Music in the Gardens 2015: Lynda’s Garden

Saturday, 18 July 2015

Music in the Gardens Tour, Long Beach Peninsula

a benefit for the Water Music Festival and music programs in local schools

ticket tour map

Garden 2: Lynda’s Garden

In this one-year old garden, all of the decks, fences, gates, and a unique water feature were designed and built by the owner.  Beside the lawn, a stage holds inset planters with aromatherapy plants such as jasmine, gardenias, and pinks, and is shaded by sails that dance in the wind.  A view of Loomis Lake is framed across the street through well-placed fences and a multi-grafted espaliered apple tree.

from the street

Our friend (and pro mower) Ed Strange had recommended that this garden be on the tour, and the day before he came over and mowed and trimmed the grass, saying “I got you into this!”  It’s just around the corner from our friend J9’s house, and when Allan and I went to scout it out for the tour, I wondered why I had not noticed it when I walked from J9’s to the lakeshore park.  Then I realized that was because my walk to the lakeshore park was over a year ago, and Lynda has done all this gardening and carpentry since then.  When Garden Tour Nancy and I went back to see the garden together, Nancy was thrilled at Lynda’s can-do attitude.  “The tour is July 18th?  Great, I have a month to get everything done!”

from our June 18th visit: one of Lynda’s two adorable dogs. The other is a big one.

Allan’s photo

front garden from the deck

Lynda’s water feature and privacy screen

photo by Kathleen Shaw

July 3rd

on the deck: coffee and cookies

from a pre-tour visit on July 3rd

Lynda, Kathleen, and Allan

deck is on east side of house

Allan’s photo

Here’s the photo I was taking.

more refreshments

privacy screen, all planted and built in the past year

view of Loomis Lake over the privacy fence

espaliered tree

stone path

the fence from outside, photo by Kathleen Shaw

view of park, positioned diagonally across the street

peekaboo lake view

After getting a big pile of rip rap dumped on site, Lynda sat by the pile and threw the rocks into place one by one.

from the south side of house

south facing deck

the fire bowl garden on June 18th, with lumber for a project

Waterlogued

tour day

tour day: photo by Kathleen Shaw

the stage on June 18th

Waterlogued

stage on tour day

music in the garden

Inset planters hold fragrant plants.

Jennifer Goodenberger

Jennifer Goodenberger

Just remember this was all built in the past year.

the dog run door on June 18th

tour day

As we departed for the next garden, we took some last photos driving past the house.

front

south side

south side

south side of stage

Ed Strange told Lynda that her garden was a “Neverland garden”.  She thought, “How nice, he means it’s a garden for children or fairies to enjoy” and he said that what he meant was that she will always have a new project and therefore never be done.

I so admire Lynda’s carpentry and design skills and the stage in particular.  Her garden is one that would intrigue me to take a closer look if I glimpsed its intricacies as I walked by.

interlude

Lynda’s garden is on the east side of the Tides West neighborhood, and the next tour garden is on the west side.  We like when tour gardens are close to each other.  After crossing the highway, on the way to the next garden, we passed this garden which is one that I would like to explore:

looks interesting!

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26 Nov: Loomis and Lights

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

While I’ve had my nose in one book after another, Allan saved the blogging day by a boating excursion on….

Loomis Lake

Loomis Lake

The state park access was closed for the season.  Fortunately, having our friend J9 residing in Tides West just a block from a little lakeside park made it possible to launch from there as a guest.

Tides West community park, lower right

Allan:  I felt it was a better day for the birds and the bird-watching residents before I intruded. There were over a dozen swans when I first arrived. I quietly walked to the waters edge with my camera but they had moved to the other side of the lake and were gone before I dragged the boat through the shoreside weeds.

elusive swans

He came prepared with his ‘wellies’ to drag the boat out through the weeds.

a weedy shoreline

The Tides West community plans to continue clean up of this lake, as evidenced by meetings listed on their website.

a flock of geese leaving as I drifted downwind toward them.

