My husband and I moved a pile of logs to the burn pile on Saturday. I wanted to move the big old pine tree logs out of view and put them with my stump/root collection, but the ground by the stumps was mushy and the tractor sank at least six inches in the muck. I saw a barn swallow that evening. Sunday morning, I watched two more barn swallows catch bugs while my husband pulled multiflora rose, wild raspberries, Japanese barberry, and other noxious plants up from behind the rock wall to the east of our new yard. He threw it all on the burn pile for what I think may actually have been our last burn of the season. WHEW!!! After the fire went out, I harrowed the space in my new yard and just in front of the chicken coop. I cannot wait to cut down the stumps in the new yard and rent a grinder! Another harrowing and some dragging and it'll be ready for hay and flowers. I'm going to use hay for the lawn. This morning I harrowed the south field again, which is where I grow my crops. I managed to hook one of the garden posts in between the two rows of disks on the harrow, so I'll have to straighten that before I can hang the wire fence on it for my tomato trellis. I'm hoping to make enough compost this year to go to no-till in the garden from now on. At least then I wouldn't snag the posts again.

Ooh, you have to be careful what you say around garden web pals! (Just kidding). I admit I'm really thrilled, for some odd reason, that my own favorite way to use containers is gaining some traction. On the other hand, like ginny12, I'm glad there are no rules and that we can all do what we like - and try different approaches each year. I DO like grouping pots where each holds one plant, or a group of a single type of plant (3 lavenders in a large pot, for example). You can provide each plant with what it likes (well, ideally, you can!), select a pot that complements the plant, group them in different ways in different areas at different times, and handle them individually over the winter, or when they need to "rest" (sometimes, but not always, on their way to the compost pile). Not that I think everyone else should feel this way about containers - that's half the fun. And, yes, to me, the pot is as important as the plants in it. This year I'm picking up as many "long toms" as I can get my hands on. I LOVE that shape, a simple terra cotta tapered "cone" that provides really good drainage and lifts the plants enough that they can be used in a mixed border without being swamped by surrounding foliage. My favorite combo of the moment is a tall (unknown) arching upright grass in a long tom where the pot is about 20" tall and the plant is about 28" above that. The 2 shapes are a great reflection - not nearly identical, but similar - of each other, and the contrast between the solid pot and the airy grass gives me goosebumps. Before I claim any artistic insight, though, I should say that I'm fairly sure half the people who have been in my garden in the last week have asked themselves "I wonder why on earth she has that grass in that pot..." I love terra cotta, which is totally impractical because it needs to be stored indoors in winter. Repeating the material and variations on a simple shape throughout the garden helps give some apparent control over the otherwise slightly chaotic scene, I think. Then again, my favorite way to fill a vase is with a bunch of daisies or peonies; I don't suppose that this will ever catch on in the world of flower arranging. LOL.

While at the DMV yesterday (3 yrs @ this location) I couldnÂt help but notice that again the designer (in this case a term I use lightly) used primarily native plants (good for them) and other than the mow and blow guy who might have pulled a few weeds and broadcasted a heavy amount of unnecessary fertilizer this garden has been left to mature without the hand of a gardener. In one bed the absence of a gardener was very telling as in the front of a shrub border a Russian Olive had seeded itself a few years ago and was now a gangly 5-6Â tall. This shrub most gardeners quickly learn is an invasive monster but to a majority of folks it is a pretty gray/green shrub that they have subliminally noted in uncultivated areas so it must be native. After a number of years no one has noticed that this Russian Olive was not part of the original design and probably will overtake the other shrubs within the next few years. This brings up the point that while survival of the fittest might be the way Mother Nature originally intended to design her gardens, now more than ever the gardenerÂs role has become crucial in the area of recognizing and removing invasive species from the garden (aka weeding). It is clear even when attempting to duplicate the plants and patterns found in the wild it is the perpetual eye and hand of the gardener that defines a space truly as a garden. I would love to see a photo or written description of a commercial garden left to survive on itÂs own that did not include any or enough native plantings in itÂs design. Note the Russian Olive abutting the building. I donÂt know what stands out more the choice of planting or the tank. This photo also reminded me that one of our great American icons has become four arborvitae wrapped around 4Âx4Â phone control panels sprinkle every few miles along our countryside. Nice combination of Sweet Fern and Bayberry.

