Alrightly lets see wow Lynn you responded so fast!! Thanks sooo much alright I am in Gardendale,Al so I am zone 7b. I am really most interested in Flowers, although on the side of the house We would really like to add something tall to block the view of the house when people are driving in the neighboorhood(it just looks so bland) We were thinking a flowering tree of some sort OR maybe a weeping willow??? My kitchen window overlooks this area and I think something like a weeping willow with a small circular bed around it would be gorgeous here. It is 8am now and the sun is shining on the area quite well so I guess that space would be full sun except for 2 maybe 4 hours a day, of course with a weeper it would be dappled shade underneath. Ok in my lil uniform back yard with my big one hulking tree, there is a yard to the left with a couple of tall trees and to the right there is a yard with NO trees or flowers and behind is woods so I get dappled shade most of the morning and then 2 or 3 hours of sun in afternoon. I really am new to this and dont really know how to officially label weather I have full sun, shade etc. any advice on that would help. My soil hummmm Dry as of this month with our nice lil drought lol I really have no clue?? yes I know I need to go into the Green Thumb Hall Of Shame!!!! As far as flowers I love lilies, tulips, irises, Glads,amaryllis,calla's,clematis,Wisteria,hydrangea,hollyhocks,and foxglove oh i love foxglove and delphinium. Do we all see where this is heading hah hah I love big tall blooms We also want to start a pond/watergarden type thing in our back yard also. Waterfall, koi, and all!! See yall hate me already, i feel like sucha nuisance already :o( As far as trading plants I can get some things, my grandmother has prob one of the top 3 gardens in North Jefferson County with lots of awards and recognitions and she is always offering cuttings and to give me things I could always list some of what she has and bring some of it and mom also, and the homeschool thing hit the nail on the head, my brother and I both homeschooled and we have most everything up to 11th grade which he will soon need after this summer, so someone might need something I have. Ive got lots to trade Anyways let me know what you think and I can always take a few digi pics of the space now so you can see what I am working with! Thank You SO SO SO much. Kalyn

1. Get a Sunset Western Garden Book. 2. Forget USDA Zones and Heat Zones when it comes to planting appropriate fruit trees for you. 3. MANY citrus will do well in your area; it will boil down to your personal tastes (as in actual "taste".) 4. "Chilling hours" is a concept for determing success of deciduous fruit trees (e.g. appleas, pears, apricots, peaches, etc.). Not for citrus. And yes, you are in an area where "low-chill" fruits will have to be chosen. I'm thinking, too, that 300 hours is on the high side for you in Rancho Bernardo. 150 hours is probably closer. There are plenty of such VERY low-chilling trees. 5. Dwarf trees are slow-growing to maybe 6 feet. I've never found them to be as productive overall as I would like. If you have the room, choose semi-dwarf trees. 6. If you want lots of varieties but don't have lots of space, do consider the practice of planting 3 or 4 fruit trees to a single hole. If you do this you must plant the same type of fruit in the same hole (i.e., oranges with oranges, peaches with peaches, etc.) as well as make sure they are on the same rootstock. Don't experiment with "fruit-cocktail" trees.

This book helped me out a lot when I wanted to expand our shade gardens. Year round interest is possible and foliage can be beautiful especially in your zone! In another garden we have everbearing strawberries that are partly shaded by fruit trees in summer, but produce a good 1st crop. If you have a sunnier location you can get ideas on the square foot gardening forum for edible plants. Here is a link that might be useful: Making the Most of Shade: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Fabulous Garden that Lightens up the Shadows

I need photos of the houses in Old Hickory! :) That's what I'm after. I'll publish the photos at my website, to contrast and compare the houses in Old Hickory with the houses in Norfolk. Plus, I know there were EIGHT designs of "Dupont Houses" and I only have images/photos of TWO of these designs. We have many of these Dupont Houses in Norfolk, but I can't begin to identify them, because I only have photos of TWO of the eight designs. So, in short, I need photos of those houses in Old Hickory that were built by Dupont. I do have addresses in Old Hickory. Rose