Tree Rounds for Your Garden from Theodore Payne Foundation
I saw this in today's newsletter from the Theodore Payne Foundation and thought LA locals might find it interesting and useful. My tree rounds seem to act as homes to many valley carpenter bees as well as providing some extra seating for the garden.
Tree Rounds for the Taking!
Just recently, the Foundation had a number of non-native and poorly placed trees cut down on the property, and now we have hundreds of tree rounds available for whatever garden use you can imagine: seating, potted plant pedestals, bench supports - you name it! Like to split wood? This is your chance! The tree trunk rounds range in diameter from approximately a foot to five feet, and are of eucalyptus, pine and poplar. Got grandchildren? A large round and several smaller rounds would make a wonderful table and set of chairs. Still full of sap, the rounds can be heavy, especially the larger ones, so bring some strong friends to help out, and a lift gate if you have one! The rounds are free for the taking, but donations would be much appreciated. Please email Louise or Madena at louise@theodorepayne.org or madena@theodorepayne.org to set up a day and time for pick up. Even though the Foundation is currently closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, pick ups may be scheduled for Tuesday through Saturday, with Saturday pick ups before 10 a.m.. Thank you!
Our temperatures are supposed to rise into the triple digit again this week, so I took some time this morning to do a little cleanup in the front garden. There is a lot of work to do there, including pruning the large azalea beds, but today was more cleanup than anything else. The line trimmer brought all the grass in the paths down to a manageable level. I have given up trying to exclude the grass from these paths and now just "mow" it down to a level where it looks planned instead of just wild.
Then, I went through the entire front garden and removed every volunteer I found in the beds. We get saplings from the large elm popping up everywhere, along with the occasional camphor, ash and Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta). These palms are the only native palm to California and pop up everywhere due to the birds. If let be, they can grow to enormous size quite quickly. You often see large "plantations" on empty lots and along unkempt property lines. The area below the utility pole in my back garden is a constant battle as new palms sprout with each new rain shower.
Rosanne did some cleanup work on the leaves in the garden, her typical and welcome job in the garden. She always makes sure the garden bin is filled to the brim before each trash pickup day, so we can keep a regular flow of materials out of the garden. As it is, even with this and the 2 composters, we have much more leave mold thatn we know what to do with. That will happen when you have so many trees.
Speaking of trees, the drought is hitting us pretty hard in that regard. We have at east 4 small trees that have died, probably because they had not set their root deep enough when first getting established in the garden. Most of these are conifers of some sort. We need to bring in a arborist to take them out before the winds and rain bring them down of their own accord. They are not too large, but just big enough that I can't take them out by myself. A misplaced cut could bring them down on the house or other garden structure, so I figure it is best to call in the pros.
There is always so much to do in the garden, especially when life gets in the way, so I am trying to get back into my 10-minutes a day habit, attacking one small area or task everyday. I already have quite a list, including...
I thought I was just being lazy by not doing a lot of tilling in my garden. (SMILE) This article from Fine Gardening magazine gives several other reasons, though.
Turning the soil over each year is a millennium-old tradition that has been challenged only in the last half century. The major benefits attributed to the annual rite of tilling are that it aerates the soil; chops and kills weeds; and mixes in organic materials, fertilizers, and lime. Not to be downplayed are the psychological benefits of tillage. It induces a righteous-feeling sweat that makes a clean slate of last year’s mistakes. So is it any wonder that plants survive and thrive in the wild in the untilled soil of fields and forests? Not really.
"We have been composting kitchen scraps and garden clippings for awhile now, but Planet Green's recent list of '75 Things You Can Compost, But Thought You Couldn't,' opened our eyes to a whole new world of compost possibilities ..."
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