wow that was quick! thank yoU! I think aquilegia seeds are poisonous, so I sadly think I might have to dig these up. I was concerned about number 1 too though - so hope someone can help me with that! Lesley

Suz-- you're so luck to have such a big space in full sun. Here's my suggestions: 1. Work out some sort of curve that's pleasing to the eye. Use a hose or paint to mark it out. Curves are much nicer than straight lines, and you get varying depths that way. 2. Use a few evergreens throughout to create a structure that will look good in both winter and summer. Put a tall evegreen (eg Spruce) at each corner. Use a couple of smaller evergreens (eg hollies) app 6' high in the middle somewhere. Put at least two sets of three small evergreens (like boxwood) in the middle somewhere. 3. Put a beautiful small tree near each end. 4. Then go to town with whatever bulbs, perennials etc you like. Use larger areas of one color for a really lovely show. 5. Repeat things. eg big clump of shasta daisies-- use two of them. Check out a mail order catalogue like Bluestone Perennials for more different kinds and sizes of plants so that you get highs and low spots. These vendors also offer plans for whole gardens of differet types, worth studying. I have deer and rabbits in my yard, so I favor things that they don't eat. I also try to plant what is vigorous and blooms a long time, and what hummingbirds love. I have had great luck with these: Daffodils are wonderful. They're poisonous, so nothing eats them. Agastache 'Ava'. Tall pink hummingbird mint. Hummers like it. It gets app 5' tall, long spikes of small pink flowers. Three together makes a 5 x 5' show. Plants in spring, you will have flowers this summer. Bees love this, too. In high summer will have 4 or 5 different kinds of bees in it, all sizes from tiny to big. clematis would look beautiful climbing on that fence, and won't pull it down. Needs sun for bloom, but put a stone over the roots to keep roots cool. Later other plants can shade the roots. Shasta daisies. I love these for cutting, for the clean whiteness. Big clumps are great. You can get them from 12' to 5' Monarda. Hummingbirds love. Red or pink balls. Very vigorous. Anywhere from 18" to 5' plants, your pick. Coreopsis. Yellow and gold. Vigorous, self-sow all over, but really pretty. Everywhere from 30" to 12". Daylily Stella D'Oro. This is the gorgeous short gold daylily you see all over. Vigorous, beautiful. Will get a flower or two the first year, a real show from then on. Catmint, nepeta. This is a low spreader, tiny blue flowers. Blooms first year, bees love this. People walking by stop to ask what this is. Saponaria. Spring blooms, bright pink. Very lovely-- makes big droopy clumps. Big spreader. Doesn't bloom all summer, but does bloom more than 6 weeks. Dianthus Bath's Pink. This is a wonderful plant. Spreads beautifully, very vigorous. Blooms long, and lovely scent that wafts. Blooms at least 6 weeks in spring. This beats all the other hardy pinks for showiness and vigor. A lovely pink that shows up a long way. Foliage is blue. Lavender-- does well if you cut it back hard each spring. Rudbeckia Goldsturm. Gold with brown centers. Looks like velvet. Stunning. Blooms about 6 weeks in July. Any of these make a great show, are vigorous and spread out. Only the daylily is susceptible to critters eating it. But with your fence, I don't think you have to worry. Enjoy all the planning.

I'm back a bit more than 1 month later with good news and information about what worked. To recap: I thoroughly vacumed the Purrfect Post, kitty was willing to scratch it and I put a treat on the base of it afterward. Since then, 1. Anything she had scratched (except the post) was sprayed with an orange scented room freshner spray from Walmart since cats aren't supposed to like citrus scent and I wanted to cover up the scent she left from her claws (I didn't realize they are scenting with their claws and that keeps them coming back!). I did this two days in a row. 2. Little spray bottles of water were placed next to where we usually sit or stand. Anytime she scratched the furniture, we kept quiet and merely gave her an immediate squirt. 3. Whenever she woke up, I led her to the post, praised her for scratching it and placed a treat or two on the base of the post ("all natural temptations chicken flavor" since that brand is more food than junkfood and didn't upset her stomach). 4. We trimmed just the little tiny tips of her claws when they got very sharp (about two weeks or so). I noticed, if she had longer, sharper claws she seemed to want to use them more. She hardly ever claws furniture now! No more furniture snags & thread pulls. The times she is likely to make an "error" is when she wakes up from sleeping on my lap so I walk her to the post right away to prevent it. The other day I was in the kitchen and she walked up to me and meowed like she wanted something. I said "Show me" and took a step toward her (did this with my last kitty too). When she saw I was going to follow her, she led me to the room where the post is and scratched it! She just wanted to be sure I noticed! These kitties are so smart-- See how well THEY train us! She uses the post on her own more often now, without prompts, praise or treats from me. I think we are over the hump. Thank you all for your help!

When I started feeding raw back in 2007, a few of my kibble-fed adult cats were VERY resistant. They just didn't recognize raw meat as food after years of feeding commercial garbage. But they all came around in time. I was truly amazed, though, when I later rescued a couple of 5-6 week old kittens who had been abandoned on my road. They were both emaciated and were having trouble getting their digestive systems to reacclimate to regular meals. I initially fed them KMR mixed with canned food, but their appetites were inconsistent, and their stools were runny. After a week or two, I decided to see if they would do better on a more natural, raw meat diet. I had no idea whether they'd even be willing or able to eat raw meat at that age, though. I needn't have worried. The first time I offered them little pieces of raw chicken, their inner carnivores emerged. They snatched those meat pieces, growling fiercely, and swallowed them down as though their lives depended on it! They didn't have so much as an instant of hesitation. They knew exactly what that raw meat was for because their taste buds had not been corrupted and confused by a lifetime of commercial food like my adult cats. Not only were their appetites for meat both instinctive and insatiable, but their GI tracts almost immediately settled down, and their stools firmed right up! All hail raw meat!!! Laurie