Yardening along merrily soon into November

This weather is nuts.

It sure is. I see weeds sprouting in my yard that normally wouldn't come up until spring. I'm taking this as a good thing, though, because if they're annuals they should die soon and not reappear next year.

As many of you know, we basically live in the woods. LOTS of leaves, we hardly know at the moment where our gardens are, let alone what condition they are in. Photo below was taken this afternoon. The walkway from the steps and the driveway had been cleared just 24 hours earlier, giving a idea of how prolific our leaf-fall is.

Edited to add that in the background you can see a path and planted area cleared by Pat just minutes before pic was taken.

This message was edited Nov 6, 2015 7:22 PM

Come clear mine too LOL.

I love it. Just watch your step!
We have the two No'way maples and sycamores blanketing the lawn this week. Ash and redbud mostly down, red maple all bare.
Mark is "gasp" shredding leaves and making my compost while I work.. What an angel!!

I have 3 large Trash Bags full of shredded leaves right now.
The Silver maple still has some odds and ends of leaved near the top.

I am sure I will have to rake one more ti me. Now many of the leaves that are
blowing around are not even mine!!! Loving my new shredder Vac.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Toro-Ultra-250-mph-350-CFM-Electric-12-Amp-Blower-Vacuum-Mulcher-51619/205746070

G.

Another week in the 60s/40s - awesome for my fall greens. And the grass seed Mark tossed over the front yard where they buried the well electrical. I have to get the hosta and iris replanted out there. I'm giving the potted plants a reprieve- another week outside, or more.

Hedges need trimming. Annuals haven't croaked so some cleanup won't happen till real frost. Leaves will be couple more weeks too.

Id say we are for once ahead of our fall cleanup. That early frost got things going and this weather kept the momentum going. Now if I could only find the head for my leaf bagger, LOL

I got all motivated and went out first thing this morning to plant my fall bulbs from the ADR group buy. Yes, they are still sitting in my garage LOL. I got about an hour in to it when the rain came pouring down. I was in the middle of planting the alliums - had gotten 8 out of 20 planted - and I wanted to finish up. In the ten minutes it took me to plant the rest of the bulbs, I got completely soaked. I could probably finish up with the bulbs if I had another 3 hours. The rain looks like it has gone from pouring to drizzling, but now everything is so wet. Maybe tomorrow...

All my bulbs except for the Crocus are planted. I hear that we will have a few more warm days next week so I hope to get them in the ground next week.

It's been spattering rain all morning here. I got the 3 hostas and an Iris replanted. You guys will understand I had to move one more hosta so I could switch its location with another one. I WILL achieve perfection...in limited quantities.
Silly construction types- they dug one chunk of concrete block out of my flowerbed and left it. That's well and good, but they must have found another big hunk and put it BACK in the hole in the flowerbed. I found it six inches under where I wanted a hosta.

But all said, they did a great job of not trampling everything else. Geranium Espresso must have been stepped on, it's barely grown this year and the few dark leaves were hard to see.

Enough of being spattered on for one morning, time for errands.

My geranium Espresso hasn't done much this year. I have one that looks really great but two of them died this summer when they didn't get any supplemental watering. Actually, they could have been eaten up by the voles, as they were right in the middle of prime vole territory.

I was hoping it would be drier today. I really need to rake the leaves, but it's just too wet out there. Maybe tomorrow. And the acorn yield is massive this year. They are just everywhere, to the point that it's a legitimate safety concern.

The only bulbs I have left to plant are some tulips, but I need the tropicals in that container to go dormant first. It might be a long wait.

Sally funny about your block of concrete. When I was planting the dwarf rhodie I ran into the same thing. Ric said there was a foundation for the old front porch right around there. I got tired of trying to deal with it so just planted the Rhodie right on top. My bad, then I read that they were rather picky about where you planted them. But I just left it there. I wouldn't say it is thriving but it has been growing there for 3 years now.

Our momentum evaporated this morning, we're both having a hard time getting started, even to go do errands. We want to go to her mom's and deliver some pot roast and go to Boscov's for their 1 day shoe sale. We already skipped our hobby GH meeting. I don't have any idea why they would like their meeting soooo early on a Sat. The powers that be, must be much more retired than me, an be morning people as well. When I do make it, I'm barely functional by the presentation, let alone the meet and greet, and business meeting. Most of 30 years 2nd shift may be responsible.
I'm sure we'll be back at it tomorrow. I have plenty of yardening, as well as GH, and organizing the garage to do. This of course is to not mention organizing the barn where at least the 2 boys and I have not stowed the leftovers from our projects. I could spend the entire winter down there.

Rick---

I don't think you ever stand still! Always on the go! In the long run--that is good!
Some days I do the same thing--but then I pay for it the next day.
My gardening takes a lot out of my back--as I have to always bend down.
No kneeling--no squatting--just ass in the air gardening---back muscles then hurt.

I sent you a D-mail, Rick. Please look at it. had a hard time adding the picture,
so it seems a mess....duplicate posts, and all that.....

Doing some "busy work" inside today--but nothing looks better....
Some cooking too...
G.

Holly, Rhododendrons have shallow roots, so the one you planted might just be fine there. Maybe you could give it extra Holly Tone to compensate for the concrete.

