Got Compost?

This weekend is the annual spring clean-up which includes spreading a layer of leaf compost all over the planting beds and shrub borders.  Having carved this Hamptons garden out of a sandy-soiled woodland, annual compost has been the best additive for healthy and lush plants.  After all, your plants are only has healthy as your soil.

I admire those gardeners who create their own compost.  But my annual compost needs would definitely exceed my own production abilities so I order mine.  Twenty yards (a full truckload) seems to be just the right amount for my annual mulching.  

I admit that this spring chore is one of those heavy-lifting projects that I hire help.  It would never get done in a timely manner without help.  

Over the years, the soil has become not only more nutrient rich but also holds water better than the original sandy soil.  One caution though,  when spreading around shrubs and trees, make sure to stay a least a foot away from the trunks.  I've learned the hard way that constant build-up of soil against primary trunks of trees and shrubs can eventually create rot at the base.  I lost a large doublefile viburnum last year due to trunk decay and suspect it was the annual compost addition against its base that helped create this disease.

Weather forecast for tomorrow looks good so hopefully we will finish spreading this pile of compost by day's end. Seems daunting, but look at the positive side of this task.  Who needs a gym workout when you have a shovel and a big pile of compost?