In typical staycation fashion, Allan did not get out of the house till mid afternoon, so it was a short boating excursion.   Afterward, he stopped by J9’s house to help her put up her storm windows and got to see her rambuctius new kittens, Jake and Louie, in action.

Kitten Intermission

On the way home in the dark, he got us all some photos of the Christmas lights in…

Long Beach

Long Beach City Hall

lights along Pacific, north of Bolstadt

Bolstadt beach approach

window of our favourite shop, NIVA green

window of our favourite shop, NIVA green

window of our favourite shop, NIVA green

Have a look: the yellow chrysanthemum is STILL blooming.

another lovely shop

Fifth Street Park

Fifth Street Park

Fifth Street Park

Pacific Avenue (Highway 103)

Fifth Street Park

and Ilwaco…

Ilwaco community building and Ilwaco Timberland library

Ilwaco City Hall

crab pot decorations on street lights

Thanks, Allan, for keeping the blog going for one more day!

On Thanksgiving we will be attending an interesting potluck at the Sou’wester Lodge (thanks to the suggestion of Kathleen)…and on Friday an art studio tour all over the Peninsula.  Saturday is the first day of the Saturday Christmas Market at the Port, which I need to photograph for the Discover Ilwaco FB page..  Even though I am mentally in hibernation mode, all of these may provide enough blog fodder to keep the blog going daily through the end November even though staycation arrived early this year.

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27 Sept: market, lake, and a meal

Saturday, 27 September 2014

I slept deliciously late. I don’t sleep well while traveling, not even in the quietude of the Sylvia Beach Hotel, so I had some snoozing to catch up on. Then, off to the last day of 2014’s Ilwaco Saturday Market for some peaches and a treat. I walked half a block, realized my knee was so painful even with my cane, and turned back to get a ride down from Allan before he went boating; fortuitously, my pal J9 showed up at that very moment, so we went to the market in her little car. (All of a block and a half’s walk, it would have been; I was in pitiful condition.)

Ilwaco Saturday Market

A few plants for sale were still on offer.

This gentleman (Bob Goldstick) played a steel drum and sang “No Woman No Cry”.

 

He was good, and I dropped some money in his tip box; didn’t buy a CD although now I kind of wish I had. I hope he’s back next year.

market goers

De Asis Produce: Tomatoes are the one food item I grew well this year. Oh, and spuds. Also the only food I tried to grow.

clever marketing: Salsa in a bag. I don’t see cilantro, which I require in the tastiest of salsas.

Great to have good weather for the last day. In 2013, the last day was canceled because of a storm.

our port office garden, highly visible without the hanging baskets

still a few petunias at Don Nisbett Art Gallery

When I got to the Pink Poppy Bakery booth, Madeline had found a moment to read.

The tat is of her favourite mixer.

J9 bought a chai cupcake; I bought a small lemon bundt cake.

We’d had a good rainfall overnight.

At home, I thought about gardening, and did just a tiny bit of clipping and tidying in the front garden.

People who don’t like their plants to touch would not like my garden.

Meanwhile, Allan went boating on Loomis Lake.

Loomis Lake

Allan:

Last time I was here was June 9 when the wind blew from the north & I rowed up to the northern tip & sailed back. Today I sailed and paddled upwind north to 198th where J9’s sister used to live.

The lake was very shallow with plant growth so I drifted south a mile to watch the birds and look at the houses. Several noisy herons, mallards and gulls and jumping fish.

heron

using the cheap camera as don’t want to get a better one wet; a better camera would have better captured the heron flying over the gulls.

Rolled up the sail and started paddling up wind but found sailing easier & quick enough. Dinner reservations were three hours away.

Discovered the pontoon makes a serviceable daggerboard but had to keep cleaning weeds off the rudder as the boat would drag to a stop.

