Compost heaven

I've been composting for years, with good success but such a mess! I had one of those brown plastic bins, which was fine but not big enough. It was similar to this one, but not as fancy.


I bought these plastic things that hook together in a circle, allegedly, but always bowed in leaving only a tiny opening for all the stuff.
 

I also used big plastic bags to hold shredded leaves.





 

In the end, good compost, but the composting area looked like Tobacco Road.

No longer! I've found someone who is building me a real compost bin that will neat, tidy and big enough (I hope) to hold everything. It's from a Lowe's plan, features lids (to come), removable front slats for easy turning (not that I ever turn my compost, but maybe now I'll be inspired), wire sides, and is firmly positioned on top of concrete blocks. Here it is almost completed, and I got the okay to start loading it up.

My only fear is that it's not quite big enough (6' x 3'), but it should take care of most of the mess.

 

In the course of moving stuff around and digging out a level space, Gary unearthed a big mound of compost, which I am now delightedly sifting and spreading throughout the garden.

Only a fellow gardener will appreciate how wonderful this is. Plus, the nice man will replace the decaying plywood panels on my Garden Way cart, and he'll build me a potting bench to take the place of the ancient picnic table. (I'm thinking of this plan.) The compost area will be quite spiffy by the time he's done.

Three projects

Having all this time to garden means doing more than the routine maintenance. No, new peaks must be scaled! Hence three projects, at least two of which will test my abilities.


The first is the expansion of the back corner, which was looking awfully bare after the forsythia was grubbed out a year or so ago. The current plan is to plant three oakleaf hydrangeas 'Alice' that should provide height and mass (plus three-season interest). (My sources claim they grow 10-15' in height and width, though their label claims only 8' - we'll see.) Then I'll underplant with hostas, spring bulbs, etc. Here is the project so far. And here are the plants waiting to be planted.






Second is a raised bed beside the cutting garden which will be a home to sun-loving annuals and vegetables. The very nice man at Home Depot assured me I could do this. Yes, but... Here is the lumber, and below is a picture of the raised bed frame, a bit cattywompus because I had to use screws and a drill instead of my sewing machine.



 

The third is putting up the trellis, which I did today with a little help from Alison as to moving and placing everything. At its feet are the cardinal climber vines, eager to clamber up the trellis. (Or is it an arbor?)

And the fourth of the three projects is to get rid of the grass underneath the viburnums. Newspaper and mulch on their way!

Day one

The gardening vacation is inevitably interrupted by the reading vacation, the quilting vacation, the going-away-for-a-few-days vacation, the scrapbooking vacation and the sorting and cleaning vacation. Nevertheless, today saw the lawns mowed and the loosestrife weeded (the intent is to make this bed smaller and make room for other things). Removed two heucheras and a liriope for possible placement along the sidewalk under the maple. Also measured the lawn by the side cutting garden. It looks as though I could have some raised beds three feet wide by 25 feet long. If I were so inclined. Which I might be.

A trellis

Smith & Hawken is going out of business, sadly. Yes, their things were expensive, but I got my leaf trellises from them on a good sale, and they had a small collection of things at Target. Being up in Arlington today, I went to their McLean store (no web purchases any more) and ended up buying a twining leaf arbor at 30% off.



The plan is to position this at the beginning of the cutting garden and cover it with annuals next year until I'm sure it's in the right place - then grow a climbing roses and some clematis on it.

I did resist a beautiful metal and wood potting bench, partly because it is not really designed to live outdoors - I would use this in place of the picnic table if I did anything - but the store expects to be open through early November, so maybe it will call to me again before they go under.


Buying this would be part of the upgrade of the compost area. Want, want, want - want shall be my master!

What I loved and what I didn't do

I loved being outside, the fragrance of the honeysuckle drifting around the house on this weekend of clouds and dampness, using every muscle in my legs, arms and back as I wrestled with weeds, moved shrubs, and lifted heavy bags of mulch. Discovered that the boring bees - aka carpenter bees - have drilled a hole in the trellis and wonder whether I should worry about it. Enjoyed the colors and textures of everything I saw. Pleased with the expansion of the oak tree garden, hopeful that the shrub border will really amount to something in another year or so.

