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Fall Garden Cleanup

Using The Leaf Vacuum

This past week we did quite a bit of garden cleanup to make good use of the nice weather. The leaf vacuum works, but it is heavy and on our somewhat rough (but flat) ground it still had to be pulled backwards. Quicker and easier than raking, but if you could pay the double money, the self-propelled would certainly be a good idea for this sort of machine.

It made a soft mulch of the leaves and the small sticks seemed to mulch up nicely. We haven’t tried larger diameter twigs… and don’t know if we will: we need the kindling.

Leaf Vacuum Info and Review

The Homestead Wood Pile

I spoke with my husband about how our wood supply does not look sufficient. It may seem odd to modern day people, but we heat solely with wood as our main resource. We have some electric baseboard, but those don’t handle the harshest of winter cold.

Using Wood Ash

The wood ash is used on the garden if my husband dumps it there…. although he doesn’t always. When I dump the ashes they usually go under the lilacs or in the compost. I need to try to be more organized in this sort of thing ( as in ALL sorts of things….).

Ever Organizing

People who say they must “TRY” to be organized never are…. those who are don’t use the word try. I think because it is second nature…maybe primary….. nature to them. They are busy people who have little patience with those of us who can’t manage to see things in rows and in boxes, who forget what labels go where, and who get distracted in the middle of our projects.

We are those who give them their projects;)

Enjoying Autumn

Indian Summer is over this weekend as the temperatures plunge to winter chills. I and my family did make good use of the little nice weather window, though. I am still happy about the three hikes we took.

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I tied some vines up to nails this last week, too. I finally planted the kerria bush. It looked alive, still.

I have only one job left: planting the bunches of daffodil bulbs my mother gave me. yes, I still have lots left.

I think I will trench somewhere and just dump them. Doesn’t that sound terrible? OK, I ‘ll use a bunch around the deck. Except there are tree roots there…… maybe around in the driveway island. They would look nice there and I won’t have to worry about their foliage so much. I just need some elbow grease for the area that has so much gravel mixed in. [grump] I hate digging in gravelly areas.

I am not lazy exactly, I just have so much to do, and my energy levels have been drained this year. I wish I could garden and make webpages all the time…. probably not, but it sounds good right now.

I would like to contract out the housework and I get conflicted about the work involved in homeschool. I know what I need. An attitude change.

What I really want to be is a mastermind. Someone with lots of money to buy things for the plans which are then contracted out and delegated to mindless workers who will do everything my way and on my schedule.

Except I don’t like masterminds.

Nobody does…… I have to think of something else…..


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Lunar Eclipse and Colder Weather »

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

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There are so many ways to enjoy herb plants, that they are not for herb gardens only. Think about tucking them into the landscape, into containers or into your home. I do I enjoy thee? Oh, Herb, Let me count the ways! 10 Ways I Enjoy Herbs (and you can, too!) In companion plantings, herbs […]

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Shirley poppies and Bachelor Buttons Not every garden writer alerts you to the fact that annuals can have seasons that are shorter than other choices. For places like Ohio which have hot summers, there are common annuals that only do well when our weather is cooler, such as in early summer. Those flowers sort of […]

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