The Grove Garden Journal

an excerpt

The Grove Garden Journal is an ongoing feature appearing in The Hermit's Lantern. Click the link for more information about this valuable resource.

The Dancing Circle, May, 2004 ce. At the right is the wrought iron arch. Behind the hawthorne is the garden barn.—photo by David Burgdorf

Looking west from over the Dancing Circle to the Beyerls' cottage.—photo by David Burgdorf

January 29th

Saturday the high remained in the 20s and we had strong morning frost. It was not a gardening day. And Sunday, we were greeted with a light snow, not much, but it was clearly the return of winter. We had .04" of precipitation. Monday morning the temperature dropped down to 20s - one of the coldest nights so far this year. I got the Lantern printed and had just finished folding and stuffing it and, still wearing my "editor's hat" began work on the layout of The Rowan Tree News when poof! We were left in the dark. I quickly went out and put some lit candles in the greenhouse, grateful that I was home and had rescheduled a dental appointment. Had I been in West Seattle as originally scheduled, we would have lost everything in the greenhouse. The power was not restored until mid-afternoon after 7-1/2 hours! The total garden activity? gerry fed the birds and I put out new suet blocks. We had another .04" of precipitation. Tuesday, more light snow which quickly turned to drizzle as the temperatures warmed and winter headed east. With driving in to Seattle for the herbal course, there was no gardening. We had .12" of precipitation.

Thank the garden gods for yesterday. I went out and got in a solid hour of morning work, cleaning up in front with the lawn broom as this was the final day to fill the yard waste bins. Then I went back and finished weeding and tending the area by the tree in the Cherry Hill garden where we grow the poppies from the seed originally sent to us from Amsterdam. I took a break to bring gerry home from his job and then, after lunch, two more hours. I cleaned up the entire area beneath the dwarved apple and gerry worked on pruning the Gravenstein apple. It’s now two-thirds done. No precipitation, and the three bins were all placed in front.

And this morning, halfway through the garden journal, I heard the truck so went out, thanked the driver, and retrieved the now-empty yard waste bins.

February 4th

Last Thursday we had .02" of precipitation. Friday afternoon I worked a half hour in front, just enough to get a good start. I had an administrative meeting which lasted nearly two hours in the classroom. gerry finished the Gravenstein’s pruning and worked on the blackberries in the Cherry Hill Garden. We had .1" of rain, a nice amount.

Saturday morning I got three good hours of outdoor work done with gerry. We first spent an hour in the Mound House, rearranging stored materials and assembling two rolling stands for two file cabinets. Then we spent two hours in the Memorial Grove, cleaning up branches downed over the winter, leaves from the paths, an occasional weed and the profusion of fir cones. When we ended we had one yard waste bin full!

Sunday was a religious day for us, acknowledging the shift into days with more light and the second half of winter. It was not a garden day but Monday was.

Monday morning I managed three hours working in the Gladiola Bed and a few nearby areas as well, including the corner of the Magnolia Garden with the agrimony, some of the Pyramid Bed in the Magnolia Garden and an area behind the Mound House where the elders are growing.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm, up into the low 50s. Alas, in the morning I was at SCCC (Stafford Creek Correctional Center) on the coast and in the afternoon and evening at SCCC (Seattle Central Community College). But today, here I go!!!

February 11th

A week? Despite my best intentions to type up my notes, it’s been a week.

Last Wednesday I went out at nine in the morning. My first project was to take out the old ‘bridge’ and replace it. The bridge is a small, wooden ramp which connects the entrance to the cement slab we call the patio over a small drain area. It’s built from treated 2 x 6s with some 2 x 4 pieces as well. The original bridge must be more than twelve years old. There were several of the board that had completely given way to being soft mush, so this was a needed project, just waiting for my recovery. With that done, three hours in the Magnolia Garden Bed and, after lunch, another two hours. It’s mostly done!! I had a six hour day outside! gerry spent two hours pruning the plums after lunch, with our resident hummingbird perching nearby. She enjoys gerry’s ability to imitate the hummingbird sounds.

