Out with the old

We went to the cottage today to rake the leaves from the perennial borders. I used to clean up the borders sitting down on a low bench and working with a small handheld rake. This was when I had about two big borders but now as the whole yard is full of flowers it is no use to even try this. So I just grab the largest rake we have and clean the borders with it. And I confess, I leave most of the borders as they are, I only clean the borders you see first when entering the garden. I did this first time last year and to my surprise, most of the plants seemed to like this - they get more nourishment, the old stems hold the new ones up and the soil doesn't get so cold during the colder nights in spring. And most important, I have time to do more at Vårkulla, where there is so much to do that no time in the world is enough.