Volunteer Day: mental!

Carlin, deep in a bed

Today's volunteer day was busy. Very busy. When Emily and I arrived the arch at the top of the steps had been knocked down, so we quickly straightened it and fixed the broken ties holding it in place. Seems like the jasmine on it survived, but I think the arch is rotting out.... do we need a new one?

Then people started arriving. We had 18 people working away in the garden and got so much done it's outrageous! We divided all the tasks between the people, and this is how it all went down:

Stephanie & Diane

Carlin and Patrick weeded assiduously all around the paths and into the borders. They can always be counted on to do that job perfectly! Carlin also moved Dahlia and lily bulbs around.

Stephanie and Diane weeded the steps area. I pulled out 5 weeds to show them what had to go, and left them to it. 2 hours later the steps are weeded very carefully and with great attention to detail - yay!

Nate and Tania pulled nasturtiums (aka weeds) out of the front border, which is an ongoing problem there.   

Eliot: before and after

Eliott, Nate, Emily and Steve worked together to make a low wooden shoring for the bottom of the steps where the slope tends to crumble. Not anymore it doesn't!

They installed several pieces of redwood with wooden stakes and replanted the lamb's ears on top of the little retaining wall. It'll be lovely when they grow over the edge and cascade down.

Molly gets dug in

Molly and Matt weeded the border behind the wrong way sign, and pulled out the Agave gypsophila there. It had 6 pups that went in along the front of the border, and the original plant went back in.

They also moved an Agave scabra, some Aeonium zwartkop, and added three more clumps of regular Aeonium arboreum too, into better positions height-wise. They pulled out 4 Limonium perezi that were not really doing well there (not enough water, and the purple flowers got lost among the Agapanthus behind them) and set them aside so we could decide where to plant them later on.

Erika and Mattie

Erika and Mattie helped me remove all the Aloe maculatas and Festuca glauca (Blue Fescue) from the middle back bed and rearranged them much more cleverly.  There was a great deal of digging going on there, but the end result is so much more pleasing!

We also took out the two Sedums and Matt replanted them in the middle front bed, and 3 variegated Society Garlics (Tulbahgia violacea) as they didn't match the planting plan.

Later on, Matt moved the 4 Limonium he'd dug out, and the 3 variegated Society Garlics from the middle back bed to various spots to the front border, and also moved a Euphorbia myrsinites to the arch area from the middle front bed. Matt took the three Aeonium nobile from the middle back bed and set them under the Euphorbia lambii tree there, which is a much better place for them I think.

Steve

Brittany and Ryan energetically turned the compost and removed two wheelbarrow loads which were spread about the garden - great to see that happening! Sometimes you think you'll be buried under all the plant waste, and when it turns into something useful - whew!

And with that, we were done. Another glorious, sunny, fun day in the garden. thank you all for helping to make the community look so much better!