first freeze

was last night. I spent the last two days raking leaves and picking up more pin oak acorns out of the grass. Put some leaf litter/grass clippings mulch around and over some of my plants just as it was getting dark yesterday- the new rosemary, sweetspire, hyssop (which also got cut back to two inches), wild geraniums, lemon balm and tarragon, etc. 

A few days earlier I had spread the compost on all the garden beds- it was just barely enough. I didn't have any left over to feed the ferns, hostas or other yard perennials. Now I'll have to spend this afternoon cutting down the plants killed by frost, that just look icky- the coleus and celosia, the black tatters of leaves on monarda and joe pye stems. Other things that just look dried up, I'll leave be until spring. 

Pictures from compost spreading day, just because it looked so rich. Momentarily- as soon as this was done, I put leaf/grass mulch over the copmost layer. I could tell the soil had been neglected past two seasons- removing some weeds before spreading the compost, found the soil was hard, dry and somewhat compacted. Maybe that's why I haven't seen squirrels digging in the garden so much this year. I thought it was because the hawks and owls passing through our yard more often had taken some of them- but maybe also because the soil just wasn't as soft and inviting, when I hadn't been mulching and feeding it. Well, now it got that treatment again.

another angle- still just as empty.

There are some things still here, though- rue looks great, as if re-flourishing since its little trim

Borage coming up in bed one also has lovely bluish hue, robust leaves

Nicotiana in a few scattered spots

This tall one next to the dill has been blooming like crazy

other side

The dill is over my head again! I would cut the umbrels for more dried seed, but they're still green yet

Here's a smaller dill alone in bed three. 

A few small leeks in bed ten. I'd like to eat them, but want them to grow bigger first.

I cut some bug-riddled leaves out of the lovage, and that looks better now 

My new rosemary looks rather pale. I trimmed it a bit more (using for tea), the leaves look all faintly speckled as if from aphid bites . . . 

The blue sage still has tons of color, though quite a few flower stems are gone to seed now

I found a few bees on them- I think affected by the cold, because they were moving very slowly

but that allowed me to get quite close

I also brought in a lot of potted plants against the cold, and put the young beautyberries in the mini greenhouse to overwinter (never got around to planting them). More pics soon.

Why do I tend to forget how much I love gardening, until I'm out there again? Tidying things up, seeing the richness of the turned compost, digging my fingers through the soil, leaning against the sun-warmed bricks of the bed edges, just feel so content and happy in what I'm doing. It's good work.

work outside

Turned my compost pile. Thought a post was missing that holds up the perimeter of the bin container- but it was actually broken a third from the top, and bent down inside the edge. Don't know how that happened. This was my process, same as last time but I don't recall if I wrote it down: pull off the perimeter and move to the new spot. Lay small sticks or dry stems (usually from monarda, echinacea or pye weed trimming) in the bottom of the new bin space. Pull and shovel all material out of the other, smaller metal bin under the deck (where fresh kitchen waste goes- it has a sealed lid). Dump that into the wheelbarrow, ferry to the new bin spot, shovel into the base. Take all the unfinished stuff off the top of the old compost pile, put into the new bin spot. Sifting out sticks along the way, which get carried back over to the metal bin, to be the new base of that one. When I finally get down to mostly unrecognizable stuff, mostly blackened, with just a few leaf bits solid in the bottom of the old pile, it's ready to go into the garden. 

It wasn't as much this year- or just got compressed down- I can't remember if I dug this out in spring- maybe that's why . . .

I'm pretty satisfied with my process now, though it confounds my husband when he helps me with it (last year, when I had no energy). Basically, I use the smaller metal bin for fresh kitchen waste, any food material- because animals can't get in there. The big bin in the rear of the yard, gets leaves and yard waste only. Until it's time to turn the pile, then the metal bin contents get shifted to be the bottom of the new pile where it gets buried very deep and keeps breaking down until it's time to turn the pile all over again. I think this helps keep pests out of my pile- there's still a hole in the side of the plastic bin perimeter where something chewed to get in once . . . especially in the winter.

I only shoveled out a fifth of the compost so far, into the wheelbarrow and left up by the garden overnight. Too tired to continue, plus I saw a wren poking around in the metal bin's base of stems (before I shut the lid) and thought I'll leave the exposed garden soil for a day, let the birds pick through that perhaps. I'd scraped up all the mulch off the garden beds, pulled some dead plants and weeds. Left the dill (looking lovely!) one swiss chard and one collards plant, one big borage that regrew in fall, and a half dozen white nicotiana (self-seeded). 

Tomorrow I will spread the compost on all the beds, then some grass clippings/leaf mulch back over it, and maybe dig more rocks into the base of the bed edges again. Lots more work to do with that.

I found that one of my pathetic kidney bean plants, actually made beans in the pod. But they're not red. I picked it too soon, should have let stay on the plant to dry out.

There's lots of maple and oak leaves to start raking up. I was concerned that I'll forget where my new young plants are back there on the slope- the elephant's foot, st. john's wort and sumac. But I found the first two stand up just tall enough above the litter I can see them well (if I remember to pay attention) and the little sumac has flame-red leaves now since the first frost:

So it really stands out.

more work today

I cleared more weeds, gathered up last years' leaf mulch (and respread it on the empty garden beds), and hauled three buckets of compost up to the front. Fed the daylilies (again, they didn't get much the first time around)

cleared up some and scattered compost over the black-and-blue salvia- no sign of emergence yet but I do see one gladiola spear coming up! and the lamb's ears on that side look particularly nice this spring

Out front I've more or less cleaned up the front perennial and flowerbed (I had to spread the work over two days). Divided a few allium clumps to spread out- I hope I haven't done this at the wrong time and ruined their chance of bloom. They stood up to the disturbance pretty well, haven't wilted much

these two are next to a tulip

Behind them you can see the fat shoots of peonies arising!

