Ghosts of Projects Past, Present and Future

Today you will be visited by updates on three ghosts projects:  The Ghost of Projects Past, The Ghost of Projects Present and the Ghost of Projects Future.

Enter The Ghost of Projects Past...

Earlier this year we moved some "foundation" plantings that were way too big - Pieris japonica that were in front of our windows.  I was pruning these plants several times a year to keep them below our windows.  I don't like to prune plants.  I like plants to fit their spaces.  But I really like the Pieris in the early spring when they are one of the first plants to flower.  And the bees appreciate the early blooms, too.  So we decided to try and move these four foot tall behomeths [excuse the bit of hyperbole but if you've ever tried to move established shrubs that are only four foot tall because of pruning you understand].  One long, sweaty day later and they were now in the back yard where they can get to be six foot tall [my estimated expected size] without pruning.

  I expected wilting, leaf drop, loosing limbs.  I'd be happy if one of the shrubs survived.

I didn't get that.  Instead I got no wilting, no leaf drop, no loosing limbs.  Sure they didn't grow any [above ground, I hope their roots grew].  But then this appeared.

Buds!  And lots of them.  Pieris produce the buds in last summer and hold on to them all winter only to bloom in the spring.  Looks like we'll have blooms next spring.  

The Ghost of Projects Past has been kind.

But now comes The Ghost of Projects Present.  Will she be kind?

Well, yes, she will.  Several of our neighbors have been working together on a vegetable garden this summer.  Wednesday nights is Wednesday Weeds and Wine where we open a bottle of wine and work in the garden.  It's a rip roaring success.  

Here is this Wednesday's harvest [one of the women brought bruschetta, too.  Maybe next week I'll have to bring our marinated tomato salad].

The tomato plants are growing like, well, weeds.  The Husband kindly stood next to a plant for scale.  The Mayor insisted on being included [he's such a politician!].

So The Ghost of Projects Present is generous.  But here comes the scary one.  The Ghost of Projects Future.

The main entrance to our house is poorly designed.  There is a narrow area between the house and the driveway where water pools after a heavy rain.  And ice forms a nice skating rink in the winter.  A lot of water gets dumped from the roof to this area.  So drainage is an issue.

We have started by removing the grass and bringing the level of the dirt down to the same level as the paving.  We still have work to do, though.  I'm going to try planting a rain garden.   We'll be bringing the ground level below that of the paving and planting vegetation that can take the water that will hopefully pool in the rain garden instead of on the paving or next to the foundation.

I hope The Ghost of Projects Future is kind to us and that this rain garden works to mitigate our water issues.  We'll just have to wait and see.

So now that we have been visiting by Three Ghosts of Projects what have we learned?

Good.  We learned that Projects are hard work but they can definitely be worth it in the end!

Now I just need to get that depression dug out before Hurricane Irene shows up!