Glad to hear it's going well! And sorry the carolina allspice didn't work out- i think we dug them a bit too late. Later posters in another thread mentioned they don't do well transplanting unless dormant. If you still want some, come in the fall and we'll dig some more- i still have lots to give. I gave a bunch to another poster this spring before they leafed out and they took well. So glad you discovered the old stage/broadwell's hotspot of nurseries! Great stuff! Once you get into perennials, if you do, be sure to ck into a nursery affectionately called bb's on here- it rhymes with fig floomers but with b's (can't post the actual name- they were banned years ago, not of their own doing). They are in sanford and have a huge selection and decent prices. There's a website- you'll find it if you google. :)

I HATE, HATE, HATE Barberry! I ripped out all the Barberry the former, desperate homeowners ever planted here. What is considered deer resistant will vary depending on where you are, in colder zones, they will eat more plants that would otherwise be avoided further south. I use the following plants successfully here in Zone 7B NJ to avoid the deer. 1.) Cherry Laurel "Schipkaensis": it's highly poisonous, and they know it! It's the cyanide! Don't worry, it won't kill Bambi, they are smarter than people and won't think of eating it..., but if you have kids..., who knows. It grows FAST and forms an impenetrable hedge from the ground on up. 2.) Holly, they ignore my spiny hollies (Nellie Stevens, Chinese Holly)..., they will munch on Japanese Holly if stressed by deep snow..., they may munch on blue hollies. 3.) Osmathus heterophyllus 'goshki' (False Holly)..., it's very prickly 4.) They seem to ignore Rhododendrons 5.) They will not eat any bamboo (clumping or running) but love to make their dens under the cover of bamboo. 6.) And finally, it may not work in New England, but they don't eat Magnolia grandiflora (Southern Magnolia)..., but LOVE to rut them in the Autumn. P.S., I have more DEER neighbors than human neighbors, and I JUS' LOVE IT!

I second what Ginny has said. (Shrub borders can be wonderful places for kids to play - secret houses under the branches are a great memory of my childhood.) You can go the route of a very basic fence like wire mesh with shrubs in a staggered row of shrubbery on either side of the fence to camouflage it and provide a thicker hedge and more privacy than a single row of shrubs. Or you can choose a decorative fence like a picket fence with shrubs on your side of it and perhaps lower maintenance perennials on the outside to give it a garden feel, or even just grass (though that will involve mulching or trimming around the fence.) In my experience early fall is the best time to plant shrubs. The soil is warm which keeps roots growing, particularly if you mulch after planting to help hold the warmth in and prevent freeze-thaw cycles through the winter, but the air is getting cooler so that there is less moisture getting pulled out of the plant. I have planted both deciduous and evergreen shrubs in the fall with 100% success. Our spring tends to be rather short and summer heat is stressful on the plants if I plant in spring. I find that they take longer to adjust and more work on my part as far as keeping an eye on water. As far as the hedge itself, you can choose to do all the plants the same which in my view tends to look more formal and a bit less friendly to the outside world. Or you can choose a palette of several plants that you like the look of together and use several of each along the length of the bed. Think about the color, size, and texture of foliage as you plan. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg1208322318994.html The link above will take you to a thread with some photos of a bed I put together to serve as a boundary between a utility area and other parts of the yard which is the less formal mixed type. It's probably not as dense as you will want since I don't need privacy and wanted to mix in some perennials, at least until the woody plants got larger, but could be planted closer to make it denser sooner. I used Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), 'Fat Albert' blue spruce, two arborvitaes (Thuja 'Techny' and Thuja 'Sunkist'), ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolious Coppertina ), several rhododendrons, several Hydrangea paniculata ('Quickfire', 'PinkyWinky', and 'Pink Diamond') and shadbush/serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.) I like a mix of evergreen (conifers and broadleafed) and some of the denser deciduous plants like ninebark, forsythia, or some of the twiggier high bush blueberries which even without leaves aren't very see-through. I also planted some clematis to grow up through the shrubs for more flowers. The link below will show you a bunch of other mixed shrub hedgerows. I wasn't too successful at finding photos of borders of one type of plant that hadn't been seriously trimmed/pruned. Here is a link that might be useful: Shrub border Google

Ada, I am going to suggest some other actions.....as I am fully aware of this exact kind of situation. First, what kind of damage are they doing? What does the fence have to do with it? · Use the security camera to obtain pictures of students in the act. Take those pictures to any department that seems appropriate. I would start at the President's office and let it move downstream. The Dean of Students may also be a resource. · Take pictures of the damage. If they are causing damage that results in repairs or replacements, document the costs. You need to remember that a university isn't responsible for what their students do on private property, UNLESS you can prove criminal intent or outright vandalism. If that is the case, and you have the films and pictures, you should take the problem to your local police department. If I know exactly what kinds of things that they are doing, I may be able to come up with a better solution than thorny shrubs.....which will rarely solve the problem. Please know that if you plant something that can cause injury to a trespasser, they have legal recourse against YOU. /:-( ·