Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies, and we are reporting in that we have completed the removal of nearly all the leaves from all the trees. Except for the oak trees. We'll be working on them all winter, removing a few leaves at a time. We are garden fairies. That is our custom. We have to say "nearly all" in regards to the other leaves because Seedy and Soddy have reported that a few leaves on the crabapple tree have refused to come off. They have tried to coax them off, … [Read more...] about Garden Fairies Report on Leaf Removal
fall
Ready for Winter? What to do in the garden
Ready for winter? In your garden? I think I am, and even if I wasn't we got a good amount of rain overnight so it's too wet to do much in the garden today. It's an inside day. But if it was an outside day, I'd be... what would I be doing in my garden? Not much, I suppose. The leaves that fell on the garden beds aren't too deep. They can stay to rot and become humus eventually. I mowed the lawn a bit shorter a few days ago so it's also looking ready for winter now. What … [Read more...] about Ready for Winter? What to do in the garden
A Pansy to Greet Me
As the weather cools down, the pansies perk up. And that's when I always think about how I should have planted more of them when I had the chance to buy them a few months ago. But I never plant as many pansies and violas in the fall as I do in the spring. The main reason is that when they are for sale early in the fall, it's usually still fairly warm. And pansies and violas don't like "fairly warm." They much prefer "fairly cool." But by the time we get to "fairly cool" … [Read more...] about A Pansy to Greet Me
Do My Hips Look Big in This Picture?
The other day, while out in the garden getting ready for winter, I saw all the pretty rose hips on one of my rose shrubs. And my first thought was, "Do my hips look big?" I always think of that question when I see rose hips. And then I laugh. I wonder if roses worry about the size of their hips the way people do? For the record, these hips are on a rose identified for me as 'Ballerina,' and the hips are not as big as they appear in this picture. They are tiny compared to some rose … [Read more...] about Do My Hips Look Big in This Picture?
Fall Garden Clean Up Advice From a Toad
You might think I'm about to unload a bunch of advice about what to clean up in the garden in the fall. I am not. I will let the toad do most of the talking. What toad? This toad that I spotted just as I was about to pick up this metal "pot topper" and stow it and the pot it was on away for winter. Toad said, "No, leave this." And then Toad sat there guarding it all yesterday afternoon as I moved other "stuff winter would ruin" under a tarp, like those clay pots in the … [Read more...] about Fall Garden Clean Up Advice From a Toad
Rabbit, Rabbit, November!
Did you remember to say "rabbit, rabbit" before you got out of bed this morning? Did you read my blog post yesterday about the killing frost we had? I like that the first killing frost came on the last day of the month. Now, the first day of the month can be a natural clean slate. A nice, tidy way for Mother Nature to say, "It's over, turn that calendar page over to the new month and move on to the next season." Then she'll give me a swift kick out the door with the proper … [Read more...] about Rabbit, Rabbit, November!
