Fall Clean Up!
by Cliff Sharples (chief cultivator)
It's that time of year... dead leaves, spent annuals, cutting back perennials. But also a time to design!
Clean up your mess...
Like my children, my trees and perennials refuse to clean up their own mess. So, rake and compost bag in hand, I trudged through my beds this week cleaning up. I am determined not to let my rose leaves incubate spores that will reek havoc next spring. I am not going to let the remains of my hollyhocks create rust spots on next season's stalks. Away with the remains of the tomatoes and squash plants tangled around my dahlias, who are still doing encores with big, beautiful blooms.
Away with you...
The other clean up is after my own poor planning... plants too close to each other; companions that don't play nice together; giants hogging the sun for their smaller cousins. I successfully relocated 10 plants this week, making more space and rearranging foliage palettes. Only time will tell if I am successful mid to late summer 2010!
Tags
fall clean up, disease
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