GARDEN GLIMPSES 11

November came to a close, and there was very little color in the backyard. One small old fashioned rose bloomed redly though, and there were some yellow berries for the birds to enjoy on the prickly tree. In the front yard, plenty of color was visible.

Two of the 3-4 fuschias were still flowering abundantly, the cotoneaster and purple-berry tree were full of fruit for the birds to eat, and the camelia burst open its first flowers of the season on December 1st.

As winter took over from fall, a few garden tasks lay ahead of me. Yet, every time I planned to do one, it would rain or I would be going out. There is no real rush, but I should like to tidy the edges of the front yard path, pull the last mooli, and dig a trench before the frosts solidify the soils.

The trench is so that I have a place to dump composting scraps while 2014 manure makes itself, ready to dig in early next year, from the current bin full. Every few days, I have another bucket or brown paper bag full of scraps and coffee grounds to add. Having only the single composting bin, I need to place these elsewhere for a month or so, to enable the matter currently in situ to break down and not constantly have new material added.

Ideally, I would have dug the trench in October and dug in the rotted compost in December, but wet weather delayed this option. Another choice is simply to purchase a second bin. This is the long term plan, in fact. Then, I can fill one bin while matter in the other rots and composts itself ready to enrich the garden plots in the end of year through pre-growing season of winter.