I probably should have quoted it, instead of the other.Be a bit chilly too
Wot?) 
Should have done an extra Salvia amistad for moi...
View attachment 26721 alp, you're getting to know me!!
@Verdun, since alp is The Great Bargain Hunter, couldn't she throw a couple healthy handfuls of used coffee grounds in with the woodchips this fall? They are a slow-release source of nitrogen, maybe they'd offset the depletion of nitrogen by spring?
My, what big leaves you have... View attachment 26722
.. so she said. I couldn't believe my ears.
"
mg guy, you'll probably get a laugh out of this!
Mowing the yard was my job, weekends, starting when I was about 11 or 12 years old. For months, I mowed the way I had seen Dad do it, ever smaller squares in the yard. The back yard was 2 acres, and it got boring. (Oh, how it got boring!) One weekend, since no one had ever told me why we mowed this way, I went off pattern. I drove the mower "right" for the outer square, then, bored, I started a wide, wavy pattern, weaving back and forth. And when I got done... you could see it. My dad was kind of mad about it. (Mom laughed.)
I can still hear my dad, though. "It looks like I hired a drunken sailor to mow the yard!
It took two more mowings for the pattern to fade.
mg guy, you'll probably get a laugh out of this!
Mowing the yard was my job, weekends, starting when I was about 11 or 12 years old. For months, I mowed the way I had seen Dad do it, ever smaller squares in the yard. The back yard was 2 acres, and it got boring. (Oh, how it got boring!) One weekend, since no one had ever told me why we mowed this way, I went off pattern. I drove the mower "right" for the outer square, then, bored, I started a wide, wavy pattern, weaving back and forth. And when I got done... you could see it. My dad was kind of mad about it. (Mom laughed.)
I can still hear my dad, though. "It looks like I hired a drunken sailor to mow the yard!
It took two more mowings for the pattern to fade.
Telling my age, but this would have been back around 1979, maybe 1980. "Aaaahhh" (-> Sound of chorus of angels.)
Well. whaddaya know?! I was ahead of my time!
well, I'll show my age and tell you that the last pic I posted is a lawn I've been cutting since the time you've mentioned!
Loving the form of the tree at the top of the hill
2 acres.. My mouth waters .. He's lucky to have such a big yard! Not so good for the person mowing it though! Haha!
Flowers were only allowed to be planted around the house!! That big yard was his dream, though. (The yard...Aaaahhh!!) First thing he did was plant a line of pines across the front, and an ornamental maple in the middle of the front. A small "orchard" of fruit and nut trees in the back. And a small veg plot. Dad called the sheriff.. "You're not going to believe this, but..." Turns out there was a group going around our county stealing all the expensive trees!
I ask you! And in another incident, a line of tree as windbreaker was stolen ... RHS and National Trust properties said that they had precious plants stolen as well. Acer could be a very expensive tree. We are lucky that because of intensive and calibrated farming / culture, a lot of plants such as orchids have come down in prices dramatically - democratisation of gardening (plants have become so much more affordable if you know where to look) Of course, there are still a lot of places asking for silly prices. My friend said she was thinking of buying a bamboo for her daughters but the price was like £100. I told her that the English didn't buy them at that price, and the moment the sales started, shops looked like they were being burgled... 
