Strip garden oops...

This morning Matt and I did our usual morning mini-tour: get bagels from Hazel's, walk to the garden, sit on the bench to eat, then trundle down the hill past the new Mariposa Center Garden(opposite Center Hardware). Only today when we got to the strip garden it was clear someone had been there before us.

With a weedwhacker.

What I think happened was a city employee (DPW?) came by to get rid of the weeks usually filling that spot. He found some plants growing there, and carefully weedwhacked around them, bless him. Except one, which he whacked. Little Eriogonum grande rubescens (Red Buckwheat), I hope you find the strength to recover from having all your leaves cut off at ground level, but I'm not holding my breath... :( At the very least, I am sure it was a quick and painless death. (1st pic)

Now on the bright side our mystery weed abatement person did not whack a Lavatera that did not have a stake attached, and was hiding behind a remarkably similar-looking weed (a mallow) which I think is miraculous (2nd pic). And he did completely obliterate the weeds on the opposite side of the hole in the fence, weeds which had grown so tall that I was exhausted just looking at them, and yea, just this last weekend had imagined being razed to the ground by a... weedwhacker. (3rd pic)

Yes, friends, be careful what you wish for! Back in 2003 I wished fervently that I had better posture, as my habit of slouching was not doing a lot for my back. And lo, I fell off my horse and broke my collarbone, ending up in a figure 8 brace for 4 miserable months. Just try slouching in a figure 8 brace! And after 4 months it took a long forever for the tendons and ligaments in my shoulders to stretch out again so I could enjoy a damn good slouch... as I am right now. Ahem!

Anyway, I digress. I'm going to have to get out there ASAP and do several things:

1. Add more stakes to the remaining plants
2. Add more signage (the old sign is illegible)
3. Deposit more rolls of old sod upside down on the newly weedwhacked areas to prevent the weeds coming back.

I am going to have to get down there at lunchtime and try and do this stuff! The last pic shows the remaining plants... hope they survive.