Thursday morning I went into the Magnolia Garden at 8:30 am and, not long after, Joey arrived. In her words: “It’s been two weeks since my last visit to The Hermits Grove gardens. My first joyful task of the day was to tend one leg of the Magnolia Gardens path. I placed all types of leaves into the garden compost bins exposing the beautiful rock walkway. Each young plant that leaped the garden beds and grew in the path needed to be identified before removing them. And just like in the game show Cash Cab where the riders can do a "shout out" for answers, I was doing “Garden Shout Out’s" to Paul. I needed help identifying the young plants growing in the path. Yes I had many shout outs! And each time Paul jetted over to see who was growing. It was exciting! Most went into pots of fresh sterilized potting soil to prepare for The Hermits Grove Garden plant sale. The path was completed and I joined Paul in the garden. We moved and tended sections of the Magnolia Garden near the [coastal redwood]. Each of us was singing individually, in silence, to the rhythms that move our bodies through the motions of tending the plants and soils. During the course of tending gardens, it’s delightful to listen to the botanical teachings of the wise ole Herbalist, Paul. There’s much to do, the plants are pushing out new leaves. Surely this will be a wonderful year!"

We got a lot done, working primarily in the Redwood Gap Bed of the Magnolia Garden. gerry and the Anna’s hummingbird spent the afternoon in the Plum Thicket Garden. We had two huge garden days.

Friday, not so much. The weather was frosty in the morning and a little damp. Although only .04" of precipitation, we worked in the office, instead. Saturday morning Patrick came and provided volunteer help. After some computer time (he’s providing help with a peripheral device) we worked in the Herbwalk Garden for three hours. Thanks, Patrick. In Patrick’s words? “It was a crisp damp ‘near-Spring’ February morning in the Hermit's Grove. I had dressed warmly, including a winter cap and gloves, and I did not regret the layers, Spending the morning on hands-and-knees is greatly eased if you are not also chasing cold out of extremities. Paul, I noticed, was not dressed so warmly...probably reflecting the energy he brings to the garden. My very first garden task consisted of weeding Rocket from between the stones of one of the labyrinthine gravel paths which separate the beds at Hermits Grove while Paul weeded the Herbwalk Garden beds on either side of it Though most of the gravel seedlings were consistently Rocket, a few other wild annuals (Salsify) had been wind driven to take a fling at germinating in the gravel. It's a fine initial garden task, weeding paths, safest for the garden (it's really hard to harm much when you are weeding stone!), and a fine way to bring a dose of reality to someone who is otherwise afflicted with garden romance. So what am I doing here? Why am I on my hands and knees, weeding a gravel path at Hermits Grove? It isn't for the experience itself. I have in fact gardened casually for decades, gradually bending year-after year whatever small bit of landscape I possessed to suit my vision and the capability of the space. Though long-ago infected with a passion for the world under foot and overhead, I am well acquainted that much of the bending is a cycle of toil. I suspect the answer to ‘why’ probably lies somewhere within the core of how I learn. Weeding the path is the task I set my body, to keep it usefully employed, and to provide an exchange for what I have actually come for, conversation with one more knowledgeable So it is true, I did not come to weed the path. I came to learn what weeding the path could teach me, I actually liked weeding that path, and went home refreshed."

After lunch, I went back for another two and a half hours and now the Herbwalk Garden is about two-thirds done. Meanwhile, my dear trusty pruning man (it will be next winter before I’m fit for climbing up and down the ladders freely) finished up the Plums.

Sunday morning we had heavy fog and it never warmed up. We had .07" in the rain gauge but the Moon was Full and the gardens were happy. Monday we had the return of winter, with temperatures that never rose above the low 30s and, late in the afternoon, it began to snow. We had .30" of precipitation on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon, another .32". Both of those added up to three inches of wet snow but that did not last long.

And today? This morning it was necessary to tend to computer issues so I put my time in upgrading my operating system on the primary computer. After lunch, we went our and spent 45 minutes working hard to fill the remaining areas of the last two yard waste bins. Tomorrow morning we’ll have all three bins plus four 30 gallon brown paper yard waste bags all waiting. We got a start on the work to rebuild the main grape arbor just south of the patio, but it will take longer 2 x 4s so I need to head back to Home Base.

