When we saw the lot 1n 1982 there was just a foundation located on the remains of a snow-covered sand and gravel pit. For many years the abandoned pit had then been used for target practice by the police and anyone else in town who liked to shoot. Needless to say, there were pieces of glass all over the lot, and the entire lot was devoid of any significant vegetation (see the last three pictures).
We planted over 125 trees (not all of them made it and we had to cut many down), and Joan started gardening. Several years ago Joan retired, and the gardening began in earnest; the pictures show the beauty Joan created. The last three pictures are before-and-after examples of Joan's work. Lucky me to live there!
Also shown are three pieces of my brother-in-law's beautiful workmanship: an arbor at the top of the path to our gazebo, an arbor for wisteria, and a tower for our large (80-pound) chimes. They were all built to be beautiful, and built to last.
A few words about our koi pond: Initially Joan built a small koi pond using a 56-gallon pond liner. Now we have a much larger pond installed by Tranquil Water Gardens 2. If you live in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticul, we highly recommend their work, though our pond is on the small side of their abilities.
Last of all, in 2019 we sold our house to move to Pond Meadow, a very nice community where there is much less work for us. The gardens are much smaller. You can see the two-minute slideshow used to sell our home of 36 years.