Cutting back and Composting

Just when it seemed that nothing was ever going to start growing we get a few days of a little more warmth and there's action all round. Poor sedum pushing it's way through all that old dead growth.....

Time to cut off last seasons growth in the herbaceous border and get some compost down.
My compost heap is the favoured place for ivy runners from the boundary of our garden - consequently extracting the compost needs some careful work to ensure the little pink roots don't make it into the wheelbarrow and off for a holiday to the flower beds to start a new family. This year I determine to be more vigilant about controlling the ivy........ha ha!

When I first started making compost I was dismayed that it didnt come out of the heap looking the same as the compost that comes out of a sack - all uniformly dark brown with no big bits. Action is certainly faster since I started adding bacterial Compost Accelerator but I also now know that the job of making your own compost doesn't stop with spading it out of the heap - it takes lots of rubbing between your fingers and quite a bit of judicious sending back to the heap of the odd stick. But the smell - wow - earthy, musty, just like a walk in the woods in the autumn - probably something only gardeners would love, hmm maybe a new range of gardeners scented candles and room sprays ....Compost No. 5'?