February 16th

Oh, what a great day on Thursday! I used some of the lumber I brought home and put up some sturdy shelving of 2 x 4s to hold the potted perennials for the plant sale. After lunch, I weeded in the Patio Garden (including potting hens and chicks), cleaning up the tansy, and then beginning to remove the stone path running between the Upper Bush Garden (blueberries) and the Forsythia Bed. The blueberries continue to grow in size and need more space. I see this as temporary and, should in many years to come the forsythia and the blueberries have joined me as compost, then the path ought be restored. gerry worked nearby cutting back the chrysanthemums - a large patch! - on the other side and meticulously weeding them out all through the base.

Friday was another errand day. I bought more supplies, this time boards long enough (ten foot long boards) and some steel post holders designed for the 4 x 4s. I also replaced our quite aged lawn mower. Talk about inflation! It must have been nearly ten years since I last purchased one. Regular maintenance and care meant the engine was in great condition but the mower, itself, was coming apart just like an old gardener does over time.

Saturday morning was an early start. Patrick came to help and my goal was the Catkin Garden. The hawthorne was pruned and the spirea still needing to be cut back got my attention as well. The prostrate redwood got cut back. Without a canopy of giant redwoods overhead it tends to send up tall shoots! Patrick was great help. “Another cool morning hinting of Spring, and another path carpeted in Willow and Hawthorn and Wind-Blown decaying where it lay in the path. All of that must go of course. The good stuff though was cleaning up the Hawthorn prunings. Aptly named, the Hawthorn.. Hermit's Grove Hawthorn prunings demand respect, and proper attention, and they'll poke you good if you deny them their due. Such thorns they wield as a rose could only long for, but it goes to show you they're cousins under the bark. So Hawthorn in the Spring pushes sap into blossom and twig that is reputed to be good for blood pressure and a healthy heart. Though they'd naturally spread thirty feet, they're kept a more manageable size in the grove. Hermit's Grove Hawthorns get a close haircut before Spring, and I was delighted to be present for it."

After lunch I worked in P.J.’s Heart Bed, a little in the Cairn Bed, got a start in the Hawthorne Island Bed and then mowed! Just the Dancing Circle - it took about five minutes… gerry spent his work time up the ladder in the NE hawthorne of the Dancing Circle. It’s only a sentence of journal but he got about a third done which is a major amount of labor.

Sunday we went out at noon and in three hours, put up the new grape arbor. It was a great job and the time I spent pondering over the last six weeks allowed me to devise a great plan. This one will be far sturdier than the last (which survived a good twenty years). If the grape gods are kind, we’ll never have to replace this arbor. That will be a task for the caretaker years and years down the garden path.

This morning I began weeding the path adjacent to and the soil beneath the patio grape arbor. The recent work had shown me how many weeds there are! And the rocket! Even the teeny plants a half in from leaf edge to edge have flowers so small you can barely see them… But their seed will be vigorous! gerry accomplished another great task, getting all of the fruit trees and bushes sprayed with dormant spray. The apples, plums, pears, and the blueberries and grapes! It’s a great month in the gardens.

February 21st

On Wednesday I worked beneath the Gravenstein apple. The goldenseal and primroses are showing the beginning of their spring growth. The hellebore has flower buds on it, having been slowed down by the burden of heavy snow (it did not enjoy that at all). After lunch, gerry worked on the hawthorn, continuing the pruning, and spotted a mating pair of goldfinches. I also got some of the bed done to the east, where we have various colors of columbine.