 

Found an abandoned dock at the south end. Google earth shows no remains of a house there and there was no path.

the dock of mystery

The water level should soon be replenished by rain. Allan wondered if some had been pumped out to nearby cranberry bogs.

boat with rolled up sail ready to paddle back

 

Pelicano Restaurant

We had found out the day before that Pelicano was closing its doors. I so loved that restaurant and we usually dined there once a month to enjoy their changing seasonal menu. Our friend and client Susie of the Boreas Inn invited us to join her and Bill for a poignant last meal; then she fell ill from a flu shot, so Allan and I went alone.

Now this might seem like a shallow problem: A fine dining restaurant closes and we are sad. But it is more than that. It’s a working class problem, as Ilwaco is a working class town with lots of closed storefronts and the merchants who do have shops here were greatly benefited by the vibrancy that Pelicano brought to the port. There is now no restaurant in town open for dinner, and five former restaurants sitting vacant along Waterfront Way. (A new Italian place is in the works to open next spring, and it would make sense to have a simple dinner café with plainer and less expensive fair, as well.) There are many reasons we are sad to see Pelicano close, not the least of which is that we like the owners and staff so much.

We will miss the adorable staff.

fresh flowers at each table

candles reflected in the marina view

This month’s menu had one of my favourite of their appetizers, shu mai.

Caesar salad

and cocktail of the month (The Flamenco)

ribs for me….

cod in delicious sauce with kalamata olives for Allan

One pleasant thing about the Pelicano menu is one could order a regular or smaller portion; both of the above dishes were the smaller portion. That saves room for dessert.

home made ice cream and meringue cookies with caramel sauce for me

 

 

 

 

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7 June: Allan’s boating day off

Saturday, 7 June 2014

By the time I got back from brunch with Kathleen and the Saturday Market, Allan had gone boating.  I cleverly deduced this because his little sailboat was gone.  He told me later that Black Lake was crowded with fishing folk so he went on up to Loomis Lake instead.

 

Lake information; click to biggify.

And without further ado, here are his photos.  I applaud his skill at not dropping his camera into the water.

Tides West neighbourhood; our friend J9 lives about a block inland from here.

weedy indeed

murk

a bridge in a private garden

secret garden

 

Allan says re recalls reading in our local paper that a group is buying up a lot of land along the lake for wildlife refuge areas.  Bless them!

It was not easy to launch and get back in!

I hope this has been a pleasant post for those of you who like a bit of water.

 

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22 March: charity and friendship

Saturday, 22 March 2014

This event benefits local soup kitchens.

We just made it to the line for Empty Bowls 2014 in time to hear the end of the drumming performance.

the line at 11 AM

I must remember to go see this garden in summer sometime.

 

inside: the room of bowls

Local potter Karen Brownlee spearheads this event, organizing the creation, firing and glazing. Professional and amateur adult potters and students from local schools make the bowls.

Allan picked the duck bowl.

star bowls

picking a bowl

raffle table. We tried to win the set of three but no luck!

Soup donated by local restaurants. Egg flower was our favourite.

 

volunteer servers

Our bowls (I bought two). I like the grown up bowls because they fit well in the cupboard.

second from left: Pam, activities director from Golden Sands Assisted Living

comparing bowls

our gardening client Cheri of Discovery Coast Real Estate

friend and local artist Joe Chasse

Jamie arrives!

Jamie picking a bowl

We would like to have sat with Jamie for awhile, but we had to go help J9 move into her new rental. She’s an old friend who left the beach for two years, could not bear to be away and recently returned. We met her at the storage unit next door to Larry’s antique store in Ilwaco, and I nipped into the shop for a moment to get some photos for the Antique Gallery Facebook page.

Antique Gallery Too! on Spruce; Larry and Robert’s other shop is on Lake.

in the antique shop

I then joined Allan and J9 in loading. Here, we were almost ready for our first trip, and I’m happy to report that we made it halfway up the Peninsula to J9’s new digs without incident.

