Watch out for garden fires!

Still decorating with pumpkins!

The weather over the weekend was dreary, hot, humid. . . . . . . thanks to the latest

 hurricane which, although far away from here, still sent signs in the clouds and a

 few rain showers. We do need rain, especially for the trees and gardens.

We are wondering if the brilliant autumn colors will come this year, all seems

 stagnant, almost lifeless after such a long dry spell.

Did you know that garden mulch can catch fire?

We had a scary incident on the last day of painting on Thursday - when the 

painter was working on the front porch posts. For an hour or so we could

smell burning in the air but couldn't pinpoint it. When the painter, kneeling on

 the flower bed noticed his drop cloth was scorched along one edge, he pulled

 it back and saw smoke coming from the ground close to the foundation of the house! 

He pulled back the mulch which was smoldering and very hot!  We immediately

 saturated the entire bed with the garden hose, also the second bed in front of our

 bedroom window, just in case.

Both these areas are where we had all the shrubs and ground cover, other

 than the hydrangeas, removed to do the work on the house. The soil/mulch

 is now exposed to the sun which has been constant and very hot every day.

With no rain for several weeks, the intense sunshine on the thick layer of 

built up mulch - ours is mainly shredded pine bark mulch and nuggets which

 break down into a rich soil - caused spontaneous combustion and underground

 burning as it turned into fertilizer.

I was online in no time flat looking up what was happening in my garden, as

 nobody seemed familiar with such a situation. What I read about houses/buildings

 actually catching fire from similar situations was really frightening.

I'm writing this as a brief heads up if you also have a build up of old

 mulch in your garden beds. If exposed to sun and there has been little rain,

you may want to get out there with your hose and do some watering.

We are planning on restoring our front beds - will have the old mulch 

dug out and removed, perhaps changing to decorative stones for 

ground cover. Any tips regarding the best way to mulch garden beds will

 be appreciated. 

~ Thanks ~

Along the winding way. . . . . . . .

Nearby, in my area of North Carolina, is an artist/musician/stonemason

 who will wow you with his amazing creations in garden landscapes using the 
most beautiful pebbles. 

His installations mimic wandering streams with floating flowers, gentle running

 brooks, even the look of textiles draped across larger stones and rocky

outcrops in a landscape.

Graham Fry had already worked a decade in landscaping featuring stonework

which included building massive walls, outdoor fireplaces, unusual steps and
 stairways, elegant paved walkways and patios etc., when he gravitated toward
 work using stone in its smallest form, pebbles.

Beside being beautiful art, his creations in the landscape are able to address
 problem areas such as poor drainage, or a lack of good soil for growing plants. 

Can you imagine the patience required to create these glorious installations?

Graham, also a working musician, plays guitar with well known rock

 (no pun intended!) bands. While laying rocks and pebbles he's always

 listening to music to help with the flow. It's not hard to hear a melody in
his work such as this one below. To me, these creations bring yet 
another aspect of Nature to surround a home and make a
very beautiful garden area which will last a long time.

I learned of Graham's company and outstanding work from a recent article
 in our local Raleigh newspaper. I was so excited that I went immediately to his
 website to learn more. You should do the same, go here to WINDING PATH 
to see more of his astounding body of work.

I have an area in my garden where I know Graham could work his magic -
it's now near the top of that ever expanding wish list!

All photos via Winding Path Custom Stone Masonry, Durham, NC

Permission to share here given by Graham Fry.