Thursday was a great garden day. I was preparing to pot some rhododendrons (to replace two which didn’t make it last year). Joey arrived and I asked her to do the inventory of the plant sale. In her words, “It’s been two weeks since my last visit to The Hermits Grove gardens. The sunny weather was most welcomed today. The rays lit up all the new green growth in the gardens and highlighted all the red branches. It excites me every time I come to see such dramatic changes in just two weeks time. Even with our sporadic frosty mornings. While tending the pathway in front of the Welcome Cottage Bed I found some real jewels amongst the moss and plants that needed relocating into compost bins. I don’t believe in weeds, I believe they are misplaced plants anyway. So relocating plants is what I was up to. Did I mention I found treasures today? On the pathway I discovered happy face’s from the years past garden blessing, pretty rocks to have tumbled, a nail, and a button! Yes, I was on a treasure hunt. During my plant relocation project in the Welcome Cottage Bed (weed removal), I had to giggle many times after reading the garden marker for the Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove) as it reads “Can be nomadic – This is the allowable space" . HA! Well I’ll be.. I said to myself - they did put down root and cast their nomadic children into the encampment of the Lupinus x. Russel (Russell hybrid Lupine) and they have surrounded the Malva sylvestris “Zebrina" hollyhock. I just love the plants that jump right onto any bare ground and take root to heal the Earth in seconds flat. In wild nature they are adored for their efforts, here at The Hermits Grove we need to round these nomadic children and place them back into their garden home. Psssst *as I whisper* I can hear Paul singing “Does anyone really know what time it is?.… Does anyone really care about TIME". Guess that’s my queue that the day has flown by once more. See you in a few weeks for another treasure hunt!"

I was preparing to start work at the gate, my goal being the Rose Hill Garden, when Megan arrived, a new MHP student. Megan’s morning was working on the path in front, leading to the gate. She is a very thorough gardener! She also weeded the area of the Upper Bush Garden where the orris root is growing, then worked on some of the adjacent paths. While she was working, I noticed our resident hummingbird up in her favorite spot atop the birch and pointed it out to Megan. I got about half of the Rose Hill Garden done, also working across the path on the Patio Garden’s area behind the tool shed. When he came home, gerry nearly finished the hawthorne. By then I was also weeding in the evening primrose area (behind the tool shed). Happy Gardens!!! They had so much work and attention on Thursday.

Yesterday the same weather continued. The night-time temperatures brought frost and, as the day warmed, it was mostly sunny. The rainfall this month is currently less than 15% of normal. This is not good, although the humans seem joyous to have so much sunny weather.

I continued my work and am now nearly done with the Rose Hill garden - and got two Zwanenburg blue spiderworts potted for the plant sale. I also finished the evening primrose and continued beneath the grape arbor, which is now three-fourths completed as well. gerry was on his way to work in Hawthorne Island, stopping to remove some weedy grasses from a corner of the Lilac Crest Bed and to clean up on of the daylily clumps in the Gladiola Bed. Hawthorne Island was one of the last beds put in and still tends to weeds, but the area gerry worked looks terrific.

Today’s forecast is for more of the same weather but then, tomorrow, with luck we’ll start getting some rain.

February 22nd

Another bright and early (and frosty) beginning. The soil was too frozen for working in a bed so, as Patrick worked nearby, I dissembled a foot or more of the stone path separating the feverfew from the blueberries in the Upper Bush Garden.

Patrick was here to lend his help, once again. How wonderful! “This morning, even at 9, frost still coated every surface. twig, leaf, and branch, though the rising sun soon lifted the chill. Otherwise this Saturday was a reprise of the two previous, the paths must be tended, and squatters evicted. This area of the garden has the usual crop of volunteers, plus another: plums! The plum trees at Hermit's Grove send out runners, and like as not those runners surface in the paths around the plum trees. They must be dug out or there will be no paths at all. Towards noon, in my last few minutes gardening today, I came across something I had never seen in my decade of living in Redmond, the shell of a snail. Not the common brown shell I had become accustomed to growing up in the SF Bay Area, but one of alternating bands of brown and yellow. I had never seen its like alive pr dead, having "only" infestations of slugs to deal with at my home, but Paul assured me they were a nuisance at Hermit's Grove. Consulting Google, I was quite surprised to find there is very little information available online about slugs and snails in the Seattle area, and no illustrations resembling the shell I had found."

I got nearly half of the Plum Thicket Garden cleaned up, and took out the mower. I touched up the Dancing Circle, mowed the strip of grass just outside the deer netting, the grass at the street’s edge out in front and about half of Carol’s back yard.

gerry worked in the Hawthorne Island bed, working from the Colorguard yucca to the Perry’s White poppies as well as adjacent paths.

What a difference a month has made in the gardens. So much work has been done and there is great promise for spring. Special thanks to Joey and Patrick and Megan!

[A map of the beds can be found elsewhere on our web site.]

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