Wednesday, August 4, 2010

more from the beach

This scene made the biggest gardening impression on me during our beach get-away. Grasses so perfectly planted and tended. And yet not planted and tended at all. Well I guess that isn’t entirely true, they were planted at some point. But not in the tended garden way.According to a sign on the boardwalk this grass is American Dune Grass. Simple and perfect. And this is European Dune Grass. At least according to the educational sign.
Isn’t the sand gorgeous, so peppery. Another sign told us that its due to the high volcanic rock content of the sand in this area.
The second best planting I saw was this.
I’m not entirely sure this isn’t just a weed that sprouted in some wheat-grass! But the effect is wonderful. Black stick shapes growing up through billowy grass shapes. Perfect!
And third: this corner lot given over to wildflowers.
This looks like an advertisement for one of those “wildflower garden in a can” type of things, a good advertisement.
As we walked along the main street through town I was quite impressed with the street plantings. They were well cared for and not cookie cutter. Each one was carefully considered. Finally after a long walk we arrived at our nursery destination. I don’t mean to sound like a nursery snob but the name, English Nursery (Seaview is the town next to Long Beach, where the nursery was actually located) warned me that I wouldn’t find many spiky plants inside.
Which was true. But it was still charming.
And a definite Hosta heaven!
I did find a semi-spiky Hosta, called Wolverine.
And walking back toward the beach I spotted this.
I was going to save it for another WWTT post but decided I knew exactly what they were thinking. We live at the beach damn it!

7 comments:

  1. Is that place also a lawnmower shop? Or are the two mowers just more ornament.

    I do think the bouys as a colorful privacy screen is a grand idea. Not so sure about the rotting hulk of a boat. Is that their deck, then?

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  2. The naturescapes are humbling to this striving gardener.
    Kinda scary, isn't it, when we start to "know exactly what they were thinking"?

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  3. For some reason, weird things like that fence, are not as weird when you are at the beach. It is almost like it is expected BECAUSE it's the beach!

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  4. "I knew exactly what they were thinking. We live at the beach damn it!" that made me laugh. That's exactly what they are saying here! Where were you? Looks like the beaches we used to visit up at Cannon Beach.

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  5. Okay, I now want a buoy curtain in addition to my surf board fence. We live two blocks from the beach, so it's okay.

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  6. It's an American Tradition that you can do whatever the hell you want with your yard in a beach town..and in a desert town. For reasons that remain unclear I always seem to see the least generic garden treatments in both !

    The grasses along the shore are just beautiful.

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  7. Jenn, you know I didn't want to get to close but I think it might have been (lawnmower shop), but then again there was lots of stuff around so who knows! You've got a good eye. Not a deck, maybe a guest house?

    ricki, but I bet we don't, not really.

    D+N, you're right. And that's why its not a WWTT.

    Laura, nope...Long Beach, WA. Headed back to the home-state for the vacation.

    Megan, and again...I want pictures!

    ks, beach town I get. Desert town I didn't know about. But next time I'm visiting the in-laws I'll be checking out your theory.

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