Latest Adventures

Leaf Hauler, Harvester, Teacher....

The north side of the building is "no man's land".  The soil is slick and sticky, shady in the winter and hot and sunny in the summer.  My landlord and I tried to plant a few things on this side last summer and dug straight into construction/renovation rubble. Yuck.

You may have noticed I am a bit of a scavenger (recycler, ya, that's it, recycler).  Leaf fall this year seems to be at an all time record, so I made a deal with my part-time temporary seasonal employer to take the leaves from the nursery grounds.  Several truck loads later I have started piling the leaves up so they can decompose here.  In the spring, I will turn this leaf compost over into the soil and hopefully have the start of a better planting area.


The burlap bags were also courtesy of my employer via a pottery shipment container. I have double layered the main walkway and topped the leaf piles.  I really don't want the leaves to blow away now.

Sunflowers planted by my neighbor on the east side of the loft building.  (There is some soil here.)  This photo was taken November 2nd.

It became a really good crop but the heavy tops tipped the plants over the pathway with the recent rains.

The seeds looked ready so I did some trimming. 

The heads have been sitting out in the sun now for a few days and are looking pretty good. If these were mine I would put a bow on them and hang them on the fence for the birds. I know the birds do not require a bow but it would dress up the presentation.

Now, you know where the sunflower seeds are... don't you?  Seems like a silly question to ask the gardening community but you would be surprised how many people really did not know these were the beginnings of the "seeds in the little plastic bag".  My neighbor (who was growing them to show her son) did not realize these could be eaten.  A few minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven to toast = yum!

A gardener's work is never done.