Specialty Gardening: Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #21, 1 by dryad57

dryad57 wrote:
Nah SW, you didn't miss it, I was just complainin'.....the basement is flooding, essentially, because Indianapolis has a bad sewer system - they don't spend very much money on infrastructure here. This past summer they had guys swarming all over the place - but not on our block - cleaning out sewers. So....I think what's happened is the city sewers can't cope with the rain and melt water, so it backs up into basements that aren't protected. We're having a one-way trap installed so that the water goes out of the house but won't come back in.

Blue - unfortunately, the guys who came and walked the front yard (one is a dowser, it was great fun to watch him work) think the line runs right under the tree. I'm hoping when they come later this week they'll be able to trench to the south of the tree to put the trap in, or maybe even between the tree and the house, but I'm not holding out much hope (I don't want to end up disappointed). And if it does have to come out I'm pretty resigned that I won't be able to put something woody right back there as that would eventually cause another problem with roots in the line. (Here's a pic from this summer.)

On the other hand - it will give me an EXCELLENT reason to redo the two corners of the front yard! I'm thinking if I can't have a JM in that corner I'll put one in the opposite corner, which right now is just an eye-sore of random plantings from the previous owner. I hadn't decided what to do with it, and I have a sneaking suspicion the sewer line is why. Some of my friends don't understand why I "procrastinate" over some things - and the simple reason is that I don't feel that the time is right. Now I know why I've not messed with that eye-sore corner - LOL! I'm also happy that I didn't charge ahead and plant a lot of perennials in the front yard after we got all the grass out this summer. It's mostly mulch, so I can just rake that aside for all the trench work that will need to be done.

The one thing that does upset me is that I thought I'd found the perfect spot for two perennials that I WS'd last year. The seeds came from Carol Eads' garden via Weezingreens, and the plants mean a great deal to me so I'll be out there tomorrow digging them up and putting them in containers to coddle them through the rest of the winter.

OK, enough rambling about my front yard.

SW - I hope you get to feeling better very soon! Don't forget your apple cider vinegar!

And Terese, I do hope the only thing you've got from that fall is bruises. I've taken a couple of doozies this year and was more embarrassed than hurt :-) although the bruises did provide for some technicolor entertainment.

Good to see you Fairy!! Hope you're doing well.