September 9, 2008 Update

It sure has been busy in Lentol Garden this week! Many folks in the neighborhood may have noticed that the Graham Street entrance has been closed and neglected for quite a while now, so this week we decided to start or revitalization efforts there. We have a couple of reasons for doing this. First, it was just plain unsightly. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), the wonderful native vine, has taken over this back area, choking off many of the other perennials that grow in the shade. Second, we needed a large amount of organic matter to form our new compost pile. The decaying "green" plant matter will provide our burgeoning pile with plenty of nitrogen rich material to offset the rather large amount of "brown," carbon-rich material generated my all the decaying brush and leaves. Third, with autumn coming, we simply had to clear away these vines in order to rake the soon-to-be-falling leaves from under the sweet gum tree. These leaves will eventually be used in our mulching efforts. Clearing the back lot will be our primary focus in the coming weeks, stay tuned to see this fun transformation take place!