What did you do in your garden today?

[Esther Knapicius]

I think she meant for @Sheal to put between the big roots of the trees

your right @MaryMary , If I am seeing what @Sheal is describing, then yes, the tiny hostas can be tucked in between tree roots as they only need small amount of soil area. the one tiny one I have is called Baby Bunting, it is a tough little one, cute little cup shaped leaves, and shoots a pretty purple flower. I have split them, thinking, oh, it will never take, and next year, its up and happy. Other than tree roots, you can feature them in front of a garden, as cute fillers, next to other plants with alternate shaped leaves to give a visual effect. Some folks do those little fairy gardens, they would be good there, or the small rock gardens. Also if your into the hens and chickens or other low growing things like that the small hosta would be nice as an alternative visual effect. again the one I have is very cold hardy, I am sure there are other tiny type out there.

 

[Silentrunning]

Burning leaves is out of necessity. We have LEAVES. this time I was able to use the lawn tractor to blow them as I circled and cut the grass at the same time, then raked onto a stump that has to be burned out. hardly any leaves fell ---right now. but when they do, its huge tarps and the big blowers come out, and the tarps are dragged to the woods. Piled high on the tarps. This will take until January to get it all done. Can't burn them all.

We don't have a city curbside affair. If they did, for our front yard alone, they would need three trucks. Sometime I can find someone to help, and pay them. It gives me a break. When I burn, I make sure the wind is going in the right direction don't want to smoke out my neighbor on the one side. the neighbor on the other side could care less.

Esther. I too have a mountain of leaves. I also use the tarp method for removal. My method of choice however is to gather the leaves in a pile and run my old lawn mower over them until they are well broken up. This reduces the pile drastically. Once it is chewed up it makes great mulch.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Esther. I too have a mountain of leaves. I also use the tarp method for removal. My method of choice however is to gather the leaves in a pile and run my old lawn mower over them until they are well broken up. This reduces the pile drastically. Once it is chewed up it makes great mulch.

Also do that, and with the baskets on the lawn mower I dump the leaves on top of the stumps that need burning and light it. don't use the leaves for mulch as there are tooooo many, and I really don't want more acid added to the gardens. there are those spots within the gardens, that a rake has to get to "gently" to grab out the leaves onto the tarps and drag. then there is the blowers in certain spots. so its a combined method over the years to get it all out .

I guess I should say, in my front yard alone, I have 20 , 100 foot tall trees with canopies . so when the leaves come down, its special. ---LOL

 

[Verdun]

Understood that MaryMary ....I was referring to the use of small hostas, who grows them and perhaps best varieties

 

[Beverly]

I transplanted 5 Salvia victoria blue, 2 papaya, one Tecoma stans, one Golden Shower tree sapling. Also bagged up some very ready home compost, cleaned up the birdbath and got the solar fountain pump working. Everything is as it should be, in this moment of time and i did not lose any plants due to root rot this season. The Lagerstroemia indica (Crape Myrtle), transplanted prematurely, is growing beautifully.

 

[Sheal]

To be honest I envy you that space....doesn't really need to be planted, does it?

Thanks @Verdun and you're right. As I'm getting the feel of this new garden the more It's dictating to me to leave it as natural as possible. In other words I will work with it and try to keep it's rural look. However I have to fight the perfectionist side of me that wants to break out. Compromise is the only way to go and the flower beds that I want to create will have to be thought out carefully. I have ideas that are developing, and they will be fine tuned in my minds eye by the time I take a spade to the soil next Spring.

When I moved up here I squeezed four plants into my car, that's all I had room for and one of those was a geranium currently in a pot. It will cope with semi shade so hopefully it will cope with that area. I don't know it's name but it's clump forming, height and spread being around 3ft. The bees love it!

I know very little about Hosta's @Esther Knapicius as they wouldn't have survived in my last garden, but I will check out your suggestions, thank you. Below is a link about our native Bluebells.....

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/vi...ants-and-fungi/woodland-wildflowers/bluebell/

 

[Sheal]

I wouldn't trust myself with a chainsaw @Colin. A few trees will have to be removed but I'll call a local tree surgeon for that.

Thanks for your suggestions but at the moment there are no ground cover plants in the garden and I wish to keep it that way. Because of health issues I want to keep the gardens as work free as possible and ground cover plants tend to be invasive. I'll be planting non-invasive perennials mostly.

 

[Verdun]

I think you are treating this sensibly and realistically Sheal.....just enjoy what you have

 

[Sheal]

Thanks Verdun.

 

[Verdun]

More work on cutting hedge at the back of the garden mainly using loppers and saw. Top of a ladder, bit risky at times but very satisfying work.
Breezy but sunny warm day so very pleasant November day

 

[Daren]

As it is Tradition in my garden we always have a fire to remember guy fawkes

I had to burn my old table, Had a lot of good nights round that so was a little hard saying good bye to her even if she was warped, bent and losing her legs

 

[Esther Knapicius]

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/vi...ants-and-fungi/woodland-wildflowers/bluebell/

Have to find the link for the Virginia blue bells I have.
Have tons of these that come up in the spring. I have actually sold some, they say they are had to find. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/bluebell/virginia-bluebell-flowers.htm

And I have these also. which do naturalize very well. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/bluebell/grow-wood-hyacinth-bluebells.htm
And the above are mixed in with MayApples.

 

[MoonShadows]

Just planted basil, spinach and lettuce seeds for a new crop in our indoor kitchen garden. Here's a pic from an earlier crop.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

In my garden today I grafted as usual but only for an hour and an half this afternoon. I've been working at the top of the mountain and removed a big hedge; stumps and roots etc doing my best to dig it over; yesterday I was working in the top right hand corner; what fun as I dug up lots of bricks; stone; metal and even more roots; this afternoon I continued but I had found what looked like a concrete path so I took along my big sledge hammer.

Clearing access to the concrete took ages due to roots and masses of stones; once most of the concrete was clear I pounded it with the sledge hammer breaking it up; I was truly saddened to find I had been pounding on the roof of a frog's den; I carefully lifted out 10 small frogs and one big parent frog placing then out of harm's way; I bet they all had an headache but fortunately all appeared well and had survived; the broken concrete and hardcore was quickly removed and I quit for the day not wishing to hurt any of the frog's; some concrete still remains but it runs under laurels so is out of the way can can be left alone; a lot of tidying is still needed and there remains lots of hardcore to remove but at last I'm getting on top of all this hard work; I've enjoyed getting stuck into the garden but I can't understand why I always end up grafting so hard? Is this typical retirement.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

Doing great work there Colin.
Hopefully you won't be sued by frog's solicitors for assault and criminal damage!!
Satisfying work though?
I too enjoy the hard physical graft when necessary.
I guess retirement is not all about lying in bed a little longer in the mornings