Tangly Cottage Gardening

1 January, 2015

We had been looking forward since early December to a New Year’s Day brunch at the bayside home of Steve and John.  Their social events never give me any advance anxiety, probably because the ones we attend are all about gardening.  I will say that I feel that I have to exercise my brain really hard to keep up, especially when Seaside gardener Pam Fleming is another of the knowledgeable guests.  It’s good for the old brain cells to work hard.

The sun was bright, almost too bright for photos.

fluffy Pinus palustris with the bright stems of Acer palmatum ‘Bihou’.

As I wrote this, I got all excited at the fluffy, appealing pine  called palustris, which usually means a plant will grow in wet soil. Then I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned that “the scientific name meaning, “of marshes,” is a misunderstanding on the part of Philip Miller, who described the species after seeing longleaf pine forests with temporary winter flooding.”  So I won’t try it in the boggy back garden.

I should have asked for an exactly ID on this. Will add later!

above: Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm, windmill palm or Chinese windmill palm)

dramatic winter shapes

Allan’s photo

one ridiculously early rhodo flower

I simply had to Waterlogue it.

They say you can really see the structure of one’s garden in black and white, so let’s have a look at it altered with the BeFunky app (which has some enjoyable effects even though I think the name of the app is silly).

looking good indeed for winter structure

west side of the house

To the north, I saw a bald eagle sitting with his back to me.

I turned from my Lumix pocketcam to “Spot”, the lens-scratched Canon camera with a more powerful telephoto.

Coral bark maple near the front door

Allan’s photo

a pink camellia, taller than the house and in full very early bloom

In we went.  I had hoped to bring a few hellebore seedlings, but at midmorning they were still solidly in the ground, so I could only bring a small bouquet of intensely fragrant Lonicera standishii, whose tiny white blossoms do normally bloom now.

Allan’s photo

Lonicera and some corkscrew rush in glass jar

Steve putting the finishing touches on brunch

I sat at the end of the counter and noticed, as I always do there, how perfectly the front door frames the coral bark maple.

When Pam arrived, the devices all came out and assorted plants were looked up.

Lonicera standishii was one of the plants explored online.  (left to right, Allan, John, Steve, Pam)

Behind orange mimosas, Steve looks up a plant on his phone.

back to chefing

his signature appetizer with carmelized onions and gorgonzola cheese

A gardening book was produced…

recently inscribed by Ann Lovejoy, whom we all adore; this had been a gift from a Bainbridge Island friend.

I took a look out the north window to see how the pump house’s green roof is doing.  The weather has been hard on the California succulents.  Pleasingly, some survive.

greenish roof from north window

a detail from the room

a new sculpture which may go outside in fine weather.

Here are two crow paintings, probably both by local artist Pat Fagerland.

looking down to the fireplace seating

which I felt would look good in Waterlogue.

The table was set on the lower level and we settled in to the repast and more plant talk.

Allan’s photo

Rather cosmically, just last night I had been reading about black eyed peas and New Year’s Day.

from The Warmth of Other Suns…

black eyed peas for New Year’s Day

The thought had crossed my mind that I should eat some black eyed peas today for luck, yet I had none and no idea where to get any.  And here, in our delicious brunch, the traditional black eyed peas played a part!

with quiche and spicy sausage…

Allan’s photo, with Pam’s addition of black eyed peas salad front and center; it is her good luck tradition, too!  I also think there were black eyed peas next to the quiche, so we’ll double our good luck.

and a bowl of fruit, including crisp Asian pears.

the view toward Willapa Bay

The tide was going out.  During the recent high tides, the water came all the way up to that tree.

I looked at the lichen dangling from the tall tree and thought that the “snow” on the indoor Christmas tree sort of echoed that ornamentation.

Willapa Bay

In summer, Steve and John can see flickering campfires over on Long Island.

We repaired to the study to look at a Powerpoint presentation created to showcase the upcoming inaugural Peninsula Rhododendron Tour.  While we gathered, Allan took some photos from the window:

bird feeder, Allan’s photo

window view, Allan’s photo

window view, Allan’s photo

The presentation, created with wit and style, would attract any rhododendron fan to the peninsula.  Steve and John had recently presented it to the American Rhododendron Society’s Portland chapter and may show it to a chapter up in Seattle.  You will want to mark your calendars for May 2.

This tour will be in addition to the July 18, 2015 Music in the Gardens tour.

The presentation explored the timeline of the American Rhododendron Society itself…

The local connection was explored via the history of J. Harold Clarke, who was the grandfather of Steve Clarke, known to us in our day as the plantsman extraordinaire of Clarke Nursery.  Steve and John’s property and that of their neighbour, Ron Barclay, were part of the original Clarke Nursery.

Note the mention of a rhodo names after our Steve Clarke.

The story was set off beautifully by the eastern view from the study windows.

Both properties are rich in species and hybrid rhododendrons and will be the centerpiece of the tour, along with a breakfast lecture by Steve Clarke.

A series of photos told the story of the transformation of Steve and John’s property from a woodland full of ivy and salal to a collectors’ garden, revealing treasures of old rhododendrons and other plants along the way.

I recall visiting last spring and being bowled over, almost literally, by the fragrance of a particular rhododendron.  I now know this it is not ‘King George’; it is ‘Venus’.

not ‘King George’: ‘Venus’, taken last April 22.

After the well done and informative show, we found that daylight was almost gone.

the tide is further out

The inside wall of the upper level mimics the shape of the windows in a most satisfying way.

the glow of the house as we depart

and an almost full moon over the roof

When we arrived back in Ilwaco after dark, we saw the peace sign alight over the home of Don Andersen and finally managed to get a photo of it for this year.  It’s one of our favourite seasonal displays, along with the Christmas star over Jessie’s Fish Company, which we noted has been turned off for the year.  Allan walked up Elizabeth Avenue to get the pictures.

Elizabeth Avenue, looking north from Lake Street

the Andersen peace sign

The peace sign, black eyed peas, and brunch with three of our favourite gardeners are surely all good portents for 2015.

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