 

Between the first and second, smaller load, we stopped at home to pick up a large planter that J9 had left behind when she moved away. It struck me how perfectly springlike our front garden looked at that moment.

looking in from Lake Street

Disporum catoniense ‘Night Heron’ in our garden today

I tore myself away so we could finish with the moving project. J9’s new place is a single wide manufactured home less than half a block from Loomis Lake, in a neighbourhood called Tides West.

Tides West, ocean on one side, Loomis Lake on the other

The long body of Loomis Lake runs up the mid-center of the Peninsula, as do smaller lakes and sloughs.

the wetland center of the ‘Ninsula

Except for the wealthier houses right on the lake and on the ocean side, Tides West is an affordable neighbourhood including many single and double wide manufactured (modular) homes. I remember a local story in which someone asked a city person why in the world she had bought a manufactured home here. Then the questioner visited and said “I understand now,” seeing that in all but the historic districts of the local towns, manufactured homes are common here.

J9’s new abode

J9’s place has a charming yard, not a garden, a simple green landscape with decks and one of my favourite yard accoutrements, rustic outbuildings.

view from east side porch with large evergreen huckleberry

covered west side deck

view from west side porch

garden shack

“Welcome to our nook of the woods.”

Someone loved, enjoyed, and decorated this place and I find it terribly poignant that they’ve had to leave it.

There’s a fireplace and a fire circle.

wood for campfires

porch, chairs, bottle tree, fire circle

Inside, the landlords won’t allow J9 to paint the panelling…

the hallway

The kitchen is painted white and it makes such a huge difference. Painting the panelling was the first thing we did when we moved into our dark old manufactured house. J9 came up with a good solution: She gently affixed white trellises to the walls.

how to brighten up paneling if you can’t paint it.

While Allan installed the cat door he’d made and helped adjust some of the trellis pieces, I took a walk to the lake, less than a minute away. Just at the end of J9’s street sit some modern, boxy lakeside homes that didn’t thrill me as much as her humble single wide did.

Overwhelmingly garage-y

a house much more to my liking

This house has a prime position next to the community park.

J9 can walk here in about one minute.

boats at the ready in the park

community park

community park dock

Loomis Lake looking south

and north to private docks

Magnolia tree on the way back to J9’s

When I got back to our friend’s house, I found Allan very pleased as the cat door he had built fit perfectly. (It’s a purchased cat door fitted into a clear wood framed panel to go into a sliding window space.)

success!

 

cat door

With the move done, we stopped by the home where J9 has been staying. It happens to be right across the street from our friend Ed Strange’s garden. We took ourselves on a tour (with his permission; he was out working.)

Ed’s abode

Ed’s front garden

The progress of Ed’s Gunnera made me suddenly very worried about mine.

Buddy, J9’s cat, walked with us and explored Ed’s front porch.

between house and garage

an excellent company

And then we went home, where I walked straight out to the edge of the bogsy wood to look at my own Gunnera.

Oh dear, I think I need a new one.

I managed to prune the dead tips off of the Leycesteria ‘Golden Lanterns’ and then I felt quite done with gardening for the evening. As usual, Allan had more energy than I and he mowed the lawn.

a bed of gold

Indoors, I examined an intriguing belated birthday present from Lisa and Buzz; Lisa (former client of Crank’s Roost garden, now of the bayside house of 300 hydrangeas) had dropped it off earlier in the day as we were on our way out. (It’s not her fault the present was belated; I was secretive about my birthday this year.)

a package

beautifully wrapped

with a delightful card. The inscription inside was so sweet and flattering that I would seem to be boasting if I shared it 😉

From the shape of the present (which was wrapped in lovely calendar pages), I thought it might be a nice bottle of wine, but LOOK! My very favourite tipple!

happy, and soon to be happier, me!

Tomorrow: back to the planting of sweet peas here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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