Hi, I would like to trade for your grapes. Please check my trade list and let me know if you are interested. Carol

Hi mousekakob...you would be wise to consult a person who is into designing/building hillside structures/terraces. I have built retaining walls for myself...thinking they were rugged and well built...and have had them lean out from the pressure of the soil behind pressing out. With clay under your strucures you might find them sliding down hill with the right amount of rain...as clay is very slippery. The higher/steeper your hillside/bank the more problems your going to have with keeping everything in place. Do it right the first time...and keep things simple...Franklin

It is IMPERATIVE to be able to see the structural integrity of yard trees. In the last 7 years I've removed two large white ash trees from my property. Both because of splits at main branches. IF either was covered by ivy it would have been impossible to see this and poof, by one one would have fallen on my house (or Mustang! or wife). Now if its in a naturalized area let nature take its course to some limits. I suspect though natural control measures which limit the spread of vines in woodlands are not present in your yard. Fewer vine eating animals, less fire for a couple. So you'll need to play the control part or else the vine stands the potential to take over.

There should be some extreme punishment for those who still harbor privets in their yards -- like being required to come weed out every last one of the hundreds of seedlings appearing under my trees each year, deposited by birds. I cut out the 12 or so large ones growing here within 6 months of moving in and have noticed, over the past decade, that most of the neighbors have followed suit (except one right next door, whose privets are also infested with oak root fungus and as a result are not only a menace but look dreadful -- grrrr! He also has some highly mildewed specimens of Dorothy Perkins hanging over the fence. I keep hoping these two problems will cancel each other out...). On the other hand, Geranium pyrenaicum "Bill Wallis" seeds itself around with wild abandon and I do not mind -- it blooms wonderfully all winter and spring, then is easily pulled out when it starts to look ratty. It is especially good at inserting itself in vertical rock crevices. "Bowle's Black" viola is also great -- once you've had it, there it is, no effort required. I also like what I think is Freesia alba x leichtlinii which was here when we arrived and gets spread around when plants get moved -- ubiquitous but not obnoxious. As long as the guest stays small, looks reasonably nice, and doesn't bully, I usually don't mind. Free ground cover.