Sue I remember back when you were waiting to buy the house and how you had plans for it back then! You have such vision, and I love the way you've combined plants for year-round interest. I wish I could get my photos organized and labeled so I could show our progress too.
One thing I do is host meetings for various garden clubs at different times of the year. Even if I don't have the yard cleaned up or weeded, i go ahead and volunteer, because it motivates me. People who come year after year can pick out the changes and it gives me a boost. When I lived in the suburbs, people walked by daily, and I shared plants often. Out in the country, nobody really sees it but me, and I don't keep it up as well. I also tend to plant more than I can take care of! I don't get the feedback I need, either, and make more mistakes.
This year, we had record rainfall in the first few weeks of August, so the plants are going into overtime! The hardy hibiscus have 10" blooms, and the daylilies are actually blooming again, and this time they are as big as registration says they should be. I never knew how much difference water could make in summer, because I don't irrigate much and normally summers are HOT and DRY! My plants have been surviving basically on great soil, so I think I'll go ahead and install that drip irrigation and see what would happen with more care, more water, and maybe some more soil amendments.
