy’s Park, sprawling old hebe…

cut back

Peggy’s Park, on the east side of city hall, was planted by Gene and Peggy Miles and remained in memory of Peggy, who died of ovarian cancer far too young and is still much missed.

Brunner ‘Looking Glass’, a perennial forget me not planted soon after she died.

I think this is hosta’s best moment.

Just inside city hall, this sign made me think:

Even when I am at my crabbiest and most anti social, it is highly probable that one of our gardens makes someone smile every day.

Next, Allan weeded and groomed Coulter Park because there will be an art show at the old train depot building over the weekend.

Allan’s photo; wind had the narcissi all facing backwards.

I deadheaded the two north blocks of planters and had a quick visit with Heather at our favourite shop, NIVA green (and refreshed my stash of photos for the shop’s Facebook page.)

just north of NIVA

That corner has also become a deer crossing so will not get new tulips next year.

outside NIVA green (New, Inspired, Vintage, Artful)

inside

Walking back north to meet Allan, I saw more evidence that 2nd North is now a deer intersection.

Drat.

I felt a sprinkle and looked south, to see rain heading our way from Ilwaco.

By the time I rejoined Allan, the rain was coming down in earnest.  He had the bright idea of cheating and knocking down the last of a weedy bit with the string trimmer.  It worked a treat.

By then, I was in the van, watching.

I thought we would have to skip my idea of getting some mulch for Fifth Street Park.  But by the time we had dumped our debris at city works, the sun was back and so we filled just four buckets with mulch.  A sight there made me decide to save the rest of the mulch.  I knew exactly where these plants came from: the southernmost planter on the east side of Pacific.  I would need the rest of the pile to eventually fill it back in.

distinctive plants from a particular planter

I’m glad that planter got dug out.  It was too shrubby, going back to volunteer days.

The pile is getting small.

While Allan weeded in Veterans Field, I did two more blocks of trees and planters.

muscari in Vet Field (Allan’s photo)

muscari (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

anemone (Allan’s photo)

red white and blue (Allan’s photo)

Tulip acuminata

more Tulip acuminata (a favourite of mine)

Delicate species tulips look best after our extra rainy month of march.

The more showy tulips, like this four year old ‘Gavota’, get smaller flowers every year.

This year the double and parrot tulips look just miserable so far.  Maybe no more next year…even though I love them so.

note to self: dig out most of this horrible ivy soon

It was challenging getting through the spring break crowds with my weed bucket.

lots of narcissi under the trees

and in the planters

I thought my new “cushion bush” had made it through the winter.  No…all dried up.

Zoltar offered to tell my fortune.

On my way back to meet Allan at Vet Field, I encountered a woman and little girl with a big bouquet of narcissi and grape hyacinths.  I said, “Oh, gee, I hope those did not come from the city planters.”  “No, she picked them on the beach!” said the mom.  “You must mean the beach approach garden,” I said, and she replied “No, they were on the beach.”

“On the beach, my arse,” I thought but did not say as I walked away.  I knew darn well they were from the beach approach garden because I recognized them as ones I had planted…and they do not grow on the beach.  Allan said he might have asked, “You mean the ‘beach’ area right past the Please leave the flowers for everyone to enjoy sign?”.  I’m trying not to make a tourist’s day miserable so I wouldn’t go that far but…sheesh.

We drove out to check on the Bolstad beach approach planters.

If people would just not pick the flowers, there would be dozens more to brighten everyone’s day.

These were exactly the kind in the girl’s “beach” bouquet.

Allan dropped me off at the southernmost planters and we had a look at the empty one.  It must be going to be fixed or replaced because last year a car drove into it.

We have never seen a planter empty before with all the works showing.

of great interest to us

Allan went to Fifth Street Park to weed while I did the last two block of main street planters.

My experiment in February of cutting back a big woody santolina seems to have worked.

happy and multiplying species tulips

narcissi and euphorbia

You might notice from these photos how much less pedestrian traffic we have on the south blocks of downtown.

Fifth Street Park, NE side

lily flowering tulips do well in rain

Allan’s photo

note to self: divide these lovely primroses to grow under some other trees, as well.

note to self: weed southwest corner of Fifth Street Park at least once before tall plants hide it.

Allan had remembered to weed out the bad aster corner in Fifth Street Park.

before

after

mulching

Finally, we deadheaded the planters on Sid Snyder Drive…

Allan’s photo: That soil depression is the sure sign of another stolen plant.  That was after he brushed soil back into the hole.

…and last, the little garden at the World Kite Museum.

new concrete pads

I hope they are going to dig out this row of tatty hebes, too (hint, hint!)

The very last thing we had to do was deadhead narcissi in the window boxes at the Depot Restaurant, and we decided to eat there if they had room for us at the counter.  They did.

