Non-Gardener builds an Observatory, Garden Railway and even Dabbles with Plants!

But you'd still have the labour cost if you swept up the leaves and put them in the green waste bin. Might as well have something in return. Maybe your garden challenge for next year will be to get a couple of compost heaps/bins going - the result is so much better than bought soil improvers. I compost most of my garden waste - grass clippings, hedge clippings (privet), shredded shrub prunings, old stems from perennials, tomatoes, cucumbers etc, fruit & veg peelings from the kitchen, weeds (except for thick tap roots), fallen leaves and so on.

The labour-free alternative is to leave the leaves where they fall to rot down/be pulled into the soil by the worms.

 

Please don't be offended by this reply as it sounds a bit harsh. For those where gardening is their only interest and hobby, great, but for me, other interests are much higher up the priority scale. This was a one off experiment that will perhaps give me one bag of compost in two years time. For me, it doesn't make time and economic sense for a bag that will cost £8.00 when I need it.

There's not usually any labour involved. If I need to mow the grass, the leaves get sucked up with the grass, otherwise I just let the wind take them. There's not enough leaves to swamp the garden and I don't have the time and inclination to do it to make compost every year. Buying a bag when needed is more convenient, costs peanuts and doesn't clutter up the garden with bags and bins.

I can't see that happening either. It's bad enough that I've got two black bags behind the garage now, partially blocking the path. There's nowhere in the garden for a compost heap and nowhere I'd want to have bins either.

It might be a shock to all the gardening fans on here, but I'm still not a gardener and this isn't a hobby for me. It's a necessity to get the garden the way I want it, but it's not a passion. That's not to say I haven't enjoyed what I've done, but it's a means to an end.

 

What size were the bags if it took two of you an hour to fill them!
I can fill two bags of leaves in about ten minutes. An extra five minutes if I was shredding them with the mower.
Filling a compost bin or leaf cage is just as quick as putting it all in a bin, which is the alternative to using it in the garden. Bags of leaves need no attention either, other than the odd shake, and you end up with something that is superb for any plants.

Don't take this the wrong way but - the compost you make yourself will be better than most of the rubbish that's available to buy nowadays, unless you get a good quality peat based one, which we can still get here from the local mill.

 

The bags were only rubble sacks, but raking up leaves from half of a half acre plot is what took time.

 

Each to their own!

For myself I don't rake up leaves - the ones that fall on the grass mostly get picked up by the mower and go in the compost bin along with the clippings, and most of what falls on the borders gets left to the worms etc. I might pick some up if I'm in the border weeding. I do sweep the paths and drive when there are a lot of leaves on them and it's forecast rain because wet leaves get slippery, but it only takes maybe 10 minutes each time (paths and drive are concrete/slabs not gravel - I imagine it's not so easy to sweep leaves off gravel).

 

My apologies ArmyAirForce, pictures can be deceiving. The Choisya looks a lot closer than you have said and yes, with the ground raised it should be okay.

I've enjoyed reading your thread and at times wondered how you kept going with all the hard work and major changes you have made. It's looking good and I look forward to anything you add to this thread as time goes on.

 

I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty burned out. I have a few health problems including joint pain and insomnia, neither of which help matters. Some days, doing anything is a real struggle, while others, I'll pay for it a day or two later.

Last night, we ordered the new bedroom furniture, so I need to start that project to get the paper off the walls and the built in units removed, in order for the fitters to do a final survey and measure.

My daughter is out for the day and with it being garden bin week, Lynne and I are going to try and clear some more grass behind the wood. However it's overcast, damp and misty right now, which doesn't fill me with motivation.

 

@ArmyAirForce, remember the words of Christopher Lloyd, who said the best time to do any garden task is when you feel like it!

 

Crikey! I'd never get anything done!

 

3rd November 2024

We didn't manage to get out yesterday due to several other things that cropped up. However, mid morning today, we both went out to do more digging. We continued lifting the grass and moss and digging out roots at the back of the woodland.



Some of the earth at this location is almost solid yellow clay. Seriously, I could throw a pot with it. It is quite wet and sticky, making it difficult to get roots out without taking big lumps of clay with it. The plan was to get rid of the worst of the growth in time for the garden bin collection this week. Two bins worth. I think that's probably it for this year, other than perhaps one last tidy up for the last garden collection on the 21st.

In the early Spring, hopefully if things dry out a bit, the plan is to chuck a load of sand into the area, dig it in well and then sieve it all to help break up the clay and remove the remaining roots. That should also help the drainage which should suit the Thyme.



The Thyme itself, which I've been growing across this year is doing well. I read that it tends to grow faster in its second year, so hopefully these plants will take hold and spread quickly in the Spring. I did an inventory this morning and have 270 plants to spread around the former grassed area. The Thyme near the kitchen, along the Yew hedge, is probably in the worst possible position for it. It is mostly shaded and gets little direct sun, yet it is doing quite well. The back of the woodland gets more sun than that, so these plants should do okay at that location.

 

The thyme near your kitchen may lack sun but the soil should be dry enough for it as the Yew will drain it.

 

I'm hoping the Laurel will do the same for it by the wood. Most will have some sun, but right along the Laurel hedge will be shaded, but dry.