Show me your messy/neat late winter garden bed
Surrounding trees coupled with shredded leaves put down in the Fall now looks like this everywhere:
But once into May, bulbs and perennials going strong, it is amazing how all this leaf litter just seems to....diappear.
Comments (9)
Jenn
3 years agoI don't know if they're neater or messier than the rest of the year, but here's a few. I remove some leaves so they don't form a dense wet heat retaining mat, but I leave some, too.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z6a) thanked JennRelated Discussions
How do you put your perennials to bed for winter?
Comments (25)I attempt a Fall cleanup but haven't finished it all ever because I just get to the point where I don't want to go out in the yard anymore! The last two years DH and I used an electric hedge trimmer (with a heckuva long cord) and it works wonderfully! I grab/bunch the foliage up at the top (sometimes with rope it it's tall), and he "clear-cuts" it to the ground. Not much muss or fuss. We do the same only use a chainsaw for the tall ornamental grasses. We have a JD gator with a dump box--we just throw it in there--it's quite painless! We just start making our way around the yard. This year I plan to get 'er all cut back all the way around--or die trying! Over the last few years I've been planting dwarf evergreens throughout the borders so it doesn't look so bare when the garden's asleep. Makes a huge difference. There are so many gorgeous dwarf evergreens/conifers in different colors, shapes, textures, growth habits, etc. I seek them out now almost as much as I do perennials! I dread cleaning up the mess if I wait till Spring to cut back. Especially if I don't get to a plant before it sends out new shoots--then I have take the nippers and pretend I'm a surgeon--which is a painstaking--PIA! I'm on a quest to tidy up the property in all manners. Goal is to go to the furthermost part and have it look nice. I've slacked on this for too many years and now I have the time to do something about it. Been on a mission inside the house, too. I'll maintain the look after I'm all done. That's the plan, anyway! LOL Funny how many different takes there are on this, I love that!...See MoreGardening related shows, when and where, late Feb., early March
Comments (8)If you are going to be in the Philadelphia area and have the time to stay a couple extra days, may I suggest a small excursion to the suburbs to see Longwood Gardens. It's acres of gardens under glass; a perfect way to experience a little summer in March. http://www.longwoodgardens.org/ If you want to clear your palate with something non-gardening, there is also the Brandywine museum with its focus on the Wyath generational art..Just right for an art museum - packed with pleasure, but not overwhelming. http://www.brandywinemuseum.org/collect.html#Wyeths And if you call ahead, you might be able to take a tour of Chadd's Ford winery and see what goes into making a good glass of wine. http://www.chaddsford.com/root/home/index.htm All three of the places mentioned above are within a few miles of each other....See Moreshow me yours, so i can build mine - raised hosta beds
Comments (19)Yes, you certainly are right... the rush is on! This is my first experience with hosta and I hope I am not planting too late. It is still pretty warm here - starts out in the 50's in the morning and warms up to the 80's by mid day. I am officialy zone 6 but we are usually more like zone 7. Occasionally we get socked with a zone 6 winter (like last year). We don't start getting cold weather usually until Nov. Now that I've said that we will get zapped ha ha. Your cats sound adorable Betty, especially the "crier" lol. My helper is an indoor cat but loves to spend a little time with me outside. (my other cat is afraid of being outside believe it or not) And speaking of holes... here she is a few mintues after I took the picture of her inspecting the soil - that excavated 4 x 4 hole definitely needed some rolling to get the dimensions right! Susan...See MoreI'll Show you mine if you show me yours.........
Comments (26)Let's see if I can get thumbnails to work - I'm still not very used to Photobucket, but I think it is still okay. You'll have to view the larger images of the pictures in order to read the labels I put on the plants, but I got most of them identified. I have a bunch of tomato seedlings growing, and also quite a few basil seedlings, but the chili seeds I plant never seem to grow. Dill and cilantro grow for me from seed in cooler seasons, like the winter. I have some old chili plants that are still producing but they are not shown here. If I get a good chili producing plant, I can put it in a larger pot. I'm growing a lot more chilies than anything else because that's what I use. I like tomatoes, but Kevin doesn't, and so I do not use them often. He likes them if they are vine-ripened, however, but the chilies are easier to grow, once they get started. I need to repot the epazote, mint, and Italian oregano, as they are all rootbound. So is the thyme, but it does not seem to mind as much. I have rosemary in the flower bed, as well as some more oregano, but they are not photogenic. Lars...See More
rouge21_gw (CDN Z6a)
3 years ago
rouge21_gw (CDN Z6a) thanked oursteelers 8B PNWrouge21_gw (CDN Z6a)
3 years ago
harold100
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSame here. I have been digging through catalogs and reading a lot online while it was 28 degrees here last week at night and 55 during the day. Now it's back to a nice 72 degrees yesterday and today. Things are greening up everywhere and the daffodils and hyacinths are blooming.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
3 years agoThe brown late winter/early spring look due to leaves on the beds is the common one here! It is a good time though to look at things without the distraction of color, so you see more clearly what needs to be done to improve structure and layout - for instance, it has become very clear that the euonymus on the iron arbour in the front needs to have two more of the euonymuses planted (one for each side) to cover the back part of the structure as the front two are not likely to ever cover the back section of the arbour. Hopefully the right side of the arbour will fill in more this year. I am still not sure whether the euonymus on the arbour will ultimately be too much work or not, but we like the look so we'll continue with it for now. Adding two more plants is now a priority item for this spring.
In the backyard, at this point my biggest worry is whether the sod we had replaced on the lawn is going to return well this spring! The grass always looks pretty ratty at this time of year, so we just have to wait until it gets warmer here before assessing what work might be required.
The little bulbs under the pines are speaking of spring....
I am also one of those people that enjoy having 4 distinct seasons. But, at this time of year, I want full spring to come as soon as possible as the brown stuff is getting a bit boring to see - and the thought of the clean-up effort required is a bit more intimidating the older we get :-)
snow (4/5)
3 years ago
harold100