Here's the picture you wanted. [IMG]http://i46.tinypic.com/2wf5q2b.jpg[/IMG] I can't remember what it looked like in winter, unfortunately. It seems to me that it's either a Viburnum Farreri, or a Viburnum x bodnantense, judging by the shape and colour of the foliage. Having said that, I don't remember it losing it's leaves over winter, but it may have done. Don't go into the garden a lot in winter, and I can't see it from the house.

Yes I think it is Oleander. Thankyou for your post. What a wonderful forum.

If cost isn't a problem... Then plant what you want to plant and enjoy. Trim / Remove later as necessary. Keep in mind also, depending on many factors, some trees will grow much more slowly than expected, some may grow faster. I have just less than 1/2 acre. If I just counted right in my head, I have 27 trees currently planted, not counting volunteers. Including 2 weeping willows, A curly willow, a pussy willow, poplars, river birches, all the things they tell you not to plant in a residential lot. Over half are 50+ foot trees when mature. I planted about 50 dogwood bushes last summer, now many are over 6' tall, some around 10' tall. I now have 4 Japanese Maples planted, and am planning on getting more. I also have about 60 different Hosta. I've totally enjoyed planting these trees, most just in the past year. It is a blast to watch them grow. I am particularly fond of the weeping willow I planted right by the road in the front yard. It was a 4 foot high stick just about a year ago and now is close to 15' high by 10' wide. It's fun. I find good deals on most of my trees, and the most expensive one was about $90 for a Autumn Blaze maple (10+ gallon pot) that was rather large - I would never buy a large one again, It is growing very slowly this year, while I watched a $10 maple (that came in a 1 gallon pot) of the same type just a short distance away grow to close to the same height as the $90 maple and grow branches like mad. At this rate, next year, the $10 tree will actually look larger than the $90 tree. In 5 or 10 years if I have to heavily prune some trees, bonsai them, remove them, or what not, then that is the way it is. I'm planting some sumac and a tree of heaven also (in a great big pot). I also have over 70 trees growing in pots currently. Some will be bonsai, some I will sell, some I will plant. If you later figure out a tree is a problem, try to remove while it is small enough you can do it. If cost isn't an issue, let the sucker grow and have it professionally trimmed / removed as necessary. I can manage pruning and removal of all but the very largest trees. I took down my 60' + dying spruce last summer with a sawzall. I get compliments on my landscaping from strangers that walk by, on a very regular basis, though some think I am crazy with all my trees, many appreciate the beauty of it, including me. I do vote for getting some long lived trees going if at all possible, such as the oak your speaking of. The oak is a good tree that should last more than your life time with reasonable care. Jamie p.s. don't plant any weak wooded trees real close to the house e.g. willow, poplar, silver maple. and I share ken's dislike for most fruit trees on smaller lots. Were planting some new fruit trees up north on 5 acres, which is fine on that size lot. In the city I limited my fruit trees to a single semi-dwarf cherry tree - that gets cleaned up rapidly by the birds. Thought my parents have had a apple tree in their side yard (city lot) for 20+ years with few problems, it is kind of out of the way, so the bugs don't bother them and it does need to be sprayed if you want to have good apples.

Hunter, I would check ebay. They have nice 3 gallon sized washingtonias for 20 dollars including shipping and they are pretty good quality. They are dirt cheap in areas where they grow well. And US Marine, Virginia Beach is a zone 8b. But the same latitude on the west coast (about San Fran) is still a zone 10 despite much much cooler water temperatures. Unfortunately during the winter the wind blows offshore on the east coast which means that we dont get the moderating effects from the ocean as much as the west coast. In comparison to the east coast, the water temperatures on the west coast are much colder. During the summer, the water temperature here in NYC is usually the same or warmer than San Diego! I wish we were as mild as the west coast though. NYC would easily be a zone 9! -Alex