Leaving the Leaves

Did you know that there's a campaign underway to get us to stop raking up our leaves?  Rather, we're being encouraged to grind them into a finer mulch, or even just leave them where they are.  Ground up leaves that are mulched by a lawnmower are quicker to break down. They do wonders for the soil, adding organic matter, and helping replace what's lost through erosion. When left in garden beds, they protect roots and help retain moisture.

If enough people comply, municipalities will spend less time collecting and processing leaves, which saves them money.  See the video below that features Ann Holmes from the Greenburgh Nature Center in Westchester County.

With more than 50 trees on our property, the leaves piled up fast.  You can see that where the lawn ends, and the tree line begins, the leaves are at least a foot deep.

Here are some things I'm trying with my leaves this year...

The leaves are not being raked out of the beds until spring.  They're being left in place to protect the plants from winter abuse. 

They're just being left on the floor of the wooded areas.

We've created a pile behind the compost bin that we'll use to "feed" the compost throughout the year.  After food scraps or grass clippings are added to the bin, we'll throw in a few handfuls of leaves for good measure. 

The leaves on the lawn are being mowed over and ground up, then collected to be worked into the vegetable beds.

They're also being used in combination with wood shavings as litter in the chicken coops.  I think I'll try to use the ground up ones here in the future.


What do you do with your leaves?

Cathedral of Junk

In an effort to comply with the “Keep Austin Weird” motto, we visited the Cathedral of Junk there – appropriately enough, on Easter Sunday. It rises, almost imperceptively from the street, from Vince Hanneman’s quiet backyard in a suburban neighborhood. Plants are creatively integrated.

Vince has been collecting stuff since the 1980s and has faced city ordinance violations and irate neighbors, but has managed to expand and maintain this crazy 80-ton structure, including it’s stained glass windows,

collections,

color themes,

inexplicable juxtapositions,

child-friendly climbability (hellooooo up there!)

and wabi-sabi strangeness.

The cathedral is open during daylight hours most days.

Come worship at the holy throne.

And leave your mark on the holy surfboard.

Apologies to my blogging friends that I haven't visited in weeks...my biggest work deadline of the year is looming! See you in June, if not before.

A Big Bloomin' Mess

Once again, I missed Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Not because I had no blooms!  It’s just that the blooms are being upstaged by the trees, the clear blue sky and that insanely beautiful golden light that hits the hills at dusk.  The blooms just aren’t the biggest attraction now.

Still, we got  French marigolds (Tagetes patula),

Canna (canna x generalis) "Cleopatra",

Nasturtium (tropaeolum)

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

Roses (Hybrid tea - unknown cultivar)

Even a geranium (pelargonium) and petunia (petunia x hybrida) about to bloom.

Some herbs, cabbages and kale still poking along. 

Still harvesting the odd "watermelon" radish.  

Did I mention the leaves from the 40+ trees that are now blanketing the property?   We’re doing it a little different this year.  Instead of raking them up and packing them in 20-odd compostable bags for the town to pick up, I’m gonna blow them into the back of my “woods,” where I’m hoping they compost themselves, help keep the weeds down, and give the bugs a place to hide from the chickens. Maybe I’ll even shred them with the lawnmower and mulch my beds with them.  

But really.  Why move leaves around when I can play fetch with Miss. B??  Can you say "procrastination"....

Have you dealt with your leaves yet?

Goodbye Swingset - The End of an Era

My kids were so excited about getting a swingset, and it was well-used.  For many years it was a place to hang upside down, dig and hide, plan battles and rocket launches, and host tea parties and club meetings.  It was transformed into pirate ships, buses, planes and palaces.

I posted it on freecycle and a young family came and took it apart and away this past weekend.

The swingset had been abandoned in favor of scooters, skateboards, water guns, basketball hoops, pogo sticks and trampolines. Just different and scarier ways of hurtling themselves through space.

So what would you do with a nice, new, level empty spot in the yard?   Naturally, I’m eyeing it for a chicken coop and/or maybe some additional vegetable beds. I’m afraid my family has other ideas. 

Project Feeder Watch Prep

There's still time to sign up for Project Feederwatch.  It begins on November 14 and runs til April 9. On two consecutive days that you select each week, you set aside as much time as you can to count birds at your feeders, tally your observations and enter your data on the Cornell Ornithology Lab website- meaning you (and your kids) can be part of a real ongoing scientific study. The data collected helps the scientists figure out population counts and determine which species are being affected by various environmental factors.  (Do you think a poodle is considered an environmental factor?) 

