West Seattle, Washington
14 Saturday
Two Three (adding one since original post) questions arrived in the e-mailbox today. We have some thoughts on the first two but not a clue on the second third, so we’re throwing them out to the wonderful WSB readership to answer via comments on this post:
#1 — A new WS arrival wants to plant a vegetable garden and is looking for advice on “good times to plant, and good vegetables that thrive here.” (We had success with cabbage, lettuce, and spinach some years back. Planting time would be now, though, since those are mostly cool-season veggies. What else?)
#2 (added 10:16 pm) — A local family is moving from one WS location to another and plans to handle it themselves. Recommendations for who to use for trucks/etc. for self-moving? (We had a good experience with the 35th/Morgan U-Haul, but that was loooong ago.)
#3 — Someone else reports a woodpecker “attacking” their house. For now, they put a rock in the resulting hole (photo below), but they’re wondering what else they can do to discourage it from further attacks.
We actually consider 13 a lucky number, so this is bound to be a great weekend. Garden plants for sale, free family fun courtesy of the WS YMCA, tons of tunes, and surprises as always — one click away:
Until this article today on the stinky seaweed phenomenon that has frequently plagued Fauntleroy for years, and apparently now is spreading, we didn’t know the seaweed in question was called “sea lettuce.” One thing to take away from the story: the valuable reminder that runoff from everything we do eventually finds our way into the Sound. Just one valuable step you could take: don’t use fertilizer on your lawn or in your garden; enrich your soil (Cedar Grove compost from recycled yard waste is our fave) instead.
Fauntleroy Creek (across from the ferry dock) is worth a visit sometime soon if it’s not someplace you regularly visit. Not only is salmon season revving up, it’s also the annual blooming time for the official favorite flower of WSB, Darwin’s barberry, which comprises an entire hedge at the creek overlook but still hasn’t caught on as a garden plant (aside from a spray on Genesee Hill, one along Beach Drive, and one along Fauntleroy; let us know if you’ve seen others).
Actually, they’re not particularly fragrant. But if you want to see quite a sight, check out the yard full of sunflowers on the north side of Admiral, just west of 63rd. (Sorry I don’t have a photo; we’re going to add images to WSB one of these days …)
E-mail tip says this week’s edition of “Landscapers’ Challenge” on HGTV features a West Seattle family. I haven’t seen this show before but the premise sounds awesome … now THAT’S a makeover I’d be interested in. (HGTV is channel 68 on Comcast.)
A WS Blog visitor forwarded us this e-mail overnight … won’t get to head out and independently verify it till later, but it looks like the garden shop on the north edge of the Junction is pulling up stakes:
Farewell from In Bloom
When we first opened the store in November 2003 it was with the dream of creating a welcoming environment to showcase and sell the things we loved: garden accessories, house plants, vintage pottery, home decor, and local crafts.
In Bloom has lived up to many of our dreams, providing us the opportunity to meet many wonderful customers and artists, as well as giving us an outlet to showcase fine products and creative ideas. Unfortunately the demands of running a store have taken their toll on our health, happiness, and well-being. And so, with our hearts full of warm feelings and our heads full of happy memories, we are closing the store in August 2006.
Sorry to hear it. That’s a tough location, right at the edge of the business district, but one that we think will be a boom zone within a few years — these nice folks may just have been ahead of their time.
One more big event this weekend, besides Summer Fest (see below): Garden Tour!
I am sorry to say that the WS Blog World HQ failed to make the cut once again this year. Our gardening style can be described in one word: Overgrown. We’ve planted so much in our decade-plus on our little lot, we’re out of space. If you check the aerial photo of our house from one of those Google Earth-type programs, it’s a whole lot of greenery and a little spot of roof. So we might have to take the tour, just to see what an actual “garden” is supposed to look like.
It’s not West Seattle, but I just have to publicly lament this … I’m sure I’m far from the only person in WS with some Heronswood plants in the garden. I only discovered them two years ago, and I remember being shocked to find out they had actually sold out to a Big Corporation … now that seems to have come around to bite them (and us customers) in the you-know-where.
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