3C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015
in the
garden
Where dahlias bloom
Q&A
with
Lisa Cerveny
Q: When you purchased your Gearhart home some
18 years ago, you discovered a certain treasure in its
gardens. What was that?
A: When we first saw the property, we fell in love with
the garden. It was early September and there were hun-
dreds of dahlias in bloom. When we returned back to Se-
attle we couldn’t remember much about the house, but
the garden was front and center.
The previous owner had sold dahlias on the street. We
carried on the tradition and through many years of shar-
ing the blooms with the community we met wonderful
people in passing, and made many life long friendship.
That was a great gift.
Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: Lisa Cerveny, David Russell and their corgi, Yoda, in their Gearhart home garden.
BELOW: Dahlias in full bloom.
Q: How have you maintained your dahlia collec-
tion?
A: The number of dahlias in the garden when we
purchased the home was overwhelming. We narrowed
them down from approximately 150 to 90. We also orga-
nized them into one large area in the back yard for ease
of care. Michael Riley of Green Mountain Landscaping
designed grass paths that divide the beds to create an
inviting way to experience the variety of blooms.
Q: What are the particular challenges of growing
dahlias so close to the ocean?
A: We’re fortunate that we’re very close to the front,
yet we’re in a unique location that’s relatively protected
from the wind. The biggest issue with the dahlias are the
warm winters that encourage large slug and snail popu-
lations. They eat them like cabbage.
Q: What is a good tip for cutting dahlias for bou-
quets to make them last?
A: Cut them early in the morning before the sun is
high and put them in tepid water. If you wait for a nice
sunny afternoon to cut, they’re likely to fizzle.
Q: What is your favorite dahlia?
A: They’re all unique and fun. David calls them the
“floozies of the flower world.” If I had to choose one (for
this year) I’d choose Dragonberry. Its magenta, orange
and yellow tones are delicious.
Q: Does your dog Yoda help in the garden?
A: Yoda is the chief supervisor. He’s particularly inter-
ested when we’re planting in the spring with bone meal.
Q: What’s the most recent gardening book you’ve
read that you would recommend?
A: “Back in the Garden with Dulcy,” by Dulcy Mahar.
She maintains a wonderful sense of humor about gar-
dening and I like her brutal approach to getting rid of
plants that don’t work.
Lisa Cerveny and her husband, David Russell, have a
JDUGHQ¿OOHGZLWKGDKOLDVDWWKHLUKRPHLQ*HDUKDUW
THE SHIP REPORT
On the water, a little prep goes a long way
By JOANNE RIDEOUT
Special to The Daily Astorian
I
t’s boating season right now
and the warm weather has
us all wanting to be outside,
and many of us, out on the water
in boats.
We’re thinking about fun
when we’re going out to enjoy
the day on the river or ocean, but
the truth is it doesn’t always turn
out that way. So this column is
about what to do if something
goes wrong, and how to get help
as fast as possible.
In this region, with its huge
U.S. Coast Guard presence, help
for mariners in trouble is usually
just a VHF radio call away. But
there are a few key things you
can do to help your rescuers help
you, in the fastest possible way.
First of all, start thinking
about what to do if things go
wrong before they actually do.
This doesn’t mean dwelling on
disaster, it means having a back-
up plan so you’re ready if, say,
the boat starts to sink, or catch-
es ¿re, or someone on board
has a medical emergency that
you can’t handle. These things
happen all the time to boaters.
They keep the Coast Guard busy
around the clock, especially in
the summer.
Here’s what the Coast Guard
suggests you do to make rescue
ef¿cient and fast
• Get those lifejackets on.
You already have yours on,
don’t you? Well, if you don’t,
get yourself and everyone else
on board suited up. If you all end
up in the water this will buy you
valuable time.
• Have a VHF radio and
know how to use it. Yes, a
VHF radio and not a cellphone,
although you can have one of
those too. They’re inexpensive
and hands down the fastest and
best way to get the Coast Guard
focused on helping you quickly.
• Turn your VHF radio to
Channel 16. This is the distress
channel. The Coast Guard mon-
itors it constantly. They’ll hear
you and respond very quickly if
you press the button on the radio
and call for help on Channel 16.
• Press the button on the
VHF radio and say, “Mayday,
Mayday, Mayday.” I know it
sounds silly, and perhaps con-
jures up images of small chil-
dren dancing around a maypole,
but actually it’s the universal in-
ternational distress signal. Any-
one anywhere in the world who
hears you say this will know you
are in trouble and are calling for
help. By the way, it’s the English
phonetic pronunciation of the
French word for “help me.” So,
quite appropriate, actually.
• Tell them the name of
your boat, its registration
number, and where you are.
Just yelling “help” into the radio
in French or any other language
isn’t really enough to get the
fastest response if you are, for
example, sinking. The Coast
Guard can track your VHF ra-
dio signal but that takes some
time. Better you tell them your-
self who you are and where you
are. If you have a GPS on board
(you should) you can use it to
¿nd your latitude and longitude.
Tell the Coast Guard this. They
can ¿nd you pronto with that in-
formation.
• What if you’re not sure
where you are? Then tell them
where you were — what port
you left from and how long you
have been traveling, and in what
direction. “Two hours west on
the river out of Astoria.” That
will help.
• Clear the decks. If a Coast
Guard rescue helicopter comes
to help you, clear the decks of
anything that could blow around
and hit someone. The downdraft
from a helicopter tops 100 mph.
At those speeds, small objects
become dangerous projectiles.
• Get ready to be rescued. If
you’re on a sailboat, take down
the sails. Expect the helicopter
to approach your boat off the
stern on the port (left) side, be-
cause the pilot has the best vis-
ibility that way. If you can steer
the boat, orient it so that the
wind is 45 degrees off the port
bow. They’ll be wanting to low-
er a basket on a cable and hoist
you up.
• Keep listening to your
VHF radio and be ready to
follow directions. Whatever the
Coast Guard folks in that heli-
copter or rescue boat tell you to
do, do it. Even if it’s scary. They
know what they’re doing and
have a lot more experience at
this than you do. Be aware that
Joshua Bessex/The The Daily Astorian
KMUN General Manager Joanne Rideout is the voice of
The Ship Report.
if your boat presents a danger
to the helicopter (like a sailboat
with its mast Àailing about in
rough seas), you maybe asked
to jump into the water and swim
away from the boat. Plenty of
lives have been saved this way,
even in severe weather. So trust
them and just go for it.
So now you know the basics
about calling for help if you get
in trouble on the water. By the
way, plenty of boaters go their
whole lives and never, ever, need
to be rescued. I hope that’s you.
And now that you know more
about what to do in an emer-
gency, you don’t have to obsess
about it. A little preparation goes
a long way. You’re pondering
it, making sure you’re ready,
thinking it through. All done.
Now get out there and enjoy the
summer.
Joanne Rideout is general
manager of Coast Community
Radio (KMUN-FM) in Asto-
ria. She’s also the creator and
producer of The Ship Report,
a radio show and podcast
about All Things Maritime.
You can hear The Ship Report
on Coast Community Radio at
8:48 a.m. weekdays at 91.9FM,
streaming at www.coastradio.
org. Podcast available on The
Ship Report website at www.
shipreport.net.
W hile other n ew spa pers give you less, The D a ily Astoria n
GIVES YOU
M ORE
O u r n ew
C APITAL B UREAU
covers the sta te for you
From left: Peter W on g, H illa ry Borru d , M a teu sz Perk ow sk i