Depot Restaurant and Sou’wester RV Park (Allan’s photo)

counter view

We wanted to have delicious things that will not be on the summer menu.

wilted spinach salad

cinghiale with gnocchi

French onion soup

At home: The check up list is done.  Of course, all the gardens need regular check ups from now on.  The recent check up list was because of missing almost a month at some jobs due to incessant rain.

I’m glad we got caught up. Tomorrow’s predicted storm will most likely lay the narcissi and tulips on their sides.

This is what’s coming. We are the blue bubble about haflway up the coast.

(As I write this on Friday, we are halfway through the storm and have lost and then regained power.  It is noisy; the tarp has blown off the stacked crab pots next door, and one of two highways leading to the Peninsula has been closed because of downed trees.  I think the worst is over, so do not worry.)

 

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16 March: 2 tasks

Thursday, 16 March 2017

At the post office, on our way to work, Allan found a note in our box asking him to talk to the postmaster.  A postal patron had urgently needed to know the identification of a plant “that looks like a coleus”.

Here it is: a greigii tulip.

The foliage is as great as the flower to come.

I realized it was time to apply some sluggo.

Ilwaco City Hall ready for St Patrick’s Day

Long Beach

We hoped to accomplish two tasks on the project list today.  The first was pruning and weeding the five roses in the back of Coulter Park.  They are exceedingly difficult because of weeds, including salmonberry, coming under the fence.  The neighbouring house has but a tiny strip between house and fence that would be almost impossible for the homeowner to maintain, and in that strip dwell salmonberries, blackberries, and birds-foot trefoil that long to join up with the roses.

the dreaded rose bed, before

south side of park with pieris

Pieris and Ribes (flowering currant)

There was another ribes in that gap that turned up its toes a few years ago, as ribes are wont to do.

Allan trimmed up in the garden next to the old train depot.

before

after trimming sword fern

rose bed; line cut with half moon edger (Allan’s photo)

I was inspired to do two lines of half moon edging.

after

a pretty patch of primroses

One dead rhododendron (azalea) has thrown this old threesome off balance.

one of the two good rhodos (Allan’s photo)

We had two cold and windy squalls of heavy rain pass through; we sat them out in the van to avoid getting drenched and miserable.  (During the second one, we went to the Great Escape espresso drive through for invigorating sustenance.)

To add to our load of debris, we decided to do a bit of pruning on an escallonia at city hall.

city hall, west side

before (Allan’s photos)

and after

city hall hellebore

telephoto through the arch (Allan’s photo)

We dumped our debris at city works and filled up all our buckets with Soil Energy mulch.  (The crew had got us a pile from Peninsula Landscape Supply.)

a pile of riches

first load 

On the Bolstad approach, we filled up the lower spots in the planters.

before

after

looking east

not a good day for a picnic

And we added some mulch to city hall west side garden.

city hall after pruning, lily bulb planting, weeding, mulching

The last five buckets went into Fifth Street Park.  Yesterday, drenched from rain, we had left behind a messy patch of sorrel:

yesterday

today

mulched

A lily bulb had worked its way to the top of the soil.  This is just one third of how big it was, after I divided it:

Allan’s photo

We followed our first load of mulching with a break for delicious crab rolls at Captain Bob’s Chowder.

Captain Bob’s crab rolls

Back we went to city works to get another load of mulch.  Jackpot! I saw two good pallets on the pile.

Thank you, Allan.

Now I need just two more for my triple compost bin.

A red wing blackbird serenaded us.  (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Full load of mulch buckets (Allan’s photo)

This load went to the big welcome sign garden.  It had gotten low after pulling out last year’s annuals and absorbs a large amount of soil.

before

We found loads of shotweed to pull.

mulching carefully around bulbs

after

back side

after

I am sorry to report that deer are eating the tulips along the east end of the front side.  I hope they don’t eat them all.  One of these years, we may have to give up on tulips here.

well chomped

So glad deer do not eat narcissi, my favourite flower

On the way home, we stopped briefly at the Depot Restaurant to pour some water on the two sheltered window boxes, and there we discovered a sad situation.

a flattie!

The spare is weirdly located under the front seats.  Everything there had to be moved and the t-bar thingie assembled to loosen a bolt in the floor that holds the spare tire in place.

complicated!

underneath

the culprit

Fortunately, Allan had all the tools (even two jacks for extra safety).

Despite having to look at the instruction book, Allan got the tire changed in 40 minutes and we were back on our way home.  But tomorrow will be devoted to getting a the good (fairly new, now punctured) tire repaired.

one more big  task on the workboard

When the boatyard spring clean up is done (I hope by Sunday evening), the board will be gloriously blank for a moment and will then fill up with the beach approach clean up and more.

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