months 04-06: spring | Garden Variety Life

The grape-vine was a delightful bonus for us when we first moved to the Richmond house. By summer, it would look so exotic & lush. Granted, its position was precarious as it was planted tight against the far right corner foundation of the carport – – the carport we’d marked for demolition.

the car port (grape far right) — photo by SVSeekins

We needed a garage. We hoped to keep the grape-vine.

We kept the foundation. The grape survived the big build.

grape vine survives the garage build (grape far right) — photo by SVSeekins

It even flourished when C set about growing tomatoes. Roots had made their way into the tomato bed. The grape-vine appreciated the regular fertilizer & watering.

tomato bed spring 2007 — photo by SVSeekins

Then last spring, we decided to extend the garage & add a new floor above.

Again, there would be massive demolition.

We’d try to save the grape from the perils of the construction.

grape vine spring 2011 — photo by SVSeekins

vine on fence / woodshed roof — photo by SVSeekins

This entailed delicately removing the vine from the building and laying it on the rooftop of the fence / woodshed … before the garage was torn down & rebuilt.

I worried about the grape-vine baking on the asphalt shingles through the hot summer. I worried about it being inadvertently damaged during the demolition, framing & stucco phases of construction. I worried that it would be blown away during the wicked winter winds.

This spring, we rushed to put the vine back in place while the grape was still in its winter dormancy.

A beam was attached to the wall of the garage with careful attention to protecting the stucco & rain-screen integrity.

placing the first beam — photo by SVSeekins

Posts were secured to the rock wall of the tomato bed. A 2nd beam spanned the posts.

Crossbeams were trimmed to size to hold the 2 longer beams parallel.

the short cross beams — photo by SVSeekins

Adding more side beams brought a recognizable shape into form.

the trellis develops — photo by SVSeekins

The grape-vine was delicately maneuvered into it’s upgraded position just in time for spring buds.

re-positioning the grapevine — photo by SVSeekins

Now fingers are crossed in hopes the grape-vine has survived & will provide exotic lushness to the courtyard again this summer.

Enerfab Carpentry did a pretty nice job, don’t you think?

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Last spring, I came across the loveliest drift of foamy flowers that I’d ever seen. It grew on a rocky outcrop. Pink blooms smothered the moss-covered rocks. It was as if the hillside was blushing.

grape hyacinth on hillside — photo by SVSeekins

“That would look great in my garden!” I thought.

We have a rocky slope that blooms with grape hyacinth at this same time. Wouldn’t the pink & blue combo look fabulous?

My friend SK had similar thoughts. Little green plant-coveting monsters chorused from our shoulders, encouraging us both to forage some of this wildflower.

It was a group consensus.

We just took a few plants. We only took them from crevices already overflowing with the pink population. I felt a weensy bit ashamed by our boldness – but only for a moment.

The plants were tucked into similar mossy crevices in my garden as soon as was possible. Fingers crossed for their survival, I went inside to search out the details on the plant.

It turns out that it’s named appropriately. Sea Blush. Blooming on rocky hillsides throughout the Pacific Northwest, it’s a native wildflower.

I certainly hadn’t noticed any unusual smell from the flowers, but when I read about it, I hoped there might be just enough to deter the deer from feasting. Deer frequent this part of the garden more than any other. Time would tell.

It was disappointing to find out Sea Blush is an annual. Since we’d moved it while it was in bloom, I figured there wasn’t much chance it would set seed.

What a delight to find it blooming this spring! Was the winter mild enough that the plants survived? Did the seeds develop even though I’d set it back by transplanting? I’m not sure how it survived, but I’m thrilled it did.

Now I hope it’ll spread across the rocks & produce the blushing spring meadow of my fantasies.

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary offers classes on native plant gardening. I took one last weekend. The instructor, Pat Johnson, listed Sea Blush as one of her plant picks for native gardens. She has superwonderful photos of gardens on Vancouver Island that benefit from the use of native plants. I definitely recommend the 1/2 day class if you ever get the chance.

Swan Lake also has a native plant sale coming up this weekend. Imagine –

getting coveted plants without scavenging…
and raising funds for a local park.

Win-Win
Even better than foraging, don’t you think?

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