…in the gardens.
Today, one of my nieces gave me an afternoon of help out doors. Last weekend, when I should have been out doing yard work, I was inside. So this week, I’ve been playing catch up. I’ve planted four of the six dozen tulips, and now I’m running out of space. If I can find two matching containers that are not terra cotta, I may try planting the last two dozen in pots to be set out on the sidewalk next spring.
My niece raked the small lawn at the front of our house while I cut back the peonies, removed their supports and covered the stalks with compost. The compost helps to insulate them over the winter, and gives them a slow release feed that makes the peonies glorious in the Spring.
My attempt at lasagna gardening last year was quite a success. I managed to reclaim a long stretch of garden that had been over taken by grass. I added two more small sections of lasagna garden today, and hope to do one more small area before we quit for the winter. Normally, a “Lasagna” garden is created by putting down layers of wet newspaper and then layering “browns” and “greens” over it. “Browns” are dried leaves, shredded paper, straw or leaves. “Greens” are hotter materials like manure, kitchen scraps, or grass clippings. You need to make a stack six inches or higher to get an effective compost pile. I cheated. I laid down a heavier layer of paper, and then we put ready made compost over it, to hold it in place. That will deprive the grass of light, and kill it off! YEAH!!
Then, my niece moved a bale of hay to the covered area at the front door, and we decorated it with a potted mum, pumpkins and gourds. We cleaned up the leaves that had blown in, and either cut back or removed spent plants. I have to make room in the garage for several plants that will be wintered over, but things look much tidier now.
There are a number of plants in the gardens that edge either side of the sidewalk that are still going strong. I refuse to kill off something that has that kind of heart, so I can expect to be out in freezing weather cleaning up the rest of the gardens. I hope that they don’t all die the day before Thanksgiving!
It was chilly this morning, but I was comfortable as I ran errands in a heavy sweater jacket. Then the wind picked up, and as we worked we could feel the temperature drop. By the time I went in for the day, my fingers and toes were really feeling the cold. Dear Husband and I collected two tarps of leaves for the compost pile and called it a day. My niece and her boys joined us for dinner, and it was nice to end the day in their company.
I still have 50 crocus to plant. It will be worth it, when they bloom next spring!