Monday, September 19, 2011

Harborside Gardens

Human beings find less rest in idleness than in a change of occupation…just try it. Instead of collapsing in an easy chair, try tackling your hobby. Or write that neglected letter, or help Johnny build a radio receiving set. Activity – especially creative activity – is better recreation than loafing.
~Gardner Hunting

Lately our summer weather has been glorious!

So we took the opportunity to get the kayaks out of their dusty moorage from under the front porch and put them afloat. There must be some rule somewhere that says kayaks should never be idle long enough to accumulate dust!


It was a beautiful day, low 80’s F (27 C) a slight breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Wanting to stay somewhat close to home we put them in at a local harbor not 30 minutes away. I took the opportunity to test out my new, way-too-expensive paddle which proved to be worth every penny. As we paddled around a harbor seal actually followed me around for awhile (but proved camera shy)…how cool is that?


Mostly though, as I dodged mindless, dingy (no pun intended) boaters who didn’t seem to see anything without a motor, I perused the local harbor-side homes for their gardens. I must say I was disappointed. You’d think homes facing a peaceful waterside paradise would have oodles of plants and landscaping in which to engage in peaceful tranquility. As far as I’m concerned peaceful tranquility requires gardens. Oh, there was landscaping yes, but mostly of the green shrubby sort. Lots of Nandina (heavenly bamboo), barberry and box, grasses and a hillside of heather that must be beautiful when in bloom, but not much in the way of color or artfulness. And nearly every deck that had flowers had pots of red annual geraniums. What gives? With the plethora of flowering plants available why not focus your perennial landscaping so that it will provide color, fragrance and seasonal changes? But alas out of dozens of waterside garden potential oasis’ there were only a few I felt were photo worthy.


After this disappointing lack of garden creativity I consoled myself as we docked for lunch. I can’t tell you how fun it is to ‘dock for lunch’. That’s the point of my kayak in the lower portion of the photo.


After a delicious rest we paddled again around the rest of the harbor to view gardens on the other side. Many had lounge chairs on their dock…ahhh, nice.


This one had a chiminea on the patio.


All in all a great day, and throw in participation of a group water rescue (I rescued their paddle and a water jug) of some poor tourists who somehow managed to flip over their rented canoe and I’d say the day was “very satisfactory” (as Nero Wolf would say).


In bloom in my garden today: Ajuga, Calluna vularis ‘dark beauty’, Caryopteris ‘longwood blue’ (bluebeard), Coreopsis ‘moonbeam’, Cyclamen, Gaillardia (blanket flower), Kniphofia, Nandina, Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), Alpine Strawberries, Alyssum, Begonia ‘bonfire’, Borage, Crocosmia ‘george davidson’, Daphne caucasica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ and ‘Summer Ice’, Echinacea, Fuchsia, Geranium ‘mavis simpson’, Gladiolus callianthus (formerly Acidanthera), Lavender, Lobelia, Mullen chaixii ‘Album’, Nepeta, Oregano, Phygelius ‘new sensation’ (cape fushia), Rose, Salvia, Schizostylis ‘watermelon’, Star Jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), Tigridia (Mexican Shell Flower), Tomato, Zucchini

Author’s photos

7 comments:

Cindy said...

oh my gosh I am so jealous!

what an incredibly amazing day!

I miss ocean life.

I am so glad you went out and dusted off the kayak!

and that seal!!!

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
oxoxoxox

Joan said...

Hi Cindy!
you are right... a day to get out and do nothing but enjoy it is amazing!

You're only an hour away from the ocean right? It may be worth it to make it happen a tad more...expecially since your ocean weather access is pretty much 10 months out of the year?

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Debra Daniels-Zeller said...

Wow! I love the idea of exploring gardens from the water. Too bad so many people don't take advantage of the beautiful spaces and add more color. You took some great photos and made me feel like I was there.

Kathy Jones said...

Joan< I'm on my computer (for once!) What a lovely peaceful ride I took along with you on your water adventure. It sounds and looks lovely! I think it has a wonderful ring to say "dock for lunch"; glad you were able to get out. ~ Kathy

Joan said...

Hi Debra,
I agree, to me waterside and gardens just go hand in hand. Thanks for reading!

Hi Kathy,
Thanks for reading and commenting! Glad you were able to get back to my blog. Cheers!

Shari B. (FitFeat) said...

I've always wanted to sea kayak. Cory & I thought about doing it the last time we were in WA, when we stayed overnight on San Juan Island (I think that was the name) but just weren't able to squeeze it in. What a SUPER fun day this looks like! Glad you are having great summer weather!

Love all the photos!

Joan said...

Hi Shari,
Sorry for the delay in my response. I do hope you can give kayaking a try some day. It is so much fun. Definitely give yourself several hours for a leisurely paddle. Cheers!