House Cleaning in Tennessee

Anyone who owns and/or lives in a house in a humid climate will understand what I mean by housecleaning--the outside of the house that is. The northern side of your home will almost always be prone to growing mildew and mold in Tennessee. Throw in the fact that perhaps your heat pump is also located on the northern side (a good thing since the unit is not in direct sun) and you might as well get out the scrub brush and bleach every few years and get to work. I've lived in my home more than eleven years now and this is the third time we have washed the house. But this was the best time because I hired my son to do it for me!

A lot of people use a pressure washer to wash their homes. My neighbors sometimes do this and the first time I washed my house I actually hired someone to do it and he used a pressure washer. I don't like using a pressure washer on my house though and I'll tell you why. The first time I had the house washed (2003) I hired a man who used very caustic chemicals and a pressure washer to rinse it all off. After he left the house looked good. It really did. But within the year the mold and mildew was back and I was not impressed. I felt like the mold was not completely cleaned off just by the chemicals and pressure washer. 

The next time I found the time to clean the house was in May 2007. I distinctly remember it because my son, his wife at the time, and their newborn baby had come for a visit. This time I personally washed the house using three simple things; water, bleach, and a soft brush. The house looked great and actually seemed to stay looking clean for a lot longer (about three years) than it did when the professionals came and washed the house in 2003.

The weather has been great and the Jimster needed to earn some money so I hired him to wash the house. He did it the same way I did in 2007 (I told him to). And I just cannot believe what a difference a little bit of elbow grease and bleach makes on a house. It looks like a new house! I hope the job lasts a good several years. Isn't Jimmy cute? I'll tell you all a secret--it's only secret from teenagers--if you put teens to work or make them go do physical activity their whole attitude and demeanor changes and they get happy. When teens are happy parents are usually happy too. Jimmy took a great deal of pride in cleaning the house. Of course the $100 I paid him probably helped a bit too.

While cleaning the house I couldn't help but notice the beautiful fall skies and wonderful views of the moon we have had here in Tennessee....

in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Timing is Everything When Moving or Dividing Perennials-or is it?

Remember those huge mums? Well they didn't last long enough to bloom out. I cut them down in their prime. It really hurt to do it but hey, timing is everything right? And I needed to move them. Now the question begging to be asked is, "Could I have waited until the mums bloomed out?"

Yes, I certainly could have waited a bit to cut the mums. I could have waited a whole season, but since winter was coming and I wanted to get these mums established in other spots, I could not have waited any longer, therefore the blooms had to go.

What do you think? When is the best time to move perennials? And then, when do you really move your perennials (be honest)? Have you cut down lovely flowers in their prime just because you wanted to move the plant on your schedule?

Which reminds me, almost time to divide and move the daffodils, I'll try my HARDEST to wait until they bloom out:)

in the garden....

Note: I have been trying to comment on blogs that have the new style pop up comment box with a pop up letter verification pop up box. This box will NOT load letters for me. Therefore I cannot comment on your blog. I have left email messages at Blotanical but am also posting the reason here. So sorry for not commenting on your blog, but this is why.

Window Washing

It is that time of the year, yup, you know what time. Fall cleaning time! How would you like to wash these windows? Not me, I'm afraid of heights. This fellow looked like he was having a great time sliding along the outside of this hospital on a bright sunny day.

His contraption really caught my eye. The cable is suspended way up high on the top of the hospital on some kind of a pulley. This window washer was able to slide along the whole length of the hospital all by himself. Does that mean we are getting better at not only reducing labor in industries due to robotization, but also in the ordinary day to day chores where once two or three folks would perform this job there is now only one?
Not sure, but certainly something to ponder.

in the garden....washing windows too.

Cutting the Banana Trees Down

You need one pruning saw, one willing husband, and a hard hat to cut down the banana trees! Timber!!!!!!!
These stately fellas standing up in the sky at about 15 feet were a bit tattered and blackened by our recent frosts. It was 'tree' chopping time for sure!
The resulting stump is very interesting on its own. See how it is honeycombed? Way cool.

These banana trunks were nearly a foot wide. The trees are extremely heavy. The heaviness all comes from water and the fibers because there is NO woody material in these banana 'trees'.

