October | 2016 | The Bent Trowel

One day until Halloween! I hope everyone is having a spooktacular holiday!! I decided to actually dress up the exterior of our home for Halloween this year. I have kind of neglected full-on Halloween decorating the past years and just kept my fall display up. Since my daughter was really getting into it this year, I figured I would make it fun. So, as I have skeletons coming out of my window boxes!

Besides getting creative with decor, I have been fortunate to have 70 degrees temps for pretty much the whole fall. We have had significant rain in Western New York (and we are still considered in a drought!) this fall as well, and that has left the soil very easy to work with.

As I had wrote in my garden journal, I wanted to work on the front of my yard. For the past 8 years, I have been so busy landscaping the back yard (because it was a disaster– NOTHING was there but a sandy outline of a once-upon-a-time pool ), that all I have done is keep the flower beds in tact out front. Well, that has changed! I have done my homework, and I am very happy with the initial stage!

I started digging that nice, soft soil and I am going to plant directly in front of the hedgerow. There is SO much potential there, and I am finally going to tap into it! The front yard is a dry shade, but after further review, every part of the tiny place gets SOME sun, so I started with some full sun/part shade spring bulbs, and then, as I did out back, it will grow from there, I know!!

This pack of 40 bulbs cost $20. It is a very cheap way to add a little color to your landscape!

I love daffodils, and this variety pack caught my eye. I have to be careful of what I plant because of my deer problem.

I had a little helper yesterday with my bulb planting. After the bulbs were planted, I manually took the big chunks of dirt I dug up and loosened them to cover all of my bulbs. It was a lot of work, but it did the job. Now, I just have to hope that the squirrels won’t get my bulbs…

I am actually looking forward to next spring even more so to see what my little daffodils will do! I figure I will use the bulbs as a bench mark, and then design from there.

Overall, this fall has been full of seed collecting and bulb planting, as usual. Not as much as last year, but definitely making an improvement on the front yard. It’s a start!

That’s exactly what it is, a start. Everybody deserves a “start”. Gardening takes years, and lots of work, but SO worth it. Make your little part of the world yours by investing in the future of your home.

All the little things you do for your landscape will be “sow” beautiful. I promise!

Is it me, or do the days get busier and faster? This fall has been wonderful, and our days have been filled with the usual day to day work schedule, along with all the other things that have helped our weekends go by at warp speed– weddings, birthday parties, pumpkin picking, walks, bike rides, etc. I have also been busy doing things around the house as opposed to any garden work. I got some necessary painting done, along with organizing the house, while the weather is nice.

Now I am back to the garden, and I am so happy to be– it’s been another spectacular weekend here in Western New York, and I really don’t know how much longer we will have days that are 70+ degrees. Fall garden prep is underway! I have been collecting seeds as much as I can, but also need to work on some other very important parts of the yard. My front yard and flower beds are in desperate need for improvement. My garden plan for next year includes revamping the front yard and foliage. I seem to have some serious problems with things doing well in my front beds. With last year’s house remodel and other things going on, I haven’t given them enough attention. I need to start from the ground, up (Hehe) — I need to spoil my soil!

Since we sank our toes into veggie gardening this year, (tomatoes, and some gourds from seeds of last year’s gourds), I have been learning more about soil and how important it is that it is healthy for the sake of not only your veggies, but your plants and flowers as well.

Soil contains many beneficial bacteria and organisms that are vital to everything on earth. Sometimes it needs a little boost:

Time to turn it up. I use a garden hoe or a spade and turn up my beds to bring up some of the good organisms to the top to revitalize the soil.

Give it some help. Add more fresh top soil, manure, peat moss, compost to your existing flower beds to give it the health it needs to keep your plants and flowers energized during the growing season.
It doesn’t cost much. Top soil, mulch, compost, etc. does not cost a lot, so if you are on a budget, this will definitely not break the bank!

I decided this year I needed to add some composted manure to my front beds. Every other year I usually add top soil, but I thought adding manure to my existing soil would give my beds a good boost of nutrients for a healthy, bountiful growing season next year!

I am using a bow rake to level out the manure I added to my flower beds.

My large front bed also got a few allium bulbs added to it. It seems too bare out there! I need more of a four-season feel out front of the house, too!