Thursday, January 7, 2010

Leaf'ing Late

By Skeeter
I spent Tuesday afternoon with the Gas Leaf Blower in my Georgia Garden. The leaves fell sooner this year then the previous years but something kept us from getting them up on time. Can you guess from this picture?
How about from this picture? Look at the 4 drowning Silver Berry Bushes near the fence.
We had some major rains during the month of December. Just look at the small waterfall we had coming from next door!
It rained over 4 inches on this one day. The run off almost went over our driveway! The Saint and I joke that we now have our very own Water Feature in our yard. Ha..The rain did not stop on that day. We continued to have so much rain that our yard would not dry for us to remove the leaves. We finally got the last of them up 2 days ago while traipsing on the soggy half frozen ground. On a happy note, (always looking for the positive in a negative situation) we did not have to remove any leaves from the rain run off ditch this past year! We had so much rain that the flowing water kept the creek bed cleaned out all fall and into winter. December is normally our driest month so now we have gone from drought conditions one year ago, to what I can only assume will be flood conditions before long, at this rate anyway.

With our soggy yard and garden conditions, I was not able to get fresh pine straw on the landscaped areas of the gardens. I have now decided to keep leaves on the gardens and in the spring spread a thinner layer of pine straw on top the leaves. This should save me some back pains and be more friendly on our wallets as well. So the year 2010 has me LEAF'ING LATE, In the Garden...

20 comments:

  1. hui so many water !
    hugh Kathrin

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  2. Not really the kind of water feature you want, is it? We had a very wet December as well and now a freezing January...it should make for an interesting gardening season..

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  3. Wow! That's a cool waterfall, Skeeter. Been long since I've read your blog. Feels so good to be back!
    Belated New Year Wishes to you and Saint! Hope you had a great time!

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  4. That's a lotta water, but I'm glad your out of the drought.
    I think you'll feel better about mulching by using the leaves although the pine straw looks nicer.

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  5. Holy smoke! Looks like flooding in your area. Having seen this area of your yard I can't imagine where all that water come from! Your neighbors must've been innundated too. On the good side, the leaves are great for gardens!

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  6. Whoa! We had over 14" of rain here in December...and as Darla said...now it has turned to freezing!

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  7. Whoa -that was a lot of rain! Good thing you looked for the positive in the situation:) We don't have rain in our garden but rather a fox the past two days. I'm a little leery since it's the daytime but maybe he is just hunting for some food since it's so cold. The kiddos saw him trapsing down the back road this morning while they ate breakfast. Off to the no school crew -have a great day y'all and stay warm. Ciao!

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  8. Happy New Year, Skeeter! I had the rain guessed before reading the words "from this picture". I also was planning to comment on the waterfall before reading what you said about it. Wow, what a lot of rain! I like your plan to leave some of the leaves.

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  9. Wow, suddenly you have lake front property. I complain about the snow here but it is easier to deal with than that much water.
    Marnie

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  10. Not only will your back be saved some but also your wallet. Sounds like a good double deal to me. On the other hand, with so much rain you might wanna think of another spot to plant veggies this summer. Won't be long and you could start in on a dry spot.

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  11. Looks almost like you could put your boat in & take a cruise. I first thought what a nice little stream to have but that wasn't a stream. Glad it did keep the "stream" clean for you. Hopefully it will dry up in time for your garden.

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  12. Oh, my, that is a lot of water. Maybe your drought worries are finally over. (Though a bit of moderation would be helpful.)

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  13. That may be too much of a good thing, regarding all that water.
    Is that a creek next door with the waterfalls?

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  14. Burrrr, it is cold down here in Georgia!

    Kathrin, Yes, too much water...

    Darla, I am thinking the same thoughts. Hum, wonder what nature will have in store of us in the coming months....

    Chandramouli, Thank you and Happy New Year to you as well. A happy wish is never belated to me :) Yes, we had fun but now I dont seem to have any energy. Not sure if that is from the travels or cold air...

    Dawn, I will put the thinner layer of pine straw on top the leaves but before long those pesky squirrels will dig in it and make it ugly. I will just have to deal with it though as I must keep my garden budget low this year...

    Tina, My neighbors on the left side probably never noticed the rain as they dont seem to notice much where their yard is concerned ick.... We must get the leaves out of the ditch on their side to keep the flow going properly. Argggggg, Oh well... We never had a normal rain season down here. Either too much or not enough rain fall...

    Dirtprinces, I am not sure of our total rain fall for the month as we were not here for some of it and I did not keep measurements from the rain gauge like I normally do. We were up there though and for a normally dry month, whoa, we had some rain...

    Anonymous, Snow day for the kiddos! Too bad there is no snow for them to play in though. lol, Always cracks me up how we Southerners panic during a little snow. They would freak out over a real snow like up North. lol... We had a fox family in our yard for several years but they disappeared. Not sure what happened but assume all the building around us ran them off to find new hunting grounds. Fox during the day is something to be concerned about. I would be sure to stress to the kiddos to stay clear of it...

    Sue, Happy New Year to you too! We sure did get some rain last month. We have not had much thus far for 2010 but the year is young. The yard is one soggy mess now...

    Marnie, There you go, Lake Front Property! I like that! I would so much rather have a little snow then all this water on the ground! Especially this time of year. I miss the snow in the winter but am glad we dont have to drive in it as it can be scary. The weatherman is calling for a dusting during the night but it will probably not be around long enough for daylight to expose its prettiness...

    Jean, we have already been talking about where the veggies will go. I know they will NOT be in the same spot as the years past. We may just incorporate a few veggies in the Flower Garden this year and see what happens....

    Lola, If only I could get the boat out and take a nice cruise. It was not so long ago that I was on a big cruise and now it seems so long ago that I felt that humid ocean air! The veggie garden will surely be delayed this year as usual. I was just telling Jean how I may put a few into the Flower Garden. The peppers worked well there last year so why not add a few other things? Hum, space may be an issue but we will see....

    Mr. MG's Daughter, Yes, Moderation would greatly be appreciated! The Saint and I are wanting to know just where that perfect spot is on this earth. I dont believe it exists today. I would so like to live there if any one knows of such a spot...

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  15. Terra, No, not a creek at all. Just too much water in the normally dry Rain "Run-off" bed. Too much of a good thing is bad like this water and also all the fudge I ate during the holidays!

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  16. That is a lot of water! Glad it didn't cause damage and actually helped to save you some work and money.

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  17. Looks like your Georgia drought is over! We had our rains in October, but I never did get all our leaves raked up. Now they're buried under drifts of snow.

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  18. Catherine, A lot of water indeed! And yes, some money has been saved from the lack of pine straw spreading during fall....

    Rose, I am not sure which is worse, drought or flood! I fear roots of beloved flowers are rotting while standing in the soggy mess....

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  19. Hi Skeeter,
    Oh dear, a small river and waterfall from the normally dry rain runoff bed. The waterfall effect looked kinda pretty!
    My yard doesn't have excellent drainage so I plant most of my bulbs in containers so they don't rot. All of my much loved Asiatic and Oriental lilies are grown in pots.
    I hope your garden plants do well with all that water.

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  20. Terra, Thanks, I do hope they all survive the rains and now freezing temps... urgggg...

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