It costs $15 to sign up -- this is our first year participating.

Even if you don't participate in Feederwatch, this is still a good time to hang out your feeders and see who comes to visit.  It's fall migration time, and you may be surprised at who's passing through.  (Birds flying over your property, however, are not eligible to be counted for this project!)

Feeders - You might want to hang a couple of different kinds of feeders in your yard.  Tube feeders, like this one hanging right outside our front picture window, exclude squirrels and some larger birds.  Juncos, titmice and sparrows love these.

This is a house or "hopper" feeder -  it's popular with the blue jays and cardinals, but it does tend to leave a mess on the ground underneath.  Nothing goes to waste, though.

Feed - different kinds of seeds attract different birds.  For example:

Black-oil sunflower – cardinals, chickadees, finches, sparrows and woodpeckers.

Striped sunflower – larger billed birds

Nyjer (thistle) goldfinch, pine siskin, common redpoll

Safflower – cardinals and big-billed birds

Corn – wild turkeys, ducks, doves, quail and sparrow

Millet – juncos and sparrows

Milo – a reddish grain that's not a favorite of eastern birds. Avoid mixes with a large percentage of this grain

Suet - suet is a bird feed made from rendered animal fats (like calves and sheep).  Fresh suet is a real treat for birds and may even attract some larger species, like hawks, as well as woodpeckers.

A big bag of  mixed seeds should last through the winter.  I'm putting the bag in a bin in the garage  and cutting a large opening in the top.  I stick the feeders in the bag to fill them - this is the best way to prevent seed spillage.  Be sure to close the bag tightly after filling so that the seed stays fresh and you don't attract rodents or wayward basketballs.  (A word of advice: don't try to take a shortcut and walk through the house to the backyard with your full feeders, because it will spill. Take the longer path around the house!)

Water -  Always put out water for your birds.  The water in a pretty ceramic dish now, but when it starts to freeze, I'll switch to something metal, like this old roasting pan. When I notice the water is frozen over, I just bring it inside and replace it with another dish.  There are also things you can buy at Gardners Supply Company to keep your water from freezing.  Water containers should be cleaned and sanitized once a week.

Cover - Birds like grassy areas edged with trees and shrubs.  A brush pile (or fort!) can also provide protection.  Evergreens, especially the kind with cones or berries, are favorite spots for overwintering birds.

You can dowload these color posters and hang them next to your window to help you identify the different types of birds.

Most common around here seem to be titmouse, chickadee, nuthatch, dove, blue jay and cardinal.  Keep a pair of binoculars near your window so they're handy when you need to see close-up.

There are lots more tips and info available on the Project Feederwatch Website.

Kids are usually expert bird counters. What birds are visiting you these days?

Favorite Roadside Flowers

Notice I didn’t say “Roadside Weeds.” After all, as George Washington Carver said, “A weed is just a flower growing in the wrong place.” Not only are lots of the roadside wildflowers in their prime right now, but this is one of the most popular times of year to be on the road.

I've driven past these flowers so many times without knowing their names, so I thought maybe I should correct that. Some of these flowers are considered noxious invasive nuisances. They crowd out plants that support diverse animal species and there are even plans to eradicate and control them in some places. Some, like chicory and Queen Anne's Lace, are among my very favorites. So much so that I've attempted to dig them up from the roadside and replant them in my garden--without much success. They're not happy being forced into situations, I guess. (Just like kids.)

Are you taking any road trips this summer? Keep an eye out for these!

Queen Anne’s Lace. (Daucus carota) on Korean Veteran’s Memorial Highway

My great-grandmother used to make pressed flowers from this. Also known as "wild carrot."

Chickory (Cichorium Intybuson) on Rt. 59

Dried ground chickory root is used as a coffee substitute- mostly in Louisiana.

Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) in the school courtyard. The buttercup in my yard has been in bloom almost two months now!

Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium) on Strawtown Road

Also known as a “Ditch Lily” because that’s where it usually grows.

Birdsfoot Trefoil (lotus corniculatus)on Sickletown Road

Often used as a grazing food for livestock.

Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) on Palisades Parkway This one is also in abundance in our school courtyard.

Crown Vetch (Coronilla varia L.) on Snake Hill Road

Crown Vetch used to be planted for erosion control. Now it’s considered invasive.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) near Rt. 303
This invasive weed can grow up to 10 feet tall.

What’s growing on your side of the road?