Another season has come and gone, but don't worry these hardy Japanese bananas (Musa bajoo) will return next year for a new season.
This is the second year I have allowed my husband to cut down these 'trees'. A chore he relishes as he thinks all the trees should go. He actually volunteered to take out the bananas. Once cut, I don't do anything special for my banana trees, though a heavy coat of mulch would not hurt. The cut trees go straight into the compost bin with some heavy maneuvering and more cutting. They filled up all three of the bins this year. The bananas have returned faithfully each year for the past three years and have steadily increased. A super fun plant.....

in the garden....

All banana trees were cut down in the fall to about 1-2" above ground level.

Who Cuts the Grass?

Not me! At least not this time-thanks Sweetie!

Who cuts the grass in your household? Is it the gardener (like me usually!), the teenagers (yeah right!), or the man of the house (once in a blue moon!). I know Anonymous is always busy cutting hers whereas Skeeter and the Saint switch duties. Lola's 'young un' cuts her grass and Nina usually has a helper to cut her grass. The man of the house in my mother's house (Papa) cuts both their grass and my sister's grass (lucky her!). Not sure about others on here though.

I don't think yardwork is entirely a gender thing, but it might be, or maybe just a role thing or a duty by default? There is a wide variety of ways household duties can be broken down in households and in mine I usually do the yardwork since I am the gardener, how about you other gardeners out there? Who cuts the grass in your house?

in the garden....

Hedge Clipping

They talk about Curb Appeal on shows about selling your house. They say, Curb Appeal is the first thing a buyer sees. Well, not so true with me as the first thing I spotted was the front porch!

The Curb appeal to me consisted of an old fashion outdated look. Lots of evergreen bushes all in a traditional round shape. Some people like that look but I thought different with this house. Here is the way the hedge looked when we moved into the house. I snapped this picture on Home inspection day so lots of trucks were in my view...

I had a vision for the hedge and that is what we will dwell on today. We will look at the two planters above another time...

I am not sure what type bushes they are but I found a tag that read, Korean Wintergreen. I think they are very similar to Boxwood's. I decided to allow the bushes to grow together forming one long hedge rather then individual bushes. I liked that look when I was visiting English Gardens while in England. Yes, that is one long hedge to clip! The hedge is separated at the front walkway. We have 19 bushes on the left and 16 on the right side for a grand total of 35 bushes! The hedge is so lush and green with new growth.

I wish I did not have to clip it as it turns all yucky brown for a week or so until the new growth appears. But as you can see, we have a brick retaining wall behind the hedge. I must keep the hedge clipped below the wall or it will over take the wall and I don't think that would look good. What do you all think?


Keeping this thing clipped is a pain in the back and arms. My dad gave us Electric Clippers and I do use them. But I prefer to use the old fashioned choppers as they do a cleaner job with less stress on the leaves, thus less browning. I don't really mind the spring clipping as it is not humid yet and I usually do it at my leisure. But the first clipping of this year was painful on me as I had been doing other back breaking projects beforehand.

We really do enjoy the look of the hedge but it is so much trouble keeping it clipped. I usually clip it about 4 or 5 times per year depending on how much rain we have. Spring and Fall are not that bad but in the middle of the summer, it darn near kills me! With the last few clippings, I have done one side one day then the other the next day to ease the pain a bit.

I think the hedge sort of frames in the house and keeps the retaining wall from being exposed. I try to keep the hedge one brick below the wall. I sometime wonder just how high it would get if I stop clipping it...?.. I also wonder about cutting it back to just about a foot high but I don't think I could deal with the bare look for two years before it took off again. But I would not have to clip it for a long time! Ah... The Saint and I have talked about taking it out and starting over with something else but we fear we may destroy the paved driveway and that would be an issue. So in the end, we only talk. The Hedge stays where it is and I moan and groan and keep on top of the Hedge Clipping....

Any Suggestions?

Keeping Your Edge?

Keeping your edge. Sounds like a mantra often heard in the business world. Well, not only is keeping your edge-or an edge-important in the business world, it is important in the garden as well.

Sharp, well defined edges are the frosting on the cake in a well maintained landscape. What is an edge? An edge is that place in the garden where textures change. A garden bed to the lawn or house or hardscaping, the lawn to the driveway or sidewalk or patio, a swimming pool to the garden, a garden to the deck. All of these individual areas have edges. How you define your edge is totally up to you, but it is important to have a well defined, neat edge.

