Gorge Park

It was a lovely day last Tuesday. We took the Dodge Lodge, picked up a couple of Nanwiches and went to the Gorge Park for lunch. The tulips, forsythia, currant bushes, and many other flowers and bushes are in bloom. The air is full of pollen! The Japanese Takata Gardens were once in this location, but went into decline during and after WWII and all that entailed. The Takata Gardens are now rebuilt out at Glendale Gardens and had the opening ceremonies last summer. At the Gorge Park they seem to be slowly restoring some of the ponds and plantings. Otherwise, the park has a long walkway along the Gorge waterway, lined with benches donated by people in memory of loved ones.

I have moved the perennials from the back of the little lewisia rockery and now have another 2 feet by about 10 feet of rockery space. I have found some rocks to add along with my new tufa rock. None of the rocks are big, I will partially bury them to make them look like a mountain range in minature, with all the angles running the same way. I need more sand to mix with topsoil to put over top of the layer of ordinary garden soil that covers a few bits of pot shards and small stones for proper drainage. I will also need more pea gravel for top dressing. The lewisias, a campanula (lost its name), a primula marginata, a small green hebe (bush like but minature), and one other tiny draba (from last year's planting) along with the strawberry jar, and the Jackie Cooper's faery plaque that has broken up and become an artifact; make up the little rockery now. I will add the cyclamen coum and perhaps the new daphe. The creeping phlox will go out in the front rockery. I will be renovating that front rockery too, just adding more grit and topsoil. There is room for a few tiny plants there as well. I want to try to transplant a piece of the best rockery plant in my garden that sits by the west coast planter, growing in clay and gravel, making an every bigger evergreen mound. It grows over rocks. Its a lovely thing. I hope I can get some of it to grow in the lewisia rockery at the back. I might get more thrifts for the front and for the area by the fig tree.

I have dill, cosmos, sunflowers, marigolds, and a few vegetabe seeds that I want to get planted in the vegtable garden next to the little rockery. I will want to get tomatoe plants for the other side and perhaps some peas and beans can go in that area.

I topped up the pond with water. It looks really quite good. I want to get the paving blocks raised a bit higher. The Japanese area needs the violets and dandilions removed and the moss encouraged to grow. Also need to clean the little dry stream and top up its pea gravel. I have no idea what happens to these little stones, but they seem to disappear. I saw three of the new little fish on the surface, so some of them are still in there. Hopefully, all of them.

The fawn lillies are spreading in the woodland area. The big trillium is in bloom and I see the small one showing, at last. I thought I may have lost it. There are sooo many of those blue bell things ... very invasive. I am not sure which is worse.. the violets, the bluebells or the dandilions. I see that the new fawn lilly (ethronium) in the new bed by the little spruce and curly hazelnut tree, is showing leaves. So, with the trilliums, the fawn little, the shooting star, and the anemone hepactica, I think that little area is going to be a success. It has top dressing of cedar duff. Also in that area the Sanguinaria Canadensis (double) is blooming and slowly spreading.

Yesterday was cold after the great hot day before. I went shopping and caught the bus there and back. I found the Tabi t-shirts! Now, I will need some good leather sandals and white dress shoes. I like all the open toed shoes this year! I need more gardening and less eating before I can feel comfortable shopping for clothes, now!

I am impossibly behind in commenting my friends and contacts on Flickr. The new site is looking so good that I like to check in there and see how much Cyrus and his guys have got finished. It is gonna be great! Flickr seems like such a chore to navigate recently. It is so slow and sooo glaring white!

Neil and Andrea who have been staying with Tara and Andy downstairs have both got jobs, and will be into their own suite in a house in a couple of weeks. We have offered them our hide a bed and they seem to think it will be ok to have. They have a few other donations from people to furnish their place. Its marvelous how they both are adapting in so little time. They are doing very well!