Repurposing

Day 33: The "fall" has finally arrived, nearly six weeks past the customary point when the dogwood and Japanese maple drop their leaves, and that despite several nights in the low and mid-twenties. The contorted filbert's foliage has barely changed colour, and that silly fool begonia on my front step is hanging onto its leaves in an inexplicable act of defiance. I want to know why this year is different, why the abscission layer hasn't formed, why the leaves haven't dropped when they should have done so in mid-September. "Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice, and I would gladly follow her down any rabbit hole which might lead to an answer. But all this aside, you really didn't want to rake, did you? I'm here to give you reasons to justify your position.

It goes without saying that leaves were not meant to be raked. If they are to be moved at all, the process should come about at the whim of an autumn gale; a redistribution of resource, if you will. Decaying leaves contribute to a healthy soil base. Okay, they mat your grass, but lawns are an affectation, to say nothing of being a pain in the neck to mow. Leaf litter adds nutritional elements to the soil both directly and indirectly as frass excreted by insects which consume decaying vegetation. Fallen leaves also provide protection for small critters such as overwintering butterflies and moths. Other wildlife may insulate their nests and dens with shed foliage. If you simply must maintain a lawn because you're legally bound by a homeowner's association contract or other human ridiculousness, then repurpose the "fall" by using it as mulch. I spread mine over a particularly nasty patch of buttercups I'm trying to kill, and also bed a loose layer around my fig tree to prevent frost damage to its roots. If this is still not to your liking, compost leaves and till the result into your garden in the spring. You'll have happier vegs for the effort. The moral of this story is clear. In the words of Zeno of Citium, "The goal of life is living in agreement with Nature."

Are You My Mummy?

Day 325: Look what followed me home! As much as I would like to provide pollinators with their favourite foods, the tall sedum in the strawberry jar just outside my kitchen door was creating a scenario for a medical emergency with the number of honeybees it was attracting. I'm allergic, and more severely so to honeybees than any other species of stinger. I was courting disaster every time I went out to pick tomatoes, my backside to the bees only a foot or so distant. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I got stung if I didn't remove it, so on a cool morning a few days ago before the sun had risen, I cut the stalks back to the soil. Today, I dug out the roots and replaced them with this beautiful purple chrysanthemum.

Over the years, I've had mums winter over. It doesn't often happen that way, but on one notable occasion, I kept a dark red one for several years with no exceptional care. This year, I have a number of new plants which will require mulching, so I may just toss a handful of straw over Mummy if I have some left over.