Well, I haven't had this garden long enough to have recurring failures to complete a project, but I have managed to put off one project for one full year.

"I will finally continue the edging of the garden beds to border the gravel walk leading to the front door."

I have stone edging around most of the beds, particularly where the bed meets the lawn. The problem is the gravel walk starting from the granite steps in the stone retaining wall, and continuing to the stairs at the front porch. There's planting on both sides of the walk and right now the gravel sort of merges with mulch with no clean border.

The logical plan is to just continue the stone and be done with it (these are the standard small field stones that lurk in the soil here). A formal edging is inappropriate in my very relaxed, casual yard.

Unfortunately, somewhere in my head I have an inkling for some devilishly clever method of edging this walk. I just have no idea what it is.

Claire

Good thread, Narcnh.

terry, my son would love to have chickens. It's one of the regrets I have about living on a 1/4 acre plot!

Claire, I also have to do my front walkway - - the part that leads from the drive to the front door. Right now it is just filled with about 2 inches of stone dust. I ran out of steam after my patio project. So that's first on the list in Spring. Second is a big project - - level the back yard. I removed lots of stones from there to make my patio and there are pits where they used to be, as well as a pile of dirt I dug out of the patio which is now studiously growing weeds.

Oh, and how about raking leaves? I haven't been able to do it because every weekend that I've been home it has rained and my back yard has been a swamp. If the yard doesn't dry out tomorrow/Saturday, it won't happen this weekend either.

Terry, I hear you! If I don't have the garden 'put to bed' soon, that's what I'll be dealing with come next year. But I would like to get the drainage project that has my front lawn all torn up finished - DH & DS are supposed to be tackling it this weekend, but it has to dry out a bit. DS goes back to school until mid-December, so unfortunately, that may be a next year thing - first on the agenda!

Repairing the lawn will be second.

A thread I can relate to! Well, like everyone else stated, it had better dry out to finish the raking and putting things to bed for the winter.

I always have some plants to relocate and the lawn always needs some work.

I have some edging that needs to be redone.

We had some tree work done late October, so that may affect some plant light requirements.

Finish cleaning up THIS year's leaves and garden beds. lol

Hmm, this is a tough one. I have so many unfinished projects and so many resolutions to make, it's hard to know where to start.

I'm going to finalize my garden plans this winter and stick to them next year. I'm going to clear out all the one-of-a-kind perennials in the streetside garden, and make it look much more well organized. That garden needs new edging too; I like using brick laid on its side for this, it gives me a place to walk when the grass is wet, and makes mowing much easier. Using a plastic edge alongside/beneath the brick also helps keep the grass out of the bed.

I'm going to finally get some viable cuttings from the several grafted trees that are always sprouting from the rootstock, so I can dig up the parent plants and replace them with more reliable, own-root plants.

I'm going to decide what to do with the failing Merrill Magnolia - it's been at least 2 years since it started its decline, and I can't take the annual disappointment any more. It looks fine until late June, then it starts dropping leaves - a really awful show by the time the rest of the garden is looking good.

I'm going to do some hard pruning of many shrubs that are too crowded - hydrangea tardiva, wigela, cotinus, forsythia, bayberry ... and move all the peonies and tree peonies that have been shaded too much as trees filled in. I'm going to get rid of the last of the Norway Maples on my property, and replace it with one or more of the willow oaks that are coming along (and taking over) the vegetable garden.

Oh, yes, one last little detail; we dug up a large area of lawn right outside the back porch, and have laid down the base for a brick patio. I'm going to get those bricks laid, if not this winter then first thing next spring. This is the one thing DH doesn't mind working on outdoors, so I guess I'll be buying him bricks for Christmas.

Wow, I guess it's going to be another busy year!

Wow. We actually got most of what we wanted to get done, done. The one project that should've been done at the outset but is still sitting there is finalizing the front walk with topsoil and our arbor.

Guess my "pet peeve" at this point is that most of my plants are still nurseried. Next year - year 3 they will be "placed" in somewhat permanent positions. I've gathered an electic collection of material and now need to figure out where to put it!

