It was in the 70s today, and an awesome day to finish up cleaning the flower beds! I put some of last year's growth on the compost pile, but stems that had lots of seeds or were too woody, I put in an out of the way place for a brush pile for butterflies.
I couldn't believe how many leaves were gathered to put on the compost piles, which already were full of leaves from fall. I figured out a way to get them packed down in order to put more on. As I was using 5 gallon buckets for stomping down the leaves, I thought of Grace, from Grace Peterson, who asked for clever ways we've improved our gardening tasks, and of Catherine, from A Gardener in Progress, who did a great post called, "Fashion in the Garden." If you check out these posts, read the comments, too. One has great tips, and the other will make you laugh.
I don't think I would actually recommend the bucket method, though, because if someone tried it and got hurt, I wouldn't want to have been the cause of it. Also, if your feet are larger than my size 11, they won't fit in the buckets. I had fun, though, and got a bit of a workout.
My husband Larry was nice and went to get my camera when I asked if he would, and took several pictures for me to choose from.
I hope to do another post today about an opportunity I have to garden across the street.
Very nice buckets!! I played in my compost bins today too. Got 3 separate bins for the different stages of decomposition. Mine feed downward with gravity, and then shovel'd back on top to keep the process healthy.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a beautiful day in NE. Great news. Yippee for Spring.
I enjoyed you blog!
Great idea about using buckets, Sue! Very cute pic! You guys have our weather...please give it back!! It was in the 30's and 40's the last couple of days, here in VA. 70's weather for you is unusual for March, isn't it?! Looks like you had a very good day!
ReplyDeleteI KNEW there was a reason I should have kept those buckets!! You are quite the clever garden fashionista, Sue. And, if a particularly crafty mood should strike, you could spray paint your buckets the same color as your gloves and have a matched set.
ReplyDeleteThe Smith & Hawken people are knocking at your door. :)
Thanks SG and Jan! You can't tell, but I have 3 piles right next to each other, 1 in the corner, and 1 on each side of it. I'll have to come to your site to see if you've shown your compost, as I"m not understanding what you mean by feeding downward.
ReplyDeleteI think our normal temps for March are in the 50s or 60s, but we do have some 70 degree days from time to time. It's supposed to rain the next several days, and the highs are supposed to be in the 50s, so I was determined to get a lot done today, and I did.
I hope your weather gets better, Jan.
Grace, we posted about the same time.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to point out the grass stains on my jeans, which are one of the few pairs that fit me well these days. I should've put on a tight pair like I had been last week. Then, I would have had them held together with a pony tail holder, which would have been quite clever! LOL
Our weather was decent here today (northeast Illinois)- high around 60. I also spent the afternoon cleaning out leaves and cutting back grasses. I've got a compost ball that can be rolled around the yard to turn the compost. It works okay, but it's much too small!
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call fashion!! Nothing says gardener more than 5 gallon bucket boots :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a great day and got lots done! I think it's so neat you think of the butterflies and leave a brush pile for them :)
Well, nice boots, Sue ;) They did make me laugh. Nice post and great info too. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteI always knew you could never have too many of these kind of buckets, but I would never have imagined standing in them and using them for stomping leaves.Who said gardeners aren't creative?
ReplyDeleteLove the photo! Too cute!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Perhaps the bucket makers will have to size their buckets?? ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm a size 11 too. I'll have to give the bucket boots a try.
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