My kids always have other plans! So does my husband and all my other relatives.

The garden looks good Jo Ann.

Karen

My kids help sporadically, but I am picky on how things are done, so I like to be out there at the same time, and our schedules don't always match. One time they cleaned up a bed and dug up and discarded all the alstromeria tubers - it was one of my prized clumps, great for cut flowers, and nary a one came back. Then my mom cut back my forsythia just as it was getting big enough for it to have flowering branches that I can bring in for the winter....... So, I just have to take my garden a section at a time and do it myself. If I make a mistake, I have only me to blame.

This is true!

True, Brett is more into gardening than Bethany. He is a Ag Tech major. Both has found folks to help around college which brings in extra gas money

The 3 guys from a landscape business,cleaned the gardens in 1 and 1/2 hours. I am not sure I will do clean up this way again.
Many of the plants look really short.
If the garden returns in good shape next spring I might reconsider them.
They were careful and didnt clean plants I told them to avoid.
I said OK to heucheras and now I wonder if it was the right choice.

My other guy was more careful and took 4 hours and was more expensive for that reason.I couldnt locate him in October.

I can do the job myself but it would take a week,on the other hand I am not pressed for time.

I think it is ok for them to be short because they are going to die back anyway, right? If Mr. heucheras can do the heavy stuff, he is worth it. You can take your time and just do a little each day. It is good to get out and get a little sun.

Over the past week we've had rain, a storm and after a week of rain, it has turned very cold here today. I stare out the windows and "think" about what I'd like to do outside but it may be a few more days before I venture back out. Ground needs to dry out a bit .

I am ready to start planting my Spring bulbs and need some rain. I bent a really good planter last yr Being impatient isn't good!

If you're looking for a garden trowel, Lowes has the best ones as far as I'm concerned. They are all one piece, molded green plastic. I bought about 10, and just leave them outside all the time. Best part 99cents. Don't break, don't bend.

Julia: I am in the same room with you. Rain for a week.I want to get out and do more weeding but its too wet. SIL just stacked 3 facecords of wood.

ge1836 said:Julia: I am in the same room with you. Rain for a week.I want to get out and do more weeding but its too wet. SIL just stacked 3 facecords of wood.

Did you hear on the weather that we may get a nor'easter mid week?

I am hoping they are wrong, NY/NJ area needs a chance to recover. My oldest girl is southeast of Boston, I know she mentioned it yesterday on the phone. I love visiting but just to chilly/snowy for me, in the wintertime.

NJBob mentioned it. I haven't seen any weather reports yet.

I am so "voter fatigued" I am not watching TV.Why does this process have to be to filled with ague and depression?

Here is what I did today.Sowed my annual poppies.

JuliaNY said:

Did you hear on the weather that we may get a nor'easter mid week?

I just read something about the Nor'easter on CNN. Scroll down to almost the bottom.

quote]
The region may be in for more bad weather, with a weaker storm predicted for next week.
"As we have this nor'easter coming next week, we have to remain extremely vigilant about our neighbors," New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Sunday. [quote

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/04/...

Good grief.

Unplanned project of removing pear tree and arbovitae


Finally got all my bulbs planted and enlarged my blue/yellow/white garden on the 1 side by about 4'

That must be from the storm. We had a pine come down in last years snow. Sure makes a big mess. Jennifer, did it affect your other plantings in the way of light after the trees came down?