Everything has a coat of frost.
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| * silvered leaves * |
Or Ice.I'm pretty sure that when things thaw out today (high only in mid 40s), the plants, especially the annuals, aren't going to look very good. Even though there's been 3 previous freezes, the marigolds and salvias out in the beds held up, while the impatiens on the deck and in front of the house didn't even blink!
All the beds have bloomed way longer this year than ever before so I'm not going to complain that yesterday may have been their last hurrah. Definitely more of a 'treat' than a 'trick' for October 31. :-D Even the rosemary is still in bloom (under the white rowcover).
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| * dawn - 11/1/10 * |
Meanwhile, back on the leaf-wrangling front.
All of the ashes, hickory, sassafras, birches and red maple have dropped their leaves. So have the neighbor's hickories, wild cherry, walnut that seem to favor my lawn instead of theirs! Those have been gathered up -- most of them under that tarp. There are still piles on the front lawn I have to drag back to my growing stash. It's been way too windy for the past week to actually work with the leaves, so I've settled for just getting them off the grass. Things are calming down now so will be able to shred these and mulch the beds over the next couple of days.
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| * gum trees 10/31/10 * |
The sweet gums will drop their leaves soon -- the nighttime temps will be in the 20s for a couple of days. That blush of red to the left are not leaves, but a bonanza of little red crabapples. For the past week or so flocks of robins and other birds are stuffing themselves with the now-soft fruit. When I fill the bird feeder in the morning these days, you'd think it was SPRING based on all the robin calls and song.
Every year I shoot for having all the outside chores done by my birthday, Nov 13. I don't always make my deadline but, if the weather holds, this year is looking good. I should even be able to get in a cord of firewood. Woo and hoo!
It's supposed to rain the 2nd half of the week so time's a'wastin'. I'm off... (sure, just ask anyone ;-D).
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I'd love to have those leaves, Kris. When I was in California, in winter I put some leaves on my containers to mulch. Early summer, I crushed all the leaves by hands and they became lovely soil amendment.
ReplyDeleteBack here, we don't have trees dropping leaves in Fall; hence we don't have much of leaves to mix in the soil.
Send me your mailing address, Ha Xuan. I think I have enough to send some overseas. LOL
ReplyDeleteI have been noticing some beautiful crab trees locally. I didn't realize how pretty the fruit looked.
ReplyDeleteWe are supposed to be in the 20's at the end of the week, but they sound iffy about the rain.
Hope you make you goal this year!
The fall color in your photos is gorgeous! We're a few weeks behind you here and haven't come close to a frost yet.
ReplyDeleteI think we'll be getting our killing frost late this week. There's a little rain in the forecast for today and I sure hope we get it.
ReplyDeleteWe won't get many leaves locally unless Jay give us his leaves. If he doesn't we'll be picking up leaf bags off the curb wherever we can find them. I just love it when they've already chopped them up. If they aren't chopped, they tend to percolate back up to the top when you bury them. Takes a long time for them to decompose. We've chopped our leaves by driving the lawn mower over them and catching them in the bag, that seems to work the best. Putting them in a 50-gallon barrel and churning them around with the weed-eater has been suggested but we haven't tried it yet. Using that high-dollar chipper-shredder doesn't work very well. They tend to bog it down.
Glenda - I can't imagine spring without crabapple blooms!
ReplyDeleteGinny - Thanks. As of this morning we've had 5 freezes. The growing season is officially closed. :-(
Ilene - The best way to crunch up dry leaves is to roll around in them. ;-D
Love your colorful trees! they look great together
ReplyDeleteThanks, fer. And thanks for stopping by the blog. :-D
ReplyDeleteI'll take some of those leaves!!! We have huge ash and oak trees that dop leaves in one of our garden and river birch leaves in another, but leaves are the best mulch so I'm always up for more! Just think of all the big fat worms you'll have fertilizing the garden come spring! :0)
ReplyDeleteTS - oh my yes...my worms love feasting on my leaf mulch. I wish I did have an oak tree - those leaves are the BEST for mulch - last longer and don't mat down. I'll look for some pics of your leaf mulch on your blog. :-D
ReplyDelete