Fall Cleanup

It was finally looking like fall had arrived at The Frog & PenguINN this past weekend. The leaves were turning colors and piling up in the yard, even though the crepe myrtles are stubbornly retaining most of their leaves. Those trees won’t be bare for another week or more.

The wildflowers in Grenville’s backyard meadow were all just about bloomed out. While there were a few stragglers, they all met Grenville and his “friend,” John Deere. First, they cut down all the stalks and then pine straw was added.
Pine straw is our preferred mulching material. There’s plenty in our own backyard thanks to the pine trees; also there’s more on a couple of back streets near our home. There’s lots of reasons why we prefer pine straw (called shatters by some) — it decomposes well, lets air and water through, looks more natural than store bought pine nuggets, and best of all it’s FREE as long as you’re willing to work at gathering it.
This supply, which is actually the second and third piles we’ve collected, will be completely used up by the time we’ve finishing mulching all the flowerbeds.
By the end of this week, we’re hoping that all the leaves are off the crepe myrtle trees so we can complete our fall yard work.
How did you spend your weekend?