During the last part of January, I was obsessed with the 1975 UK flashback blog and worked on it for hours every day till it was done—except for one nice weather day, when I had to garden at home.
Thursday, 25 January 2018
I made it out to the greenhouse to water. Otherwise, I was completely preoccupied in writing my UK trip blog.
snowdrops in one of the new windowboxes on the shed
Friday, 26 January 2018
One day of fine weather let me get out into the garden. Allan took some photos.
I had intended only to mess about with my compost bins for a bit, and then realized I had five shrubs to plant and replant. First, out came a Rosa ‘Mutabilis’ which went from the front garden to the back. Into its place went a Grevillea ‘Victoria’ that Steve of the Bayside Garden had kindly procured for me. Allan planted the new shrub while I started to dig up my Rosa pteracantha. Then he helped with that! The second rose also went into the back garden, and (again with Allan’s help) a Pittosporum ‘Tasman Ruffles’ went where the rose had been. Poor Tasman had very little root ball because this is its third move. Now it is in the perfect place to help block some bright security lights, and I do hope it survives. Finally, the gift from Steve of a Grevillea rosmarinifolia went over by the driveway. I think the spot I found for it is not perfect; I hope it will not end up being moved around three times.
trying to get Rosa pteracantha out (Allan helped)
Grevillea ‘Victoria’ in
Tasman Ruffles in
Allan helped me move some Geranium ‘Rozanne’ around to make room for the rose.
Skooter helps me make a new spot for the rose.
Rosa pteracantha in
Later, I will prune this rose because it is on the new growth that the thorns glow the most red. It will be superbly back lit in this spot.
I decided I must also cut down the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. Allan helped again.
Skooter helps, but not as helpfully as Allan.
Ooops. Stuck again.
clipped Autumn Joy
Finally, I got to the original plan, some compost sifting.
Saturday, 27 January 2018
snoozy times for the cats while I blogged about the UK
Skooter helped me blog.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
A dear friend, Shaz, who I have not seen in person for years dropped by, with her new spouse (they live near Portland). She brought me flowers.
Shaz meets Skooter
They were only able to visit for an hour, having driven up from Cannon Beach mainly to track me down. (They were staying at a place where I’ve stayed in Cannon Beach, the Sea Sprite, in the same unit that Carol and I once stayed in.)
Years ago, I had a wonderful time creating a garden with Shaz, back when she lived on the bay.
Shaz’ garden way back when
Sharon’s beautiful bird bath.
In 1998, Robert and Sharon and I created this garden around Sharon’s house where once had been just three scraggly rosebushes.
..and we made a rock wall garden along the bayside of her lot.
Wonderful memories were relived in our conversation today.
I had finished the UK blogs, which were set to publish daily for another 12 days. Finally, I was able to devote my day to a book. I had heard of it from author Leslie Buck, who wrote the brilliant gardening memoir Cutting Back.
I had not heard before of Mary Delaney, who as an old woman began to make glorious flower collage art out of bits of paper. Her flowers will amaze you. Have a look here. And I do think some of you will want to read The Paper Garden. Poet and biographer Molly Peacock weaves her own story in with the life of Mary Delaney. I treasure this part about grandma art:
On whether to keep or discard those sentimental things:
On looking for role models, I agree that I have found several who are already gone…
When Mrs. Delaney remarried happily in midlife, she created with her husband a garden in Ireland.
I agree with Mrs. Delaney on gardening being the best thing to spend money on. We had something else in common:
“She stayed up late and got up late. ‘We live magnificently, and at the same time without ceremony. Our hours for eating are ten, three, and ten again.'” That is an ideal schedule for me. The first meal might be too early for staycation, though, when I find myself awake at four AM and having breakfast at noon. It will be hard to readjust to work time, which IS ten, three, and ten for meals.
Molly Peacock writes of seeing art in the everyday. I would like to emulate this man:
It is more likely that Allan would create the quotidian art on the grocery store belt, whereas I would make the jumble.
In a Dublin pub, Molly Peacock is advised, “Don’t take another picture of people!…Photograph the dishes on this table! It’s pictures of people’s everyday lives that we need!”
Inspiration: At age 59, Mrs. Delaney “thought of herself as old, although we now know she was just at the end of the second third of her life.”
Here is Mrs. Delaney as an old woman. She looks so familiar to me. I wept to finish the book on February 1st, because I did not want to let her go.
Tangly Cottage Gardening 