I guess if one has a lingering project, placing plants isn't too bad. LOL

Martie

Paige,
My coop needs to house only one chicken at the moment-an excapee from a neighbor, I suspect. She has adopted my yard all summer and I feel bad for her now that it is getting colder. I suspect I will catch her one of these nights (she is not a tame chicken) and take her to one of the neighbors that has adequate chicken housing already. I would like a few layers, but I'm not really ready to tackle it this year. Plus, I'd like to investigate some coop designs before I have to jump in and actually build one.
I did get a little work done this weekend in between horseback rides and generally goofing off. All of my cannas are pried out of their pots and drying a little before winter storage in the garage. I got the herb bed chopped down and cleaned up and a few of the rattier perennials pruned. I have some leaves to rake yet, but I got a lot of them chopped up with the mulching mower last weekend.
I forgot to add "clean and stain the deck" to my list above. Sigh!

I got more leaves cleaned up today, and fresh gravel added to the walkway to fill the bare spots (raking leaves always means displacing gravel). Did a little pruning to the overgrown privet, but I still need to cut more of it before the wet snows bend it into an ice tunnel in my and my neighbor's yard. That is on my list for this week while the weather is good.

I'm glad to say that I planted all of my pot ghetto plants. Usually I have a bunch of leftovers that get stuck in a garden bed and heaped with mulch for spring planting.

Narcnh, thanks for starting this thread! After checking the weather forecast this morning, I went out and started moving tree peonies. I don't think I'd have done it if I hadn't written down my looong list of undone projects!

Right hand raised high in the airÂI will feed, then feed again, and again my starving Hollies.
Right hand raised high in the air with sincere tone in my voice, I will not transplant even the most crowded perennial, shrub, or tree.
Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, I will no longer be pruning challenged.
Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, with a confident stride, I will continue to id/make labelsÂÂand most important place labels in garden. Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, with a confident stride, blurting out I swear to the green goddess, I will purchase a shredder, build enclosure for equipment and clear more scrub for dedicated area.
Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, with a confident stride, blurting out I swear to the green goddess, signing my name in blood, I will work on adding designÂnot just plants to gardens expanded last winter.
Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, with a confident stride, blurting out I swear to the green goddess, signing my name in blood, with sincere effort to not cross my fingers, allow dh to apply broad leaf killer to lawn.
Right hand raised high in the airÂwith sincere tone in my voice, steelie eyed, with a confident stride, blurting out I swear to the green goddess, signing my name in blood, with sincere effort to not cross my fingers, and with the passion and delight of a new project, design and prepare this winter, area surrounding garden bench for moss garden.
A little inspiration to follow thru in 2007Â kt

"The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space
To place new steps of change
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out and upon me,
The Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then."
Maya Angelou

Biting the bullet....

I will finally put together all the information I've been gathering and write a proposed FAQ on HTML code. That is:

How to add colors and bold and italics and underlines to text and how to insert a hyperlink and maybe even how to post photos.

Claire

That's George's photo I borrowed, of course.

Claire

Clair, can I help with the html faq? I do a lot of work with web pages and can write html and xml in my sleep.

Dee:

Sure, but let me start the process by writing something that I think will be usable for the novice. I don't want to get too technical - I envision a very elementary listing of how to jazz up text and insert stuff without having to understand the process.

And you should understand that I know very little myself.

This would be aimed at someone who just wants to add a little bling to a post and then get back to gardening.

I figure I'll start this after I get the Christmas shopping done and the presents wrapped and mailed.

Claire

Great idea!!!

This html novice will be very grateful. Can any of you tell me if I can go back and edit or delete something that I have posted? kt

Kt,
The way the Web site is set up, posters aren't give the tools for editing or deleting their posts once you hit "submit." It's a pretty basic old system, and iVillage doesn't seem interested in doing any upgrades. Cheaper and easier to leave it as is.

Sorry, Katy, as far as I know that's not something you can do on GW, because you don't have access to the actual html on the existing thread/page - you can only add to it (using a cgi script that adds to the existing page) - or request that a whole thread be deleted and start it over.

