Eight flowers opened now.
A quick front-yard update in our home in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood finds the peony plant proudly pushing out even more blossoms on a cool day.
Two new daisies in the ground.
My dear wife Karen has planted two more Gerbera daisies in the hourglass-shaped garden, after Good Neighbor Tim and his wonderful wife Lorraine picked up a deep pink plant and yellow plant for us on a holiday nursery run.
Weeds be gone under this big bush.
I’ve spread two bags of mulch-plus-Preen under the big prickly bush that’s always been prone to weeds.
And the clippings still await pickup by the city crew.
And out front, our collection of grass clippings, weed pullings, dead branches and pine cones has grown. The city pickup of garden recycleables, due the first week of May, still hasn’t come by. Good Neighbor Tim told me he called and was told this week. Goodie. That’s one week ahead of the scheduled pickup for June.
Do you put grass clippings and other natural recycling items out for pickup? How often is your natural recycling picked up? Do you just mow your lawn without a grass bag and pile branches and leaves to go to nature on your own property? Have you ever started your own compost pile?
Mark Bialczak 
That looks like some good stuff for a compose box. I guess it would be hard to keep on up there with all the wild animals. But the garden looks lovely.
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Too much stuff for our little yard for a compost box, I think. But our garden is doing well, Kim. Thanks.
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🙂
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Indiana, PA has a drop off site with a massive composting operation–grass and leaves, brush and branches up to 6″, and Christmas Trees each January. Wood chips and mulch are free for all–but I won’t use the compost because the all the lawn services drop off there and that stuff if full of Scott’s, ChemLawn, and the like. We compost at home, collecting clippings only to add some heat to the piles, or if we’ve let it go long enough that the mower makes windrows–otherwise we let the clippings lie.
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Good system, Chuck. Our city free compost piles stink to high heaven. I can’t go near them.
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We have a weekly garbage day, a weekly recycling day and a weekly yard trash day. And they will absolutely not take the yard trash if it’s mixed in with the regular garbage. That’s a HUGE no-no! My grandma had the green thumb. She used to have a huge garden and yes, her own compost pile. Every day she’s put the used coffee grounds and eggshells in there. Your yard looks as lovely as ever! 😀
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Yes, it’s a no-no to mix the trashes here, too.
Thanks, the garden is have a very good year, knock on wood, Rachel!
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😀
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Your garden is looking so welcoming and pleasant! When we first moved in the claw came round weekly. We would stack up our green waste in the street and the claw drove by and scooped it all away. The city switched over to green waste cans that we wheel out every other week. We have a small compost pile that I’m piloting this year. The plants are loving it! I’m into it so far. Hope you’re well Mark!
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The claw! Beware the claw. I love it, Sandra. Only the claw knows what you put at your curb.
Ah, well, now it’s just a green can. Too bad.
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And yes, we are well, Sandra. Hope you and Erik are too as we get ready for a weekend.
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We’ve just started collecting the branches and breaking them up to use in our chiminea. We don’t have much yard waste. On occasion last year I had to rake but so far not this year.
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Your garden looks beautiful Mark and Karen!
Diana xo
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Thank you, Diana. It’s really shaping up this year.
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Great way to make a beautiful garden, you two! I love Gerbera daisies, I may have called them something else,… I will have to check on my post where I told you which flowers I liked! Smiles for the bright flowers and well done on mulching with the lighter kind of mulch! I always liked the pine colored wood mulch instead of the darker kinds… Robin
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We always just called them Gerber daises and then found out it was Gerbera. Oh, well, Robin!
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it’s looking gorgeous. We have a huge brown wheelie bin for our garden waste picked up on Fridays – amazing! All part of the recycling effort by our local council. We make our own compost too but only because we can hide the compost bin away at the bottom of the garden.
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I like the every week pickup, Rachel. The once a month is good … but not when they are three weeks late. We have never tried composting. Maybe someday.
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Three weeks late is not good. We had a problem like that for months – they would just miss our road (and this was our normal rubbish collection) – a neighbour threatened to tell all the local papers and they’ve collected on time ever since.
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it is looking prettier every day mark. that’s how my garden grows too, i just keep adding piece by piece. as for clippings, etc. i just mow and leave them on my lawn and for other yard stuff i use the brown bags like you do, and they pick them up in a separate truck each week with the trash. isn’t it fun to see it all come together as it matures? just like us kind of )
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Yes, Beth, just like us, kind of! I am totally signed on with that attitude. 🙂
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I always wanted to start a compost, but would not be able to handle all that stuff in it.
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We’ve never tried. Maybe someday, Dora, but like you say, you have to be ready for what goes in and comes out.
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Reblogged this on New Leaf.
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I have never seen anyone put grass clippings out. Folks just mow and then mow again three days later. Rinse and repeat. Such pretty pics! We did have a compost for a year or two, but ick. Moldy oranges and coffee grounds. No, thanks. Old coffee grounds always remind me of Lily Tomlin stuck in the disposal in “The Incredible Shrinking Woman.”
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Now that’s an image to set composting back an eon or two, Kerbey. No wonder I don’t compost. Here, they take all the clipping and compost them in one central location.
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The Town of Geddes, if it still is the same way, was very consistent about it. It was a weekly basis they would come by and pick up recyclable clippings. Town of Onondaga is alright.
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I do not like the fact that these clippings have been kicking around Eastwood for three weeks now, every street.
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I know, right? Wake up, City.
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Nature definitely runs its own course in my yard, with very little assistance from me. My squirrel appreciate the wild, natural environment…
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Karen and I prefer the kept look in the yard for the flowers and such. To each, as they say, ESN.
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I still am in the process of getting all my new flowers planted. When I post showing how many I planted this year, you must show Karen. Loving flowers as the both of you obviously do, your eyes will be like saucers. I um, more or less, bought the nursery out this year. LOL Love, Amy
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I can’t wait to share in the delight, Amy! I saw the dirt stains on your pants already …
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Hehehehehehehe What I wouldn’t do for “a” photo. Six more flowers to go today and putting supports in for my Peonies. Then the good stuff starts happening. Camera time! I did photograph all my garden beds last evening showing my new plants. But now I take my macro and really begin to create! Now the kid goes skipping down the Rainbow! (((HUGS))) Amy
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