Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Weekend Beauty, Part 2, Sunday

Sunday dawned chilly, but sunny. Since we had a 12:30 soccer match at the stadium in the city, we decided to take the Link light rail in early and walk down to the Pike Place Market for brunch.  The Athenian Restaurant is located right in the market, amid the produce and flower stalls, all of which cling to the hillside overlooking Elliot Bay. 


By 10:30 we were seated at a table with a view.

Washington State ferries shuttled back and forth across the sound to islands and the Kitsap Peninsula.
The Olympic Mountains are still snow topped in the background. 
Tom had a crab frittata. He said it was very good. I had eggs, bacon, and french toast. I like conventional breakfast food. 
We didn't have much time to linger in the market, but I did have to stop to  admire all of the tulips in one of the nearby flower stalls. 





Thanks for all of the beauty, ladies. 
And then we walked and rode the rails back to the stadium, where the sky of blue and the field of green echo the Sounder colors. 
It was a very intense, exciting, and entertaining match, against the top team in the league right now, and the Sounders played them to a 1-1 draw. We took our time following the crowds out of the stadium and treated ourselves to coffee at Starbucks before catching the Link back home.

Then I needed to work off some tension and some calories, so I went outside to work when I got home at 4:00. I have been working on re-digging the lawn edges, and I got this bed done before quitting about 6:00 to go make some supper. 

Most of the lower lawn us done now, and looking sharp. 
And our King George rhodie is in bloom, and with a delicate, sweet scent, down at the bottom of our garden. 

Spring in Puget Sound country is glorious. 

Monday, April 29, 2019

Weekend Beauty, Part 1, Saturday

For the most part, the sky was blue and the sun was shining over the weekend here in Puget Sound country. We took advantage of some opportunities to enjoy the beauty around us.

On Saturday morning we joined up with other members of our garden club to tour the Anderson Rhodendron Garden in Enumclaw, WA. This is a private garden which the Andersons invite the public to tour during the peak bloom time in the month of May. Our club arranged for a tour a bit early, but on our regular meeting day. 

It was cold and rainy when we gathered, but that didn't last long.
 On a clear day, at the bottom of this sweep of lawn, there is an amazing view of Mt Rainier rising above the hills. I have seen it when Tom and I were here years ago, but we were not blessed with that view on this day. 
On either side and around the end of this central lawn are pathways meandering through the rhododendrons and accompanying shrubs and trees. 





There are also wonderful ground covers. 


 These are gentians, often hard to grow, but happy here in this garden at the base of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. 

 At the lower end of the lawn.





 There are lots of great garden seats, places to linger. 









 The garden continues, circling the house. 

 Dogwood trees glow against the now blue sky. 







 Many of these are old, mature plants, and they rise far above our heads. In the coming weeks, as more buds open, this garden will be a blaze of glory. 


After the tour, we all went out to lunch and enjoyed lots more visiting and even some gardening talk.