We completed all the storm debris cleanup, all the leaf collection, the garden bed cleanup, emptying the pots of soil for the winter (the damp soil can freeze and crack the pot; I'll start with new potting soil next Spring), drained the fountain, put away the fire pit ceramic log set, covered the fire pit, covered the crawlspace air vents, put away the patio heater, put heavy plastic over the various pots and water fountain vase, took down the patio string lights from the pergola, moved the lawn furniture to storage, winterized the pressure washer, and blew out the sprinkler system.
Whew, I'd forgotten how much work it is to get ready for winter.
Not exactly gardening, but we've had chronic problems with gutters overflowing since we bought the house four years ago, so this summer I decided it was time to fix that problem. In even a small rain, the downspouts would fill up with water which then filled the gutters and they overflowed into the garden beds which made a huge mess -- it was as if we had no gutters at all. I found that the downspouts weren't draining because somebody did a TERRIBLE job of building a small drywall filled with river rock. Over the years, soil infiltrated it and the drain pipe, so there was nowhere for the water to go. Here's the solution I built this summer. While not beautiful flowers, it has a certain "prettiness" to engineers. ;>) We got the gravel in, pulled the fabric over the top, capped it with 10 inches of soil and put the sod back. Now I'm just sitting back and waiting for a huge downpour to watch my beautifully free-flowing gutters and downspouts do their thing! Looks like no heavy rainfall this fall and the snow is coming down right now.
