![\"Drops](\"http:\/\/glenvillaartgarden.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/blog-look-ahead-2-1.jpg\")
<\/a>These rain-dropped leaves are neither loose ends nor signs of projects yet to begin. I just like the photograph. It appealed to me on a gloomy day.<\/p><\/div>\n
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I can point to things we did. They include finally completing The Aqueduct from its beginning point at the driveway to its end at Lake Massawippi. This year’s work involved\u00a0rearranging the stone edging around the little pond above the boathouse, a relatively small change that made a big improvement. The stone steps now provide a solid frame for the plants they enclose — and\u00a0an\u00a0ideal place for friends to sit in the shade while children play nearby.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Memories of summer: a shady spot on\u00a0\u00a0a sunny day.<\/p><\/div>\n
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We repaired the foundation wall of the boathouse. We had to, in order to keep the 100+ year old building\u00a0straight and solid. We also repaired the about-to-fall-apart-and-cause-a-disaster dam above it.<\/p>\n
<\/a>This is how the dam looked before repairs began. Old, crumbling, unsafe.<\/p><\/div>\n
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Since this dam created\u00a0the final ‘tumble’ of The Aqueduct, we decided to use the same gabion baskets we’ve used elsewhere in the project. I’m delighted with the result. No doubt, building The Aqueduct\u00a0was frustrating at times. It took months to find and correct leaks so that water was channeled through each part of The Aqueduct as we wanted it to be. But now that it is finished, I find the project immensely satisfying. It integrates the house and landscape more completely than I expected, even in my wildest dreams. The gabion basket dam is the right final touch.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Fieldstones in gabion baskets echo the fieldstones used in the stone walls that surround Glen Villa and that form part of its foundation walls.<\/p><\/div>\n
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Over the summer months I tied up a loose end at The Skating Pond. \u00a0As planned, I re-worked the section above the boardwalk that slipped downhill every spring, adding rocks and plants that I hope will keep the earth in place. But this area is a constant work in progress. Whatever I do this year leads inevitably to something to be done next year. (And I love that it does.)<\/p>\n
Two loose ends remain untied. In the lower garden and along the flagpole stream I planned\u00a0to incorporate trimmed hedges and more gabion baskets to reinforce the\u00a0‘straight lines’ approach I began last year.<\/p>\n