Magical compost
Sunday 4 May 2008 - Filed under Gardens
A few days ago, I posted 8 steps to building a garden, and one of those steps was about compost. Compost is good for the garden and makes your life easier, because you water less and your plants and soil are healthier, blah blah blah… It’s good and all, but makes for boring reading, sort of like reading about green everything in every single magazine lately (zzzzzzz). The part that is magic, however, is how compost makes everything look 12 million times better right away. You do not get a lot of chances for that kind of instant impact in gardening. I am mortified for anyone to see some of the before pictures I’m posting here today, but it proves the point. The before pictures, pre-compost, look terrible, and I’m embarrassed to claim them as my own. The pictures after 4 yards of compost made their way from a pile in the street to the back yard look fresh and full of promise, like a real grown-up just might garden here.
Before, looking pretty sorry
After, looking greener and less haphazard, even though there’s a lot of growing needed for things to fill in
Before, the peony with the beautiful leaves, with a pink striped flower where I had expected a white one to emerge, totally messing up my whole all white and green color scheme
After, still with the disruptive pink flower, but even that looks a little better with compost as a backdrop
Before, a picture of dirt clods
After, much better, I think
Before, sad looking goatsbeard out in the middle of nowhere
After, happy looking goatsbeard out in the middle of nowhere
2008-05-04 » megan
4 May 2008 @ 1:08 pm
It does look so great. We did it last year after we built the raised beds for veggies in the front, but not this year. I got distracted helping our neighbor with the 4 month old and eyesore garden (they bought an old lady’s house) deal with her garden. Now I am sad, as I see how lovely it is.
5 May 2008 @ 7:11 am
freakin’ amazing. We are so working on that. We need to do something, and I hear ya about the 9 BILLION “GREEN” articles in every magazine, tv show and what-not. What is dumb, is we usually read it anyhow. haha
Great pics Megan!
5 May 2008 @ 9:54 am
What is goatsbeard? It looks pretty but sounds fantastic-er! I want some. I think Arthur would really enjoy sticking his face in it, which is my litmus test for all plants I buy.
5 May 2008 @ 10:42 am
nonlineargirl – It’s not too late, especially considering our cold start to the year. You don’t want to insulate the cold in the soil, so there’s still time. You should have a compost party. I’ll help.
James – Yeah, me too. I read them, but I resent it anyway.
Kiala – Yeah, look at me go with the plant names people like! I didn’t say aruncus dioicus, which bores just about everyone I talk to. Goatsbeard is super, because it looks all fragile and sweet, but it’s a tough cookie. Sun or shade, doesn’t seem to demand much out of me. This big one here has been surrounded by the most terrible weeds the last couple years, I just excavated the weed situation around it this year, and it still looks great. It gets up to 4-6 feet, but there’s also a dwarf variety that gets only 6″ or so.