New Earth

Yesterday I spoke about locally grown food and that segued in to a new project that is audible from our backyard as I type this. We've got a great crew of men from Lotus Landscaping grading it to prevent flooding, with that comes a bonus- a new, sunnier spot for our garden. Here's a view of the progress:

We will move the compost that you see behind the stump grinder, as well as the wood piles of seasoned and green wood- they'll go up on the hill behind the shed pictured below. To the right of the photo (above) you can see our brussels sprouts and collards, they are currently up and out of the ground- waiting on their sunnier location. The stump has been removed and grass will soon be added. We'll start with a rye for the winter and then sod come spring. I can't wait for Singer to feel the grass between her toes! 

Flooding is the main reason that this project is being done by professionals, instead of our own hands. There is a significant amount of water backup in our backyard. So dire that come the harsh winter rains, and lack of sun we have had actual flooding in to our basement. When we bought this home no problems were mentioned on our sellers discloser, perhaps if we had known what a lemon we bought we would have walked away, but we're making the best of this old clunker. In order to one day sell the house and be honest- we've got to fix the problem, and avoid the problems that could happen in result of ignoring it. The main area where you see the "grass" will be lightly graded to send water out of our yard and in to the storm water drain. The small trench lines that you see around the perimeter of the garden shed, hill, fence line, and house will soon be mulched and turned in to flower beds. Think beautiful perennial garden folks. I will be in heaven.  

Speaking of my personal heaven, back to the point of this post- the dirt on the other side of the fence is where the new garden will grow. It was very hilly so Lotus is grading it in order to give us a flat and tilled surface to grow our food on, the earth was really hard, but surprisingly we found good dirt there once the grading began. Stairs will lead up the hill to a newly installed gate and we will have a "rustic" fence around the veggies to keep Bambi out. The shed will become potting and tool storage to make more room in our garage. Come spring we will pressure wash the shed and paint it. A friendly little window box is in the works, and we're in the market for some rusty old tools to accompany the weathered Coca Cola sign that has been so lonely for the last two years. 

Here's another look of some of the drainage issues we've been having and the former spot of the veggies. Everything that you see here will be graded down, it is an area of huge concern. Come rain David's truck sits in a foot of water, soon that water will be channeled down the driveway and in to the storm water drain. The fence line will be cleaned up and we'll get some shrubbery growing to hide our eyesore of a chain link fence.

The landscapers are out working hard again today after a long weekend of rest. I hope to get some great pictures in the morning to show more progress. Next spring we look forward to having a a solid foundation of plants and vegetation to enjoy and share.