I also moved a few young columbines- they look pretty small yet!

To extend the row of older plants- it gives something to look at in the back of the bed when not much is growing yet, and then later when they're done flowering and died back, the plants in front hide the gap

I can tell now what things I do actually matter in the garden- my raised beds that didn't get composted and mulched properly in fall, the ground was hard, not all loose and soft and dark like other springs. I didn't come out and heavily mulch or cover plants against the cold (except the black-and-blue salvia and the lemon balm) and now I can see the usual mulch and leaf cover was enough for most of them. But I lost a few brunnera- here's one that did well regardless

There's only two mums showing new growth so far in the bed, and of the wild geraniums (cranesbill), one has revived, the other nothing growing. If I've lost it, that makes me sad.

Two or three of the clary sage also died, but I have enough left it's okay

My 'espresso' wild geranium in the back near the garden seems okay though

and next to it the hyssop in a container is doing great! 

I can also tell that scattering hair clippings and irish spring soap shavings was keeping the deer from eating too much of my euonymus and hostas. Because in fall I did none of that, and this winter the deer ate back so much of those shrubs against the house they look awful. I'm going to have to trim them back to reshape, and have started scattering deterrents again.

more pics later

blanketed

This past week I did the final work putting the garden to bed for winter. Turned the compost pile- there was less than before, only the bottom fourth or barely third was finished material, but it was very finely done, with a clear demarcation. I put six wheelbarrow loads on eight garden beds, the rue and perennial herbs just got leaf litter mulch. On top of the compost layer went four wheelbarrow loads of finished leaf mould from last year's pile. Started a new one. While it feels quieting to see all the beds flat and dark with their winter mulch, it also feels restful and I sure was satisfied, happy even, to find the rich darkness at the bottom of the piles. It still feels something miraculous and wealthy, to dig up all this goodness from heaps of waste and blanket it over to feed next year's plants. Only green in the garden now are a few leeks, sorrel, winter savory and lavender in the perennnial bed, rue and some volunteer borage on the back wall that brave the cold a little longer. 

All the vermicompost went on the front lawn, when I emptied out the blue bin a few weeks ago (don't think I mentioned it here). The worms were looking a bit poorly but now with fresh bedding and regular feedings again (I had ignored them lately) they're looking better.

The green tomatoes I picked and put on kitchen windowsill didn't ripen, they just got moldy and tossed. Should have tried making fried green tomatoes! Half the cowpea pods I picked just withered icky-looking too, but the rest I am waiting for them to dry and see if the seed inside is any good. Next time must watch the weather reports more closely, and pull them all before the first night the drops below freezing. We've had a few now.

tomatoes and more-

First pick of cherry tomatoes- just a few- and I ate some straight off the vine before taking this photo.

Big ones are forming fruit now, too- 

and they've all filled the bed splendidly

Zucchini have wowed me. I gave them (and the beets) a compost feed a few days ago, plus several gallons of aquarium wastewater, and they got huge fast. Having the tree gone that used to shade part of the garden helped a lot too, I'm sure.

Opposite end of that bed, the lovage is well over five feet now!

Green beans are filling in around the leaf beet chard- front bed- and behind them is the bed of collards. I pulled the three tatsoi gone to seed a few days ago, some of the pods were ready- drying and beginning to split open.

My green beans to fill in gaps. Going to plant them tomorrow when there's rain due.

turned

I turned my compost pile this week. Didn't expect to get much finished compost out of it- there was just about two inches on the bottom of the pile- that dark band. I put it in a bag for use later. I hadn't turned the pile all winter (as usual). The outer layers of it were very dry. A lot of that I pulled out and tossed onto the leaf mulch pile, the rest turned back and mixed in. 

Collected all the dead, dries stems from monarda, echinacea,

gladiolas, daylilies, turtlehead and salvia around the yard- that made a base for the new pile that will aerate well for a while.

Left some stems standing in the turtlehead patch by the garden, as they're still nice to look at until more stuff grows.

leaves and dirt

I ordered some more 'garden fencing' and had it delivered- it's four feet high 14-guage wire with dark green plastic coating. Used it to contain my leaf mulch pile which looks very imposing next to the bayberry shrub. I hope the neighbors don't find it an eyesore. It feels like garden riches, to me. 

Meanwhile the beds are even emptier- 

I took out the last wilted marigold plant today, spread the final portion of compost over the beds, and then layered with leaf mulch. Lettuces are the brightest green now 

Chard to the left of them- which look very few as we ate some recently in handmade tortillas

Using the compost I'd stored in the metal bin under the deck frees it up for making more- which I'm glad of when the weather is colder, wet or snowy in winter so I don't have to walk all the way across the yard. Plus my regular bin in the rear area is full up top now after all the cleanup I did this week. I layered the bottom of the newly-emptied metal bin with dry leaves and the marigold trimmings. It always amuses me to see little weeds sprouted and emerging from the air holes in the bin sides:

I smirk at them for a few days and then pull them out.