What a wonderful show.... and after looking at this collection of grasses on the left one can easily see that it was worth the wait. I know many gardeners in my neck of the woods who do major clean up in the garden in the late fall cutting back these wonderful grasses. I maybe one of the few who wait to do the time consuming job of cutting these blades back in the early spring after a wonderful show in the fall and winter.
The past few days have been a wonderful reminder that Spring is right around the corner. We have been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather and I have been able to spend most of my time out doing some early spring cleaning. Today was the last of the warm up but I made the most of my time before the rain arrived. One of the major spring clean up projects is cutting back the large ornamental grasses around the pond and hauling them out to the burn pile. Today I had a few helpers including a lazy kitty who decided to take a nap in my golf cart with the dried grass.
I had to share these photos of the deep pink in one of my favorite ground cover sedum plants. LOVE IT!!!! can't wait till she steals the show in this rock bed up in the front garden.
INEXPENSIVE GARDENING NOTE:
I was able to get a few more flats of seeds started in the mornings waiting for the temperature warm up to the low 60's. One of the CHEAP gardening tips I wanted to share with you is recycling markers. One of my cheats is to break off the ends of plastic knifes to fit into the covered flat boxes. In pots or right in the ground you can use the knifes without breaking them off. A box of generic plastic ware is about a 1/3 of the price of garden markers. 
Not sure what I will complete in the garden tomorrow while the weather is suppose to turn cold. I do hope to finish up on the indoor seed starting. There is always plenty to complete in the garden to prepare for a successful season. I am just super happy that I got the grass seed in the ground before the rain arrived today.
20 comments:
Don't you love making good use of these warmer days? It's so rewarding to see everything fresh again! I think your kitty looks very cute in the grass!
Have fun in the garden. There will always be something to do, right?
Oh, I love your blog header ...
Hi Bren
I love your grasses.
That sedum is the colour of velvet.
I like the plant label tip. They always seem so expensive over here. I can usually only find the labels which resemble the naming tags you'd usually associate in botanical gardens.
Rob
WOW Bren! i can see you have been very busy! Great tip with the plasticware. I can feel the excitement you have for your garden as Spring draws near. I'm looking forward to all the gorgeous photos.
Angela
I'm with you, I enjoy the different textures and colors grasses bring to my gardens.
Thanks for sharing the tip about the plastic forks/knives. What a great idea! Gardening bloggers always come up with the best ideas!
Bren,
Thanks for visiting and commenting on my garden blog. I'm a big fan of sedum myself. Those grasses must be really something. I have a few of them above to pond, getting to big to walk around. I've been known to burn them away, but since Meg moved in I'd not dare.
Love that cat in the cart:)) Another cheap plant label is to take out the extra slats in mini blinds and cut them up. Since I have a lot of mini blinds in my house I'm overflowing with labels:)
What a great idea for inexpensive plant markers. I have some too, although mine are more time consuming. I just finished them. I guess great minds think alike. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Hi Bren, beautiful blog!
I haven't started cutting back my ornamental grasses yet, but have to get at it soon.
Last year I used plastic knives like you!! This year I'll need many more and found a great idea on the net: We use bleach for our water purification (we have our own well) and the bottles are large, round and white. They are easy to cut up with a utility knife. I cut them into strips and make one end pointed. They work great!
You always have the BEST tips! Thanks for sharing the beauty of your world with us! You have been hard at work!
Hugs from my garden to yours!!
Hi Bren, Thanks for stopping by to see me.
WoW I never would have thought to use plastic knives although I have used milk jugs - cut up like Salix said. And someone told me about mini blinds and they are super. Got 2 sets of them at a garage sale for 50 cents each. Someone online said they were too shiny and the print came off. NOT. They just made it through one of our wettest winters and still look great. But ya have to use a Sharpie a friend and former nursery owner told me.
What Rose of Sharon is yours - looks similar to my Minerva. Do you know I have never pruned either one of mine and they bloom like crazy. Hmmm maybe I should prune and see what happens. Bob prunes everything else - don't know why he never did them. Well, I'd best quit taking up all your room. Linda
Cutting those large grasses is a big job, well done! Smart kitty. Love the red of the sedum.
I like your idea leaving grasses uncut for winter. Yours look wonderful!
I love your idea of using broken plastic utensils as markers. I try to reuse my markers for years, but eventually they break. Since I work at a deli we always have used plastic-ware around. It will provide me with a great way to recycle. Thanks!
Isn't it delightful working outside, Bren! (Great recycling tip). Here's wishing you more wonderful days ... Happy Spring!
Thanks for visiting my blogg. Yours are educating and beautiful.
Eva from Sweden with the gardenblog Med fingrarna i (j)orden (which means "fingers in the earth/words dependig if you read it with a j och no. I work as a gardenwriter
Great photo of your little hitchhiker. I have come to love the ornamental grasses too. A couple are struggling in my heavy clay but once they establish they will do ok. They look good standing against the snow in my garden.
Marnie
I love your beautiful photos. As someone who has had an on again, off again love affair with gardening I will enjoy reading your posts.
Loved catching up on your blogs and wonderful photos! I've been using popsicle sticks this year for my markers and putting the date of planting on the back side.
Thanks for sharing your stories and photos dear Bren!
To cut grass is not only beautiful over the winter it is also best for the grass.
Because grass has a hole inside and if you cut it in the winter it may come water inside the gras and it will get mouldy.
So you doing the right thing!
As you told me I put a "follow" on my blog. Thank you for the tips (also for the plastic knife).
/Maria Berg, MB
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