While I didn't finish the ornamental grasses in front (yet), I also moved on to a different spot: the raised vegetable bed on our back patio. Just like the grasses, this bed had some stems and seed heads that I left behind from last season's plants. Tomato bushes. Herb stems.
I took my pruners to those and cut them up into small segments. And left them on the top of the bed. You can see the 'chopped' mulch in the two photos below. I typically top this bed with a couple of bags of compost and/or mushroom compost, so this plant litter will get incorporated into the soil later this Spring.
Here, below, is a closer look at some of the stems. These are 'woody' for the most part, so I cut them down to about 1/2" pieces so they'll decompose a little bit faster than they normally would if left larger.
I'm not a pro when it comes to 'mulching in place', but I'm using it more-and-more each season. Here's a video from the Royal Horticultural Society that talks about using the 'chop and drop' method (embedded below):
They talk about how you shouldn't use the chop and drop for every perennial in the garden and call out hostas, specifically, as one you should compost during your clean-up. There's a bit in the video that explains monocot plants (like Hostas) that have a parallel vein structure (vs. dicots that have veins that are more 'net-like'). Monocots break down, they create 'fiber-y structures' with 'mushy material'.
The exception that the RHS calls out are ornamental grasses. Huzzah!
The benefits of chop-and-drop clean-up (per the RHS) include: soil enrichment (the cut-up bits are organic matter), is easy (no hauling away to compost bin), is natural (mimics what happens in nature), is good for critters (the cuttings feed the soil which feeds critters) and they end by saying..."if done properly"...it can "still look really great".
Frost is how the gardening season ends. It brings with it death. And dormancy. Another season in the books. In some ways, it also brings relief. Things slow down. Stop growing. And, I can shift into a 'closing up' mindset. But, I can't do that until we get a frost. The furthest that the forecast looks out on Weather dot com is between now and Thursday, November 5th. That's two weeks out. And, here, below is what it looks like: What is notable? The lows. Look at them. The lowest LOW listed between now and November 5th is 43 degrees. That's 11 degrees ABOVE freezing. Now, I recognize that weather forecasts aren't set in stone, but let's (for now) operate under the assumption that this is close to accurate. We won't see a frost for at least two weeks. Note: Parts of Northern Illinois had some frost earlier in October. Here's a Tweet from the National Weather S...
Welp, it looks like the festival is in town. Over the next few days, tens of thousands of brave souls will hit these parks to take in a lot of great music and get sunburned. We've been hearing the bass-lines warming up and testing the PA equipment all the way up on the 64th floor the past few days. and it has been fun to watch the stages unfold and the activity ramp up. Alas...I'm no longer a festival guy and, once again, won't be in attendance. I posted a photo of the Lolla 'aftermath' here on the blog last August. But, I'm not a total went blanket. I *do* have a history with Lollapalooza. We went (twice, I think?) to the 'tour' version back in the Mid-1990's when it hit the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park when the Beastie Boys were involved and I was smuggling in food in the venue in my underpants. Ah yes. Those were the days.
Earlier this month, we got all gussied up in tuxedos and fancy dresses for a wedding and I gotta tell you: there's nothing I like more than a good wedding reception photo booth. We had one at our wedding a while back, and I try to make sure we pose for a few sessions whenever we come across one. This wedding was no different, so we spent some time (well....I actually spent *more* time in there than Nat!) doing our thing. I don't wear a tuxedo very often (gasp! I know!), so photos please! Btw...for those keeping score at home *this* was my wedding tuxedo! We're coming up on 8 years of marriage, so having this thing fit (everything! The pants, the shirt, the jacket) was a nice thing and made me feel good about myself for a minute or two. Also...this helped me amortize - in my mind - the cost of owning the tuxedo across at least another event. Oh...the wedding? It was pretty awesome. Lots of tasty craft beer was served at vari...
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