In the garden, I have found trenching the beds alongside the lawn works best. You see, I have a confession, I don't like to weedeat! I have yet to meet anyone who does, but I really have an aversion to it. But, I do like to dig with my shovel. Therefore, making trenches around my beds gives me the best of all worlds. I can dig (only about three times per year), and I don't have to weedeat around hardscaping. Where there is hardscaping in my garden, I do weedeat. Sometimes I try to put gardens in around the hardscaping as an 'edging' garden to reduce the weedeating. Unfortunately, it really doesn't make sense to put gardens around gardens where there is a hardscape edge, nor does it make sense to put a garden around my driveway since we so often drive on the lawn. I do have to weedeat.

The garden in the picture in the foreground is a foundation garden with a trenched edge around it. But directly across from this garden, is a raised bed surrounded by broken concrete. I have to weedeat around this bed. I also have to weedeat around the driveway, part of the vegetable garden, and around part of the pool garden. All in all, this is not too much weedeating considering I have many more gardens I don't have to weedeat around.

The next time you are in the garden, consider your edges and try to keep a sharp and neat edge-in all you do.

in the garden....

Mulches

Talking about raking leaves and using them in my garden brings me to the general subject of mulches. Mulches are a gardeners best friend. They help to moderate the soil temperature in the winter and summer by providing an insulating blanket, conserve water by slowing down evaporation, and reduce weeds by preventing light from reaching the weed seeds and also by being a barrier to weeds.

Moderating soil temperatures in the wintertime helps to prevent heaving of plants with the alternate freeze and thaw spells we tend to have in the southeast. When the ground freezes plants can be pushed out of place-especially shallow rooted plants like heucheras (coral bells). Once the thaw comes (and it will here during the winter) you can push the plant back into place but the damage may already be done in the form of root loss. The plant will need a period to recover which will certainly slow down growth in the spring. Mulch will insulate the ground and hopefully keep it frozen or at least prevent a deep freeze of soil and slow down the big thaw when it comes. This benefit is exactly what plants need in the winter and may prevent plant heaving. Plus, a bed of mulch is just what my garden needs to sleep warmly during the wintertime! Knowing the gardens are tucked in for the winter gives me such a feeling of peace-strange, I know. I guess it is the fact I don't have anything else to do until late January-February timeframe when the bulbs start poking their noses up out of the ground, and the hellebores begin their very long period of bloom.

Moderating soil temperatures involves mulch shading the soil, which will help to keep the soil cool. If the soil stays just a little cooler with the mulch then water loss is lessened and plants do not suffer as much stress from the heat and sun of our summers.

Conserving water is especially crucial with the recent droughts. I am not a person who can see into the future, but I anticipate we gardeners all across the country are going to have to adjust our way of thinking away from water loving plants toward plants that are able to take care of themselves and survive droughts if need be. It is very possible next year may be a great year for gardening, then again we have the possibility of another year like 2007. I for one do not want to be outside watering for hours at a time as I have better things to do (believe it or not!). Mulches help to slow down evaporation by providing a layer between the soil and the air. Mulches also serve to slow down what rain water we do receive and can actually catch the rain and gently direct it into the soil beneath them. Mulches help prevent soil erosion by providing a soft, usually porous layer for rainwater to fall upon.

Lastly, mulches help prevent weeds. I have never seen a mulch which could totally prevent weed growth, but mulches will slow down weeds. Another benefit of organic mulches is that the soil beneath them becomes more friable and workable. So whatever weeds do manage to grow are quite easy to hand pull.

I am a big fan of organic mulches like compost, leaves (shredded is the best way to use these), pine needles, hay, and even grass clippings. Organic mulches are free, readily available and will improve the soil tilth over time. Many gardeners have clay soil which can be as hard as a brick in the summer and as mucky as sewage in the wintertime. Organic mulches help to combat those two problems by increasing soil aggregates and improving the drainage and workability. Organic mulches do not add a great deal in the area of fertilizers so the fertility of soils will still need to be managed.

I do not like inorganic mulches like black plastic, rocks, and shredded tires. Inorganic mulches do not allow the soil to breathe and if you do plant ornamentals in them, the roots may grow above, through or under the inorganic mulch. My home had five foot tall compacta hollies (thought it was boxwood but it is actually compacta) which had been mulched with black plastic and covered with shredded bark. When my oldest son, Brian and I dug those hollies out the roots were growing all through the mulch ABOVE the plastic and in the six inches of mulch left there over the years. Weeds were also growing well in the mulch above the plastic. What a mess! And this example only includes hollies, imagine what would have happened if something like irises or daylillies were planted among the black plastic. When the perennials spread the plastic will get in the way and will cause a maintenance headache.

