Smart! I am a very poor seamstress (too impatient, not a good trait for gardening, either). Still, I’ve bought the fabric for my pillows, so made a commitment to apply myself this winter.
Hi, Heather! I’m surprised that you didn’t include the idea of mulching the leaves and leaving the bits in place to feed the lawn throughout winter while also allowing the sun in. When we lived up north, we spent a lifetime raking, bagging or piling leaves by the roadside. When we moved to S.Carolina, we learned that hardly anyone does this … everyone mulches! We have since joined the mulching bandwagon, running our mower over the yard every couple of weeks. The yard looks clean, and we feel good knowing that we’re providing natural nutrients.
Apparently doing this (I did this with my parents as a kid) tends to kill anything already living on the leaves after they fall. So a lot of native gardeners tend to stick to whole leaves, rather than breaking them up or mowing them.
especially the part towards the end where it talks about where the leaves blow - observing and then planting accordingly. I did this a few years ago and now I let the wind do most of my raking and composting. I do collect some to pile onto my vegetable beds, but we don't chop it up with the mower any more, I just move whatever is left of the leaves aside when I set out my plants in the spring. Works for me!
Could you tell us about winter sowing? I bought some wonderful Prairie Oval Sedge seeds. Initially I used pots but the line I am making is so long I’ll go broke. PRrairie Moon thought winter sowing would work and now it’s beginning to be winter and I am wondering how to begin. So I bought about 3 oz to give it a try. What can you teach me?
Excellent question, Marsha! I’m going to answer it—and ask others for their advice—in the next newsletter. In the meantime, you can check the archive on our website.
Hi Heather! Fellow master gardener and landscape designer here 👋🏻 I write Letters from The Whiskey Porch here on Substack. I’ve just signed up for your workshop next week! Look forward to “meeting” you 🪴
This might be a bit of a stretch because my comment relates to information in a link you included (about propagating native shrubs by taking cuttings). The information is fine, actually; it's a picture that concerns me. In the Homes & Gardens article, the picture at the top is indeed our native American Beautyberry, but the photo in the body of the article shows Japanese/East Asian Beautyberry, which is not native. The author mentions getting it from Walmart, which is a clue - in my experience, Walmart does not carry native plants. The pictures may seem like a small point, but it's important to know what we're buying. Too many people end up with a non-native cultivar when they think they are buying native, due in part to our reliance on common names. Thanks for your delightful and informative writing!
Not a stretch, Theresa. HUGE point. I admit I put that link in quickly without adequately review. You are so right to be vigilant about supposedly native plant images—and even text—in articles on popular sites. I’m afraid this is going to get even worse with AI. Thank you for pointing this out. I apologize for my laxity. I’ll address this in the next newsletter.
This article studied the little things that live in the leaves and discusses not mulching.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725004565
Thank you!
Those fabrics are nice! I consider Winter the sewing hobby, since I'd prefer to be in the garden during the warmer months.
Smart! I am a very poor seamstress (too impatient, not a good trait for gardening, either). Still, I’ve bought the fabric for my pillows, so made a commitment to apply myself this winter.
Hi, Heather! I’m surprised that you didn’t include the idea of mulching the leaves and leaving the bits in place to feed the lawn throughout winter while also allowing the sun in. When we lived up north, we spent a lifetime raking, bagging or piling leaves by the roadside. When we moved to S.Carolina, we learned that hardly anyone does this … everyone mulches! We have since joined the mulching bandwagon, running our mower over the yard every couple of weeks. The yard looks clean, and we feel good knowing that we’re providing natural nutrients.
Apparently doing this (I did this with my parents as a kid) tends to kill anything already living on the leaves after they fall. So a lot of native gardeners tend to stick to whole leaves, rather than breaking them up or mowing them.
Had not considered that aspect of mulching.
Hello, Louise! and thank you, Jimmy, for explaining why I omitted mulch mowing :) Thank you both for your comments.
I like this article: https://wildseedproject.net/2020/12/leave-the-leaves/
especially the part towards the end where it talks about where the leaves blow - observing and then planting accordingly. I did this a few years ago and now I let the wind do most of my raking and composting. I do collect some to pile onto my vegetable beds, but we don't chop it up with the mower any more, I just move whatever is left of the leaves aside when I set out my plants in the spring. Works for me!
Thanks for that great resource, Kathie. Lots of good ideas. I also love the part about observing where the leaves blow.
Could you tell us about winter sowing? I bought some wonderful Prairie Oval Sedge seeds. Initially I used pots but the line I am making is so long I’ll go broke. PRrairie Moon thought winter sowing would work and now it’s beginning to be winter and I am wondering how to begin. So I bought about 3 oz to give it a try. What can you teach me?
Excellent question, Marsha! I’m going to answer it—and ask others for their advice—in the next newsletter. In the meantime, you can check the archive on our website.
Hi Heather! Fellow master gardener and landscape designer here 👋🏻 I write Letters from The Whiskey Porch here on Substack. I’ve just signed up for your workshop next week! Look forward to “meeting” you 🪴
Hi, Miriam. Thanks for connecting. I look forward to checking out your Substack. “See” you at the workshop. I hope you enjoy it.
This might be a bit of a stretch because my comment relates to information in a link you included (about propagating native shrubs by taking cuttings). The information is fine, actually; it's a picture that concerns me. In the Homes & Gardens article, the picture at the top is indeed our native American Beautyberry, but the photo in the body of the article shows Japanese/East Asian Beautyberry, which is not native. The author mentions getting it from Walmart, which is a clue - in my experience, Walmart does not carry native plants. The pictures may seem like a small point, but it's important to know what we're buying. Too many people end up with a non-native cultivar when they think they are buying native, due in part to our reliance on common names. Thanks for your delightful and informative writing!
Not a stretch, Theresa. HUGE point. I admit I put that link in quickly without adequately review. You are so right to be vigilant about supposedly native plant images—and even text—in articles on popular sites. I’m afraid this is going to get even worse with AI. Thank you for pointing this out. I apologize for my laxity. I’ll address this in the next newsletter.