There is also a Computer Forum on GW where I have picked up some tips, such as changing fonts, colors, italics etc. They are very nice about helping non-tech people and it seems to be a mix of all levels of knowledge.

Cady,
I posted on another thread about ivillage + network tv ! The ivillage reps were 20 something younguns thrilled with the recognition national tv will give any name brand when I saw them on the Today Show the other day. They were talking about cooking forum and to be honest I didn't get the feeling that gardening was even a distant topic of interest.
Nan,
"you can only add to it (using a cgi script that adds to the existing page)"

Oh the pain of holding back on hi-jinx...I promise...or er-um will try...or they can never trace it back to my name right???

ginny,
I agree wholeheartedly my lurking over at the computers forum has been well worth the investment in time and the regulars are really nice.
kt

Right hand raised high in the air with sincere tone in my voice, I will not transplant even the most crowded perennial, shrub, or tree.

So......The ground has thawed my shovel is sharpened and I have blueberries that really need to be moved. The happy hypocrite kt

Great to see this thread again - everything on my list is still waiting to be done, although I've started some pruning and I *did* manage to get one tree peony moved in the fall. I'm off to a very good start vis a vis the "one of a kind" problem, in that I've ordered only a few plants, and in threes - thus escalating the "too many plants" problem. You can't win, but luckily, it's a lot of fun playing.

Katy - go for it. I'm sure you didn't mean it literally when you said you would give up transplanting.

Man, I'm getting tired just thinking about this stuff-I haven't even finished getting the garden ready for winter.

*bursts out laughing* I hear that!

Where do I start?
- put down a new front path from the sidewalk to my front door
- set new stones in the path from my back door
- thatch, aerate, fertilize, seed and water my lawn (yes, it looks that bad!)
- finally get around to thinning out my gardens, focusing on a handful of favorites

Now everyone has to go back and look at their previous posts for chores they meant to get done last gardening year!

Now that the snow is melting, it is becoming obvious. I'd like the snow to be gone and the ground to dry some, so I can start cleaning up the mess.

That edging still need to be done and the lawn always needs help. I see one section where the town really piled up the snow, full of salt and sand, on the lawn. One small conifer is mostly gone! (I'm on a corner lot.)

I will finalize - no start - the plan to screen out my neighbor and plant a minimum of four trees and 6 shrubs from the plan.

I will develop a plan for a secret hide-a-way garden room.

I will select at least three different ground covers for my shade gardens and buy multiple plants for a really great start.

I will finish planting the memorial garden.

Yes!

Okay, so did anyone get around to doing their projects this year? [g]

"I will finally continue the edging of the garden beds to border the gravel walk leading to the front door."

I will finally put together all the information I've been gathering and write a proposed FAQ on HTML code.

Yep ... I did both last year.

This year I put in a series of bluestone paths - ostensibly to get to the bird bath, but it grew.

Claire

I still have some hardscaping to do. A planned stepping stone path for next spring with any luck. I will look for your FAQ, sounds like a job. Did you do it yourself or did you have help?

pm2

The FAQ? I shamelessly cribbed stuff from an old post by Cady, and I added some comments by diggingthedirt.

The rest was the result of a self-taught investigation sparked mostly by my curiosity. I'm still not entirely sure in the back of my head that I got it all right.

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: How do I use HTML code .....

Claire, I am not going to be trying to use HTML code any time soon..[g]...I meant, did you do your bluestone walkways yourself? :-)

So, I don't know if I should put this in writing or not. If I write it down, it will be resurrected in a year, and...I might not want to 'fess up then! That's probably why I didn't add to the list last year. But...all right...I'll go ahead and do it: I still have my rain barrels sitting idle at the side of my house...after ruining my downspouts cutting them off to put barrels below, duct-taping plastic elbows to them, schlepping big concrete blocks that I could never level, and chasing the barrels as they rolled empty down my driveway, sounding like thunder and breaking the tap on one. Maybe next spring?

