Six on Saturday: Dec. 4th

Finally! The former Berry Row is finished…for now!

It’s been a good while since I last wrote, not because I had nothing to say but because outdoor work has been keeping me away from the computer! I’ve been pushing hard to get all the bulbs planted, gardens tidied and the mulching finished. You may recall that I double dug the former Berry Row right half and began planting daffodil bulbs as they arrived. Well, finally all 350 came and were planted. Then I mowed the left half of the bed very short, put down cardboard and mulched over the entire row. It took far longer than I’d planned/anticipated, but it’s finally finished for now. Next spring there will be lots of flowers for cutting added to that prepared space.

Cutting Garden “addition”

You may also recall that I dug to add an additional foot to the entire top edge of the Cutting Garden. That got a layer of newpaper and mulch as well. It doesn’t look like much, but it will allow for another 280 plants, which is a lot of bouquets! Still need to do some cutting back of spent stalks, but then that’s it till spring. I won’t mulch the rest, because lots of things (larkspur, nigella, cornflowers, etc.) will self-seed if allowed.

The Front Island is ready for spring!

Remember that I am hosting a group in early May, so I’m trying to get as much work done this fall as possible. All the bulbs have been planted, the edging is done, and a good layer of mulch has been applied. If you look in the background, you’ll notice black tubs spotted across the lawn. That’s my on-going black walnut pick up. So far, I’ve done about 6,000 and I’d guess I’m about 1/5 done in the front yard, with the back yard also still to go! I do that when my shoveling muscles need a rest.

The Front Garden is almost finished.

The Front Garden has all its bulbs, nearly all the trimming is finished and a layer of mulch is on. Since this photo was taken, the lily stalks have been cut down and more brown stalks have been removed. It’s this time of year that I always wish I could mulch over the patches of irises, because they are so unattractive with their beige leaves. But, I’ve been told not to mulch them because their rhizomes need to be above ground, and the last of their leaves help protect them through the winter. So their clean-up will be a spring job that I can hopefully get done before the spring bulbs begin to bloom.

The Deck Garden is all bedded down.

The Deck Garden is the most recently finished (working on the 4th load of mulch now!) with the trimming taking more time than usual. Next year, I won’t allow so many of the self-seeded tall verbena to stay. Last year, I ran out of bulbs before the area in front of the gazebo was planted, so I started there first, and ran out before I got all the way to the top. Hopefully, a lot of the “Tang Dynasty” tulips planted last year will return.

Tis the season!

The potager’s exterior border has been tidied and mulched. All the bulbs were planted, and some editing done as I dug. The patch of tansy was reduced in size, some shorter irises were removed, and some of the taller rudbeckias that had self-seeded too close to the front were moved further back. I took some time yesterday to hang the lighted garland and bring the snowmen out. Certainly looks more festive.

So, that’s my six photos for this Saturday. The rest of the “outdoor” job list should go a lot faster because none of the items requires shoveling or climbing in and out of the back of the truck! At some point, I can just sit back, browse through the in-coming seed catalogs, and daydream about the bulb display to come. My muscles are more than ready for that!

If you’d like to see lots more “Six on Saturday” selections from gardens around the world, visit The Propagator, who hosts this meme. Some places are already enjoying spring bulbs and planting their veggies!

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