The Fourth "R"

A few posts ago I wrote about cleaning out my stash of empty pots in Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Well now I have a fourth "R" to include among the original three. - RETURN. My mother was reading the post and in the photo she noticed a pot of hers that has been missing for some time. She called me on the telephone, and kindly asked if I would return her missing pot.

So, when you clean out your stash of pots, don't forget to reduce, reuse, recycle AND return.

Please Don't Toss the Leaves

It's the time of year when our oak trees totally transform themselves by shedding their entire canopy of leaves and regrowing a fresh new cover. Just think of all the energy it must take to complete this cycle. A really awesome and magnificent undertaking of nature in my opinion.

I'm fortunate to have 10 oaks (laurel, live and water) in my yard that create a great canopy of shade that I am especially grateful for during the summer months. With a good portion of leaves already off the branches we can see more sunlight and blue sky, and it's easy to spot squirrel and bird nests.

Many people get rid of their trees because they're messy and grass doesn't grow well beneath them. But I feel that their benefits far outweigh the falling leaves, as well as branches and moss that I pick up throughout the year.

As their leaves slowly float to the ground many end up in my flowerbeds as mulch. It's a real time-saver to have self-mulching flowerbeds. And, they're FREE! Which translated means - you can spend more money on plants when you don't have to buy mulch. These azaleas love oak leaf mulch.
And, then there are the ones that end up on the grass. That's where I come in. Every couple of days I go out and rake them into the flowerbeds. But most of my neighbors rake, bag and toss them to the curve.

And that's when I find myself (among protests from my embarrassed daughter) pulling over to the curb and quickly tossing a couple of bags into the back of my S.U.V. I have to agree with her that it is a little embarrassing but I just can't resist a bit more of free mulch especially when I didn't have to rake it.

By the way, I must confess that I come by this practice honestly. I actually never saw my mom snitch the neighbor's leaves on the curb. Instead she raked the neighbor's yard each spring and now she has beautiful garden soil. So, there we have it, another one of mom's ideas!

Reduce * Reuse * Recycle

The day finally arrived when I got sick and tired of looking at this messy corner of pots strewn here and there. As you can see, I'm not very good at keeping my stuff organized. When I'm in search of a pot, I move them all around, and then (yes, I admit it!) I walk away leaving my pots in disarray. Or when I'm finished planting I just toss the new pots on top.



The warmer weather this week has put me in the right mood to delve in and clean up this mess. I separated, stacked, swept, reorganized & tossed pots out all the while thinking, "Wow, I sure bought a lot of plants last year." When you purchase a handful at a time it doesn't seem like you've spent much. But when the pots are stacked all together it's a real eye-opener.

I did, however, enjoy looking at the plant tags and remembering which plants I purchased, until I knocked them off the garbage can lid one too many times. Then they just became an additional nuisance I didn't need around.

Finally, the job was complete, and I was satisfied with the results. I never part with the larger pots because I generally purchase small plants, and I need the larger ones for repotting. Now, I see that I need to get the bleach out and clean the concrete - always another task right around the corner!

But, I did manage to reduce my stash pretty significantly. Our county trash hauler recycles these nursery pots which makes me feel a lot better about tossing them in the garbage. But I shudder to think how many pots in the past I've sent to the local landfill. Fortunately, those days are over.

Thou Shalt Steal ?????

Normally, I wouldn't advocate stealing, especially from one's neighbor, but in some circumstances it might be more sinful not to. Here's the facts.

Northern folks transplanted to the south don't realize that Mother Nature provides southern gardeners with free mulch in the form of oak leaves. Last week I noticed my neighbor was raking and bagging his free gift from nature. Four large bags of clean oak leaves and dried grass clippings all neatly bundled and stacked at the back of their driveway. I knew those bags were headed for the dump. Every time I pulled out of my driveway I would covet those four bags of leaves. So finally, I couldn't take it any more. I knocked on their door to ask if I could have them. No one answered - darn it!

The next day was garbarge day and sure enough all four bags were at the curb in the morning. I didn't want to knock on their door or call them at 8 am, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I just couldn't let that free gift go to the dump. I got my garden cart out and sheepishly crossed the street, all the while praying that no one would catch me stealing the neighbor's garden trash. It took four trips to get the leaves. Tucked safely out of view, I smiled within at the thought of my stolen loot as dreamy thoughts of thickly mulched, weedless flower beds floated through my mind.

I secretly confided my theft to a neighbor gardener and she proudly admitted that she drives her SUV through the neighborhood loading up all the leaves she can find. Perhaps next year I'll be more bold and hold my head high as I steal the neighbor's garden trash. So, to all the non-gardeners that toss their leaves into the trash - I thank you, my soil thanks you and my plants thank you!