Oh mayalena...that sounds so sad! lol I would be in the same boat if I had attempted it, I am sure. :-) You did well to follow through on your decision to get rain barrels. I still have it on my list undone. I did make some calls about a month ago and I do want to get a couple. Where did you get yours? I think after hearing your sad story, I am going to call a gutter company to come and install them. [g] Maybe you should do the same?

:-)
pm2

pm2:

I did the walkways myself - very, very, slowly, it took all summer. Those pavers are heavy! and I only have one back - sometimes it feels like half a back. I bought a palette of tumbled bluestone pavers; the palette weighed well over a ton. One of these days when I'm feeling really compulsive I'll count the pavers.

Since the palette contained all different sizes and shapes, I had to spread them out so I could see them, then pick out a likely few.

The process involved picking up pavers, trying them in one spot, turning them around, trying them somewhere else and putting them in a corner and trying another one. The poor lawn is just now recovering from the operation.

After I decided where I wanted to put the paver, I dug down 5 inches, filled in 3 inches of sand, put in the paver (2 inch depth), leveled it and filled the joints. For some areas this required sifting local sand to get little native stones.

Thanks for giving me the impetus to organize this.

I hope these photos aren't too slow to load - I had to resize high resolution photos.

Claire

Wow, what a job, Claire! I know how heavy those pieces are and after about 15 minutes of moving them around your back starts to feel it. I don't do it myself anymore, but I used to pick up most anything and dig anything. Those days are long gone. [g]

I do enjoy the tumbled rocks better than those that aren't. I need to do a similar project with a walk way from my driveway around the side of the garage and across the back to the kitchen door. I am definitely not doing it myself..lol. Where did you get your rock, if you don't mind my asking?

I love the rose in photo one. Looks like it has been there awhile, which rose is it? Is photo three and four the same photo only during and after? Is that some sort of piece of wood used as a handrail on the right of the path? I see another hoop with a vine, is that another rose? Also see your hummingbird feeder...oh...could that be a trumpet vine for the hummers?

Thanks so much for sharing your photos...you have a very pretty piece of property. Very inviting! You did an excellent job on the pathways. Certainly had a lot of confidence to tackle that and I bet you saved yourself a lot of money!

Well..give yourself a gold star for planning to do it and following through. I think you are the exception to the usual. lol

pm2

pm2:

The rose in photo one is left over from my mother's garden - probably Dorothy Perkins, an old rambler. There's actually two of them, one on either side of the arch. They were moved twice during construction and barely noticed it.

Years ago, when we inherited the place, I found two little canes, about a foot long each, buried in the lily of the valley. I remembered my mother's roses and nursed them back to health.

You're correct about photo three and four - during and after. Notice that the roses are long gone in number four, giving you an idea of how long this process took.

The wood is a retaining wall keeping the tool shed from falling on my path.

There isn't another hoop - what you see may be a patch of daylilies near a birdbath.

Looking back at my photos, I realize that the irises were in bloom when I started the path:

and the cat slept through it all....

Claire

claire...
As I have said before, you are just so lucky to have something from your mother's garden! Nice that it is a sturdy rose. Maybe you will have it longer. I hope you have taken cuttings and given them away to siblings and other family members just in case. :-)

Ok, I went back and looked at photo three and four and I can now see that there is a retaining wall there. The first time I looked at them, I thought there was wood on top of the stakes...lol. So if there is just one hoop, then the first shot with the roses in bloom is the same as photo three and four. I assume that is taken from a different direction.

Adorable cat photo...is she lying on top of seeds or a packet of catnip? [g]

Really nice job, so what is your next project? [g]

Wow! My hat's off to you, Claire. That is gorgeous path-making, and my back hurts just looking at it. You are truly a craftsman!

OK, I will add my projects to the list but I have a whole year to get them done now, right? [g]

Like narch...I have some depressions or bumps in the back lawn and need to fill them in and seed the patches.

As I said to mayalena, I do want to install 2 rainbarrels next year.

