Yes I am a cool weather person that is ready for fall temperatures to set in. The summer is somewhat of a mean old FREAK. Here in the south I have to put up with it in order to have the wonderful fall, winter, and spring we have here in Tennessee. But I don't have to like it. I mean I really hate the summer. I guess when I have retired and can travel some I will be off to Alaska or Canada to do what I like best like fish or hike. We'll I am getting off point here as this is my garden blog so here goes. I am ready to pile on the compost and whatever else I can find to build up my beds for the winter. I have some sources for horse manure and that works great for the roses. Hay,leaves,grass clippings and whatever else I can find is going into the beds. I ran across a website that advocated no tilling in the beds. This is what I have got to get back to doing. I had great success with it in the past and got lazy about hauling in whatever I could find. You know how on a Saturday morning I would drive around searching the roadside for bags of leaves and mulched grass. This was what I need to start to do again. It is always on my mind when out driving as to where the likely places to pick up a load of something for the beds. I have to explain why this is so important to do this. If you add it they will come. You know. Life.......worms, and bacteria. The essentials for life. When you are adding this mix to the soil it breaks down and then later this becomes your plants healthy diet. What you add today becomes food for the plant months later. So keep adding to the soil as often as time allows and the plants will reward you with what comes natural. This is what I hope to do for the next few months and then in the spring all I need to do is plant. Then watch it grow. Like a body needs exercise to build muscles. Or the mind needs stimuli to stay alert. Or the soul needs love to grow. I have only one picture to add today and it says to me that the summer was worth enduring. Enjoy. Jim