But I didn't - yet - prune the azaleas, move the pink azalea, plant the rose, plant one last marsh fern from Martha, edge the walkway garden, clip the columbines, mark the white ones in order to scatter their seed next month, move the wooden edging under the rhododendron to the cutting garden, hang the bird sculpture, dig up the grass and mulch the viburnums, or find some dragonwing begonias. Next time...

The Work I Did on my Gardening Vacation

So enough about the consuming. Here's what I accomplished.

Cleaned out the erstwhile vegetable/cutting garden, though not sure what will happen next. Before and after:
 
 

Grubbed out some of the forsythia along the back corner and planted the kerria.

 

Planted three autumn ferns bought at a church garden sale (heeding Martha's suggestion for the bare shrub border by the house):
 

Edged the front and back gardens, in the latter case using an uncharacteristically precise method:

 

And generally wished I'd had more time...

Eating the Elephant

During these days off devoted to the garden, I am vowing to chip away (literally) at the brush pile and turn it into delicious compost. Here's a look at the progress

 

after day one

 

and after day two.





The chipper is heavy and noisy, and visions of Fargo dance in my head, but it starts reliably and gobbles up just about anything as long as it's got lots of dry leaves to swallow. If I can get the pile down to a manageable size before it gets too hot, it's time to think about a real compost system instead of these ridiculous plastic things that are not even as slick as this.

The Warts and All Garden Tour

Very bravely, I invited Becky and Martha to come see the oak tree garden at its peak, knowing full well that they would insist on seeing the whole garden, bare spots and all. Even when warned off from the side cutting garden, they forged ahead and now know all my dirty gardening secrets.

They were, of course, kind and generous in their comments and gave me lots of good ideas. Among them:

*Instead of ripping out the honeysuckle and the akebia (which is actually at its most charming now, with tiny scented bell-shaped flowers and new citrus green leaves everywhere),

 

how about companions? Maybe a rose in front and some clematis in back?

*The transition from the aucuba along the walkway garden would be made beautiful by some black elephant ears, a wonderful contrast to the gold.

*When I take out the oddly failing white azaleas in the white garden, how about a hydrangea?

*Since the dogwood out front is soon going to its reward, all the more reason to rip out the forsythia along the fence and plant a pagoda dogwood (which I happen to know Colesville has in stock, but maybe I'll wait till fall).

Inspired by these ideas, I've also decided it's time to take out the less attractive of the pink azaleas I inherited by the front steps, which will allow me to come up with a better transition to the walkway garden on that side.

It was delightful to have them here, and I'm so grateful for their advice!

 

Why I didn't do this myself

(As if anyone who knew me thought I could...)

Let me count the many reasons, having to do with skill, ability, strength, persistence...
 

The carpenter constructing the trellis and the gate.

 

Four tons of stone dust gets delivered to the driveway.

 

Ryan, the great crew leader, jackhammering up the concrete pad.
 
Ryan and one of the two guys taking a pickaxe to the hard clay so they could level the ground. Notice the string placed in some way I don't understand to help them maintain the right depth.

 
Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of stone is hauled from the driveway to the back yard, then chipped or sawed into shape before being placed exactly so. Then, in some way I never saw, they put stone dust between each stone and covered that with a layer of polymerized sand, which is supposed to help suppress weeds (let's hope).

After, Part Two: The terrace is finished!

Won't you come into my garden? Here is the new path from the driveway. Lots of room for some low plantings along the edge, plus opportunities for trailing things along the low wall.
 

 
Here is the view from the gate looking toward the shed..

 
The view from the back door...

 
From the terrace looking back up the path, you will notice the wrong gate. The carpenter did almost exactly what I asked, so I can't fault him. But he started the half-moon too low on the gate, and the cut is not smooth. I think this is a mistake and have already decided to have them re-do the gate with a straight cut just a foot shorter than the fence. That will still give a tantalizing glimpse of the garden (I hope) without looking so fussy.

 
The path and the stone wall may be my favorite parts of this project. (The wall above will need to be re-painted.)

 

Now that the terrace is installed, the trellis no longer looms oddly in the landscape like something from 2001.

I am very pleased and can't wait to work on planting ideas!