Comments on: Collecting leaves http://blog.blithewold.org/how-when-what/collecting-leaves/ a garden journal about public garden maintenance, seasonal tasks, garden events, stories about gardening, volunteers, flowers, bugs and wildlife Sun, 19 May 2013 12:25:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Digital Flower http://blog.blithewold.org/how-when-what/collecting-leaves/comment-page-1/#comment-6755 Digital Flower Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:20:53 +0000 http://blog.blithewold.org/?p=2965#comment-6755 We get rid of the leaves anyway we can. For the last several years I have left the a light coat of leaves on the perennial beds. It has cut out losses dramatically. I see you have a a picture of a Franklin Tree. That is one of my favorite trees and it has an interesting story. <em>D.F., Leaves are such a useful insulator that it's funny that so many of us have to retrain ourselves to leave some be! I enjoyed seeing your post on Frankinia and you've put the notion in my head to do one too. Stay tuned... -kris</em> We get rid of the leaves anyway we can. For the last several years I have left the a light coat of leaves on the perennial beds. It has cut out losses dramatically. I see you have a a picture of a Franklin Tree. That is one of my favorite trees and it has an interesting story.

D.F., Leaves are such a useful insulator that it’s funny that so many of us have to retrain ourselves to leave some be! I enjoyed seeing your post on Frankinia and you’ve put the notion in my head to do one too. Stay tuned… -kris

]]> By: Patricia http://blog.blithewold.org/how-when-what/collecting-leaves/comment-page-1/#comment-6754 Patricia Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:46:56 +0000 http://blog.blithewold.org/?p=2965#comment-6754 I love raking. The body memory kicks in as I step backwards while raking one swipe (or maybe 2 or 3) with each step. I don't know if I started doing that so I could see some progress in front of me or if I was taught that for some ergonomic saving. For whatever reason, it still feels good to do it that way, and it connects me with when I was little enough that the rake seemed huge. And the leaf jumping--the best! I don't do either so much these days. I'll take a rake over a leaf blower any day. Maybe I can rent myself out. Thanks for the memories! <em>Patricia, I think raking is right up there with weeding for being totally gratifying work. And just like with weeding, there's always work to be had as more leaves fall - I like to think of it as job security -kris</em> I love raking. The body memory kicks in as I step backwards while raking one swipe (or maybe 2 or 3) with each step. I don’t know if I started doing that so I could see some progress in front of me or if I was taught that for some ergonomic saving. For whatever reason, it still feels good to do it that way, and it connects me with when I was little enough that the rake seemed huge. And the leaf jumping–the best! I don’t do either so much these days. I’ll take a rake over a leaf blower any day. Maybe I can rent myself out. Thanks for the memories!

Patricia, I think raking is right up there with weeding for being totally gratifying work. And just like with weeding, there’s always work to be had as more leaves fall – I like to think of it as job security -kris

]]> By: Susan Sims http://blog.blithewold.org/how-when-what/collecting-leaves/comment-page-1/#comment-6753 Susan Sims Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:27:36 +0000 http://blog.blithewold.org/?p=2965#comment-6753 Leaves. I raked them all up last year and put them every bin till full and in bags behind my shed. This year I've been lazy and sent a couple of green waste cans to the community compost pile. I like leaving leaves in the beds as it acts as a bit of an insulating mulch. By spring it's all a sodden mess, though. Still, I'm all for doing less messing about out there. I like the mowing idea, except I'm surrounded on three sides by spurge and dandelions and other weedy legions of suburban neglect. I have to mow and bag, but I love sucking up the leafy grass clippings--instant compost! Funny about the leaf thing--I did that too. <em>Susan, It might be a sodden mess in the spring but isn't it the greatest thing to uncover all the fresh growth curled up snug as a bug under there? I love the reveal... (I think I'm already really looking forward to spring.) -kris</em> Leaves. I raked them all up last year and put them every bin till full and in bags behind my shed. This year I’ve been lazy and sent a couple of green waste cans to the community compost pile. I like leaving leaves in the beds as it acts as a bit of an insulating mulch. By spring it’s all a sodden mess, though. Still, I’m all for doing less messing about out there. I like the mowing idea, except I’m surrounded on three sides by spurge and dandelions and other weedy legions of suburban neglect. I have to mow and bag, but I love sucking up the leafy grass clippings–instant compost!

Funny about the leaf thing–I did that too.

Susan, It might be a sodden mess in the spring but isn’t it the greatest thing to uncover all the fresh growth curled up snug as a bug under there? I love the reveal… (I think I’m already really looking forward to spring.) -kris

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