Woody - there seems to be some sort of forgone conclusion that you should stop applications of N as fall approaches. You'll find mostly anecdotal evidence suggesting this as appropriate, but little, if any, scientific. In some circles convention dictates we only fertilize while plants are in actively growing, or from bud break - late summer. I often see it contended that late (fall) feeding of N is sure to 'force' new growth and the new growth will be killed by frost. But first, all tender new growth is killed by frost. Second, and probably more importantly, please consider that bud set occurs in mid-late summer, and while it takes N to fuel new growth, N plays no role in the initiation of bud-break. For that stimulus, look solely to photo-period. The acquisition of resistance to chill is related to both photo-period and decreasing temperatures and is actually improved with regular balanced N supplementation, so there is no reason not to continue supplementing N through fall and into early winter. Let your guide be soil temperatures. As long as soil temps are >55* plants will assimilate and store not only P & K, but N as well. This (tendency to store N) plays a pivotal role in fueling new growth in spring when soil temperatures are reduced and assimilation of N is depressed. BTW - please do not fertilize with organic sources of N like various meals, fish/seaweed emulsions, or urea when soils are cooler than 55* (ammonium toxicity). About Pro-TeKt: On its face it looks primarily like a potassium (K) supplement, but the K it contains mostly adds a degree of versatility to your fertilizer program if you're already supplying nutrients in an appropriate ratio. Remember that supplying an excess of any single nutrient can be as bad as a deficiency, so it's a valuable asset to have a pretty good idea of what you're supplying and when your plants will get it. 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers (ratios are different than NPK %s. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are all 3:1:2 RATIOS) come closest to supplying nutrients in the ratio at which plants actually use them. By supplementing K with 0-0-3 Pro-Tekt, you can EFFECTIVELY reduce N applications & not worry about P or K deficiencies. There is more than enough P in 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers (plants use on average 6X more N than P) to prevent a deficiency of P, and the K is covered by the 0-0-3, which also provides silicon. Silicon (Si) is Pro-TeKt's most valuable asset. A high % of plants absorb additional Si when it is available. Plants that test higher in Si concentrations in shoots show a more rapid rate of increase in (dry) mass. Since an increase in mass is the true measure of growth, we can say the large % of plants that respond to increased availability of Si simply grow better. While how Si affects plant metabolism escapes complete understanding, we know it improves growth, increases metabolic rates, and increases the chlorophyll content of leaves. Very important is that it increases the tolerance to temperature extremes on both ends, as well as drought. Added Si in cell walls structurally protects plants against pathogens and insects by making cell walls stronger. One of the greater benefits of available Si is it can balance elemental nutrients in tissues because of its suppressive effects on Al, Mn and Na and because it acts to mediate the uptake of P, Mg, K, Fe, as well as the minors Cu and Zn. I'd like to mention that the effects of silicon on plants is documented scientifically, so my offering isn't anecdotal, even though it may seem that I'm promoting the use of Si as if it might be the magic potion guaranteed to turn the struggling grower into a plant magician, like so many other super elixirs promise. It won't do that, but it does strengthen plants in ways noted above, and as also noted adds versatility to your nutritional supplementation program if applied properly. Though I think I'm a pretty critical observer, I'll qualify the following observation as being anecdotal, even though it squares with science. I have noticed a difference in my plants since I started to use it about 10 years ago. The areas where I notice most improvement are, improved resistance to heat, obviously stronger & more upright foliage, and a considerable reduction in the incidence of both diseases and infestations. The nutritional supplementation path we travel is often obscured by a lot of anecdote and misconception, but it really isn't difficult at all to put a supplementation program in place that ensures your plants will get not only all the elements essential to normal growth, but also ensures they are supplied in a favorable ratio - more important than realized by most. Al