I cleaned the leaves off my lawn yesterday and piled some in the wooded area of my backyard and dumped others under shrubs in the front. I made a point of getting it done yesterday because I left for South Carolina at o'dark hundred this morning. I "suggested" to my husband that he could clean up the leaves again on Sunday, but with the rain I imagine he won't get a chance.

A few pics of my colorful yard.

and a few more

Is it too late in the year to dig up daffodils and relocate them? We are reorganizing our gardens into a patio raised bed area and the daffodils are in the middle of where we want to plant.

Marta, I'm thinking it would be fine. I am just now planting my new daffodil bulbs and I think in the past I've planted them well into December without any issues. I don't think it would be any different with the timing for relocating bulbs that have already been planted.

I agree, shouldn't be any problem, daffs are pretty forgiving at being disturbed.

After I responded, I started googling about it. Most of the things I found indicated the best time is early summer after the leaves have yellowed, but there were also quite a few responses that indicated fall was fine. Hopefully someone else can chime in who has actually done it in fall.

I think you can move daffs pretty much any time. I used to think, not when they are blooming, but then I heard some daffodil society people say that's when they liked to move some of theirs, so they were sure of what they were digging.

Marta, I've been developing a secret appreciation of gnomes... Jim says he isn't a fan, but we both really loved Gnomio and Juliet, so maybe he'd permit a few in our yard. I did buy that gnome-chomping godzilla, couldn't help it.

I think your sis should come to our spring swap with a trunk-ful of gnomes.

Sucks that some of you guys got rain. It was dry here all day and I got a buttload of stuff done in the yard. Cut down the perennials in the front yard garden, dug out as much of the Hardy Ageratum and Raspberry Wine monarda as I could, moved around a few plants for better locations in the garden, and then planted a bunch of things. The bed is now ready for it's winter cover of shredded leaves and grass clippings. I also cut down my neighbor's garden that I put in last year.

No no gnomes LOL. Jill, that is too funny that you got the Godzilla gnome. One of my SILs covertly placed a gnome at the "Welcome to Aspen Hill" sign at the beginning of the driveway. She and her kids got a huge kick out of it. I can relate to the amusement factor, so maybe DGers should be forewarned that gnomes could start mysteriously appearing after some of the get togethers Wahhhhh haaaaaa haaaaaaa....

Lol! If a gnome ever shows up in my yard, it will get the boot.

Well, there are gnomes and there are gnomes. Some of them definitely have a "oh, gag me with a smurf!" factor, but I find some of them appealing.

I did NOT order the zombie gnome. urk!

I got outside at first light this morning and got the rest of the bulbs planted. Well, all except for the muscari, which I'll do on Wednesday when I am off for Veterans Day. I was out there for about 2 1/2 hours - my feet and hands got pretty cold. Came in and took a hot bath and a little nap (had to crawl under the covers to dry my back anyway lol), and it is still only 10:00.

The lily bulbs from B&D are HUGE!!! Much bigger than from any other vendors I've gotten from in the past. I'd order from them again any time.

Ric, I really enjoyed the color tour of your yard. Those little JMs in the front bed seem quite happy as does your dwarf Nandina. Are all those pics from this past week? Can you tell me the name of the bush in the third pic in your first set? Beauty berries are so lovely one their leaves drop.

As to gnomes, I think my mini Flamingos would take exception to a resident gnome. Now a tomten might be a different story.

I always forget that just past sunrise can be the coldest temps of a day.

You'll be happy with the BD lilies next year Aspen. I wasn't part of the group buy but bought 10 or so from them this year and most would barely fit in a 3" hole.

Gorgeous, Holly and Ric!

I'd move daffs anytime if I had to. If there are roots, just plant as if a potted plant, keeping roots intact if you can. I prefer to move them when they're yellowing but you can still see how deep they grew, and where the other clumps are.

I have one gnome. He grins mischieviously, holding his Welcome sign, standing in an evil looking well-armed patch of Opuntia fragilis.

Coleup the 3rd pic is Fothergilla gardenii 'Suzanne'

We had the perfect weather for raking leaves today. We're having a lovely November!

Yes sirree. Mark raked and shredded more leaves for me. I edged and weeded a bit, and got help with hedge trimming.

I mowed the yard yesterday and shredded up the leaves. They got sprinkled about the gardens. Hopefully next weekend will be the last of them. I still have a lot of my ADR bulbs to plant and some more stuff to cut down but making good progress overall.

Another beautiful morning in the garden. I can hardly wait to get outside and do somethings.

Holly figured out what I've been looking for for 2 days was lying under my nose. The parts for my Echo blower and leaf vacuum were where I put them while looking for them. LOL I forgot what it looked like assembled, and was looking for something else altogether. After she ask about certain parts and went on line to see what it looked like and had an Ah-Ha moment.

This message was edited Nov 9, 2015 4:22 PM

He is out there picking up leaves and mulching them. Wants to get them up before the rain comes in.

Haha...way to go Holly!

Oh boy Ric, I know what that feels like. Clever Holly!

Rain is here

I'm happy. Just came from American Plant and snagged 3 really nice calacarpa that are covered in berries and a sabra with fruits. I went for some row cover that already has the wire hoops in it but they had a nice 30% off sale and so.... I'm on call Sunday so I'm now praying that noone falls out of bed or anything else exciting. I really want to get everything in this Sunday, I have 12 people coming for Thanksgiving who are staying over until Saturday night. This is my last chance! I do love this time of year.