From this:

To this below:

It doesnt look like much now (in fact the "Before" looks much better :( ). But of course there is still lots to do but much of the 'grunt' work is done. (Under the soil you there are the contents of many bags of mulched leaves and grass and compost).

Soon I will be soliciting advice re the choice of plants for this somewhat problematic location ie shade and competition from the hedge on one side and the large tree (basswood?) just behind the chain link fence.

horrible year.. i am still recovering..

hopefully by mid jan.. i will start getting w/drawl.. and ready to get back out there ...

but right now.. i am still exhausted

ken

Sorry to hear that Ken. I think drought is one of the worst things for a gardener, so depressing and boring on top of that. A wet fall is a nice relief but still isn't always enough to snap you out of it.

A week off from work because of the storm and it's too wet outside to do anything other than essential repairs. I am feeling withdrawl big time. It will only get worse after the clocks change this weekend.

I'm not used to being inside so much. Any longer and I might even consider starting on the honey-do list.

I must admit, it took me awhile to figure out why I seemed to have so much spare time all of a sudden. I guess this gardening thing does take up a lot of time. Give me another month and I'll be itching to get to the catalogs - not the online stuff - a good-old-fashioned-paper-catalog to sit down with.

Kevin

Now have almost all my time to work on our own garden. Muddy, but getting lots done.

Hate to throw perennials away, so sticking chunks of 'Goldsturm', 'Alma Peotschke', etc. in another garden and potting up a greater variety of things for Merlin's Hollow, for next year.

Apart from the wind blowing in one (?) ear and a fair bit of rain, it's quite comfortable gardening weather here, though the days are getting inconveniently shorter.

Find it's time to stop, especially planting spring bulbs, when my gloved hands start going numb. It's very unpleasant when the feeling comes back into them.

I know exactly what you mean. Too often I would buy plants but they would stay potted for so long as I had no idea where to squeeze them in. I almost had to wait for it or something already established to die ;).

There are a couple threads started in late summer or so re 'hits and misses' but now that gardening season is almost over (zone 5 and colder) we could soon have a summative season ending thread titled Best and Worst Performing Perennials for 2012.

My pre-winter to do list:
1. Plant more bulbs
2. Expand existing beds ~ 2 foot wider for next spring's planting: dig out the edge, then double layer of newspaper & soil& composite&mulch on top of the grass. They will be perfect next spring for planting.
3. Clean up the beds
4. clean up the outdoor pots and recyle the soil for next year
5. Research ways to get rid of rabbits

During September and October, I've been collecting, drying, and cleaning seeds. Pretty soon, winter-sowing and seed trading, etc. will start and I am thinking about starting some seeds under lights this year too, to get a jump on the season for a few plants. For example, Asclepias curassavica which is one of my key Monarch host plants, doesn't usually have enough time to mature and collect seed with our short summers.

I also do bird counts, including Project Feederwatch, which helps to pass the winter. Also, lots of surfing gardening websites, researching plants, posting to GW, etc.

And last winter was practically devoid of snow, so I spent quite a bit of time pruning out invasive plants in back.

Walks in the woods and doing a little nature-watching is nice in the winter, as long as the snow isn't too deep.

And the houseplants always appreciate a little attention and the reward is that the Thanksgiving cacti are full of buds and will be blooming soon!

Today I'm going to TRY to hit the nursery and see if I can round up any bulbs - still time to get those in, and I really enjoy the spring display of tulips. Hopefully I can get some chores done within the next couple of weeks but if not oh well I can just do it in the spring. :0)

The sooner we get the hard freeze I can relax a bit and devote more attention to the indoor light garden.

I agree it Would look very nice in your yard rouge21

Sorry about your Dad.

With gardens, there's always next year.

As my withdrawal sinks in even deeper I feel like nothing got accomplished this past year. I know I spent hours out there, and I'm sure not all of them were of the 'just standing around looking' type.... Although a lot were.... But as I tally up what is new and improved from last year, it's not too impressive.

Maybe if I did a little bed prep last weekend instead of staring out the window making a mental tally, a few more things would have gotten done. Oh well. Hot coffee, sweatpants, and a warm house have their pluses too.

With respect to the variegated acanthopanax, I am leaning towards planting it in the very back corner in (great) part because it seems from its description that it is quite forgiving in terms of the conditions under which it can thrive. In this location it is shady and dry with competition from the neighbouring hedge and large tree. It seems there are not many large plants (shrubs) that can do this.

Also am using the lasagna technique to expand a couple of beds. The last of the leaves on our and the neighbor's maple trees have fallen and have been shredded for mulch when the ground freezes or I decide it is time to finish the garden work, whichever comes first.

There are several large planted pots that need to winter in our unheated garage when the plants go dormant. Yesterday I potted some tulips and crocus then put the pots in the ground until spring.

Thursday the last of my blooming brugmansia and other potted tender plants were brought in from the garage to winter in a dark cool room in the basement.

Lawn and deck furniture need to be brought in and bird feeder moved to a more convenient spot which doesn't have an icy slope and is closer to the heated birdbath so we don't need to shovel so much snow when they need filling.

It is also time to get the fall/winter decorative pot for the front entrance put together. I gather seed heads and other things from the gardens and yard to add to greenery.

So, no garden withdrawal here, yet. Soon, I hope.

Have already started to turn my attention to indoor plants and the Holidays. This 'new' weather schedule of being able to get out in the garden where there are still plants growing in NOVEMBER, really doesn't leave as much down garden time. The holidays are here, then January is catalog month and February will be the month requiring the most patience.

Looking forward to next Spring!

Don't go away from GW until spring! It wont be long until those interesting year end threads start up e.g. Plants on my "to buy" list for 2013 etc.

I spent a few hours today doing cleanup and storing canna tubers in large pots filled with peat in the garage. The last (it's gotta be the last) potted plant was brought in. Only 10-20 hours of additional trimming/mulching/cleanup left and I can relax a few minutes until seed-starting begins.