I have a pile of broken pavers that I want to use to create some access into my borders.
Plus a pile of stonedust to use up probably when we get to doing the stepping stone path.

Terry...I haven't even aerated my lawn ever. I need to move a half a dozen shrubs myself, and I would love to have chickens too. I found out my town will allow hens but not roosters. lol

We finally got a few projects done in the yard this year but there is always something more to do. Right now I am concentrating on closing up for the winter, which doesn't really count as a project, does it? I still have about 20 winter sown containers to find homes for and 3 shrubs that have to get in the ground. Just pulled down all the tomato plants yesterday and plan to use the end of the basil today. Then in the next month we will do the usual..get all the outdoor containers set for the winter and chop leaves for the compost pile. I think that will just about do it for this year.

Next spring will be a different story though. I am sure I will be making up a long list of new projects.

:-)
pm2

Claire, you put me to shame. Beautiful job. My goal was to do an 10 foot section of path to my front door, and I failed to do anything there but let weeds grow.

Interesting to look back on what I wanted to do in '06. I didn't do any of it, but instead built two new beds that came about with the removal of my big front yard maple, and the ensuing full-sun conditions which made my pachysandra shrivel up in short order.

Thanks mayalena and paigect!

pm2: Now that I've got these photos in one place, I can post some of them (always delayed because I use a film camera and send them off to be put on a CD).

Photos one, three and four are all from the same direction, maybe this will help.

This is the arch from the other direction - the photo mostly shows the roses.

I also dug out a photo showing the area on the side of the house before the path went in::

And I couldn't resist a shot from farther away showing more of the yard - the rose arch is on the far upper right, and a little bit of bluestone path shows on the lower right. It's a little confusing because the path runs along the front of the house and then through the arch to the side of the house. The back yard is a whole different animal.

As for my next project, I haven't decided yet. I'm so pleased with this bluestone path that I might extend it a bit - I stopped when the bluestone ran out even though it really should have gone further. My back thanked me for that.

I also need to put stepping stones inside the borders so I don't trample so many plants trying to get in there.

And the cat is napping on catnip pillows.

Claire

P.S. I'm having problems previewing these photos - I'm not sure if the whole file is loading (TinyPic). Maybe setting up a Picasa account should be on my list.

pm2: You asked where I got the bluestone and I forgot to tell you.

It's a local yard on route 3A just north of the Canal, called Hillcrest Landscape Supply (148 State Road, Sagamore Beach 508-888-0004). Just a few miles from me. I didn't shop around - this was a spur of the moment decision and I liked the material and the people.

Claire

Wow Claire...that before photo is amazing. You can really see where everything has changed. I can see that retaining wall so differently. The hoop and the pathway make such a difference. It looks like a different property! I guess that was before you put a shed in too? You get a lot of bloom on that rose bush. Very pretty. It is a pretty shade of red too.

I really like your front yard. I like the large front window on your house and it looks like you have shaker shingles? One of my favorites...very Cape Cod too. Is that Miscanthus Morning light? What are the pink flowers? I have a rock border like that along a few beds in my back yard, because I really do like a casual rock edge. No it is not confusing. I can see the path and the hoop and now it all makes sense to where everything is placed. So why is your backyard so different?

I have a large pile of broken pavers that I am going to use inside my borders for access and that will be one of my first projects in the spring, too. I will be moving a lot of plant material around then so it will be the right time to do it.

LOL....that is funny about the cat. We don't have a cat so I was just guessing. I didn't realize catnip meant catnap..lol. I can see your photos perfectly and had no trouble viewing them at all.

As for the stone company...I forgot you were on the cape. I probably won't be going down there for stone. [g]

Thanks for sharing all your photos!

Paige...I am always amazed when someone takes down a tree. I assume it had to come down. I say that because I have a large Norway Maple that I hate but I just don't have the courage to take it down. It is also a pretty expensive project from what I have heard. I would love more sun. Do you have any photos of your new beds?

Anyone else have some of their projects done?

pm2: The tool shed is left over from my parents' yard, you just can't see it in that shot. We don't keep it as clean and neat as my father did, but it's still in fine shape.

