The weather changed overnight; yesterday we hit 83F. It was supposed to be another warm day today (Sunday), but instead a front moved thru and it's in the low 60s and light rain. I was able to get more plants moved this morning and some mulch spread around. A friend gave me a box of Christmas ferns many months ago; they've been doing fine sitting in the shade of the maple tree, but today they went into their permanent home near the Stumpery.
Spread around some bagged leaves from LAST autumn, up in the Asian Garden and another couple bags into the hen run. It's amazing how well a lot of those leaves broke down into rich, soft, black leaf mold. This year, however, I'm going to try to remember to open the tops of the bags and leave them exposed to the elements so the entire bag breaks down. I like to toss in these big bags of leaves for the hens to play with....they scratch around and shred the leaves and mix them with whatever other stuff I've tossed in for them. By spring, I've got lots of very nice compost!
I feel like the clock is ticking on getting things done in the garden. And there is so much still to do! I'm trying to prioritize: right now, getting things INTO the ground is more important than weeding, mulching, pruning etc. Most forecasters are predicting a mild winter for us in the Mid-Atlantic this year, but it's entirely possible to see below freezing temperatures suddenly appear. Once even the top surface of the soil freezes, even if it's only for a few days, it's too cold to get plants in. The roots need warm soil to grow and anchor the plant. Otherwise, we get "frost heave"....I have actually seen an entire bed of late planted perennials (especially those that came in pots from a nursery) pop out of the ground like corks. Once that happens, it's very likely the plants won't survive, even if you can manage to replant them.
Better get moving. I need to gather eggs and then I think get back into the veg and continue the Great Tidy down there. With luck, I'll be able to get into that border in front of the veg and move the Coral Sunset peony today.
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| Christmas Ferns by aspenhill | Oct 29, 2023 2:56 PM | 1 |
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