Aesthetically mulches look good. They can add so much to your landscaping and the selection of mulches should be based on the gardener's preference and level of maintenance he or she is willing to perform on the garden. Inorganic mulches have a tendency to spread themselves around the yard (especially rocks) and will need to be tidied up frequently. (What a pain to mow over all those errant rocks) On the other hand, organic mulches require renewal every year or two depending on the type you use. I use pine needles around my house. I collect the pine needles for free from my one pine tree out front, and from Fort Campbell. I generally use leaves everywhere else but add a layer of straw and newspapers to the vegetable garden after planting the summer garden in April-May. Every now and then I take a trip to Bi-County to buy a truck load of shredded wood mulch for $10 for use in new gardens. I never ever use chipped and/or shredded wood near my house for fear of termites. I don't think it is a good idea to even use the "treated" stuff around your house. Pine needles are a better choice. Pine needles only need to be renewed every other year in my yard and I think that is a great deal! Of course, I always hate it on those years the pine needles have to be redone-like this year.

The first picture shows my front garden with a pine needle mulch after one year in the wintertime, and the second picture shows a back garden with a leaf mulch in the summer. The last picture is of this years results after raking pine needles from Fort Campbell. I love the look and think it matches the house nicely. It seems like I have so many pine needles and leaves in the winter then come summer the mulches seem to disappear. I ask myself every year "Where do they go?" It is just Mother Nature working her magic recycling the organic mulches back into the earth and the process is so gradual that I don't even notice the loss of the mulch until it is all gone. Most people have some pine needles and leaves and if you don't, you might have a neighbor willing to share.

Today is a raking day and I am going to rake and bag some pine needles from some fellow freecyclers. Now all of you freecyclers know exactly what I do with pine needles and thanks for offering your extra ones!

in the garden....

Time to Really Rake the Leaves

OMG-what's a homeowner to do with all those leaves?!! Yes, I remember I said I love to rake leaves but only once or maybe twice-not everyday! I swept the lawn with my lawn sweeper on Wednesday-in the rain. Came back from a pleasant Thanksgiving weekend and guess what? It doesn't even look like I did anything in the yard.



People who know me know I am not only a big gardener with ornamentals, but I am a big lawn person too. I guess you might say I somewhat obsess over my lawn. I was truly afraid leaving leaves on the lawn all weekend with rain in the forecast would cause some damage to the newly seeded grass. So in the rain I go to sweep it all on Wednesday. Mission complete, topped off with a nice hot shower on Wednesday.



Today was the day to get all the new leaves and pine needles up. The day started out great but while I was out running some errands, here came the rain-again! De-ja-vu all over. I really don't mind raking the yard in the rain just so long as it is not cold. Thankfully, I did not think it all that cold today, though Mr. Fix-it was not happy I was outside for over four hours. I think he felt obligated to come out though I assured him I did not need his help and this was really why he didn't want me in the yard today.


I got most of the yard raked by hand. I am very proud because I have a big yard and raking is hard work. I also have the blisters to prove I did it all by hand! No lawn sweeper today. I love hand raking because then I can really look at the grass and I can see an instant change when I rake. My Rebel Tall Fescue lawn is VERY green with all of this rain and is actively growing right now. Leaves smothering the grass would not do at all.


All raked leaves go into gardens. I usually run out of leaves though I have many, many trees. This year I think leaves will be scarcer, because of the freeze and drought the trees did not put out their full complement of leaves like usual. But there will still be plenty! Before the leaves go into gardens I lay down a layer of 5-6 newspapers over the soil. This extra layer of newspapers is the secret to my gardening along with the leaves. So many people use mulch without something under it, or worse yet, with black plastic under it, but they still have tons of weeds. The newspapers really block out the sun while still allowing water and air to pass through to the soil and effectively keep the weeds at bay. Any weeds that do grow through are easily pulled. Within one or two years the newspapers will decompose and add organic material back to the soil. I only use the black and white portion of the newspaper and couldn't garden the way I do without them.


I am in the process of trying to get up with a homeowner in order to receive permission to photograph their garden for my choice of "Garden of the Month". I have left a telephonic message so I hope they call me back soon! For now, I will be soaking in a HOT shower.


in the garden....