The large window is actually 4 casements and is my kitchen/bird-viewing window.

The pink flower is a no-id phlox also left over from my mother's garden. It's trying to colonize the whole South Shore.

The visible grass is Miscanthus variegatus which does very well here - out of view there are a lot more ornamental grasses. I have a Morning Light at the foot of the driveway, along with a couple Adagios (no photos yets).

The siding is white cedar shingles, not completely weathered yet (only 2 1/2 years old).

..................................................................................

The backyard is overwhelmed by a view of the bay and I'm trying to keep it low-key and natural. It's also very shady with old cedars, oaks and cherries.

The best view is in the winter when the leaves are gone. This photo is from when there was just trees and grass;

I decided lawn is boring and there's no need to walk in most areas so I first stopped mowing these areas and delineated them with the logs from the oaks I had to take down (with great pain). I call this area Oakhenge.

This fall I started a small bed with self-seeded Siberian irises, phlox and some new Panicums. As I find seedlings I just dump them there if they fit with a very casual planting. Some native Virginia roses are in there too.

I better stop hogging this thread so other people can respond. And I've got to finish planting the bulbs.

Claire

Oh my! With a view like that, who needs a garden...lol.
That last photo is breathtaking with the sun coming through the trees. I would think you have an unusual property, Claire, with trees so close to the shoreline, yes? It is very different looking. So then do the trees obscure the view from the house? I can see in that photo with the red suncatcher that you can see the ocean through the trees!

Do you have to worry about beach erosion being so close to the shore? My in laws had a summer home that was a few houses away from the water, which they no longer have, and last time anyone was by there, one of the homes was gone. How have you done during storms?

That's great that you are trying to plant a natural planting there. I like the look of the logs. Do you have more plans for planting there?

You must really enjoy having that right out your own backdoor. A garden and the ocean to me is the perfect combination.

Thank you very much for posting your photos. I really enjoyed them!

pm2

pm2: The photo with the suncatcher is deceptive - the "ocean view" is actually a reflection in the glass from the other side of the house. The suncatcher window is my view from the computer station.

The trees look close to the shoreline in the photo, but we're actually on a bank about 45 ft above the beach, similar to those all along the shore here.

Our bank is heavily vegetated, due to the placement of jetties about 50 years ago and also due to my parents' efforts. You can just see the outline of my house near the top.

However, the danger of erosion is always present and one of our neighbors five or six lots to the north has been in a desperate battle to keep the property intact.

The domino effect lives here - if their property goes, then the next lot will go and eventually so will we. Without going into great detail, the solution here is to control the outflow from a nearby marsh so that the channel stays offshore rather than eating into the cliff.

But the payoff is :

Claire

Claire...that last photo has a beautiful color to the sunset. I am usually a sunrise person but that one is gorgeous! I am so sorry to hear that the erosion is still a battle there for you. It is such a shame. I hope they will figure something out to keep any more of the cliffs from eroding. You seem to really enjoy your location there and who wouldn't! The ocean and sky looks different every day and all that ocean air. Ahhh! :-)

pm2

pm2: That's a sunrise - as seen from my bedroom looking east. I took a series of photos that morning as the sun came up.

I never would have bought property in such a precarious location (couldn't afford it now either), but when my parents bought the land the situation was different. Erosion hadn't cut so far into the land and the Army Corps of Engineers was constructing jetties that supposedly would solve the problem.

I grew up here (summers) and this has always been home to me. It should last my lifetime - whether the next generation will live here is problematic; particularly if global warming causes significant sea level rising.

Claire

See...so that is why I enjoyed that photo..sunrise not sunset! lol I do understand the situation and have been aware of the problems there along the cliffs. There was a point in time when no one was aware of the problem and I am sure when they built those homes no one was aware. It is too bad that the Army Corp of Engineers didn't have a solution that worked.

You are very fortunate to still be able to have a home you grew up in. I think you should enjoy it as long as you can and hope that something changes for the better. :-) Not much else you can do I suppose.

pm2