When removing all of the trees and bushes from our old landscaping along the driveway and front walk, my husband left my pink dogwood tree. It's now almost a year later. The scene right now is supposed to be one of her surrounded by beautiful new plants.

Because this dogwood had been squeezed next to an overgrown cedar, she's now growing asymmetrically. However, the tree trimming folks (who came out last fall to trim our mature silver maples) has said that our remaining dogwood will straighten up and fill in nicely after we started to "train" it. That training was supposed to start in the Spring with entire new landscaping to accompany the old dogwood.

Until we know the exact position of the new bushes, it is difficult to know where to place the training stakes. So, like everything else involved in our new landscaping project, that is also on hold until the landscape designer someday decides to do her thing to get the ball rolling. This tree is supposed to be at the corner of two planter beds (with bushes) meeting. Originally, she was.

The new landscaping was supposed to be in by now. However, there is still another delay by the landscaping company. That means the areas that were ready in March to be replanted are now returning to a wild state. There are supposed to be plant beds on both sides of the front walk and on both sides of the driveway.

Signing a contract with the landscape company hasn't helped to move things along. Spring turned into Summer and Summer into Fall. Now, Fall planting season will soon be at an end, and this is where we are... The only thing new growing is the weeds between the bricks in the sidewalk. And even those seem ready to go to sleep for the Winter.