We have one of those nurseries in my area, surrounded by homes of the Rich and Famous, replete with private golf clubs, tennis courts, etc., etc. Their indoor sales area is about as large as the outdoor garden sales area and features hundreds of potted tropical & houseplants, every conceivable size and design of ornamental pots and garden knickknacks, plus a bookstore, stocked only with garden related tomes. Outdoors, there is a large garden railroad and a huge Koi pond, which, during the summer season, is decorated like a jungle. Huge selections of annuals, many trees & shrubs, but slim choices for the perennial gardener. They have an affiliated company, that performs landscape design, installation & maintenance, so I suppose they stock what is mostly used in that business. Within the building, there is a large conference room, that will accommodate about 100 people, which is available, free of charge, to garden clubs and plant societies. Aside from attending many meetings there each year, it's always a treat for me to browse through the sales areas, while munching on a bag of popcorn, which is also free, from an antique popcorn machine. They offer discounts to groups that meet there regularly, but even so, everything is still terribly expensive, except when they have a clearance sale. The company has been in business for more than 100 years and started as a seed store, later branching into a catalog mail-order business, which was terminated several years ago. I suppose, that in certain locations, there is a niche market for that type of business, but it surely isn't a mainstream nursery that most gardeners would frequent!

Hello... thanks for the replies. First, Jay, yes, I am actually in zone 7a and think this tree will be fine here. I have another and larger Slash pine that I have had for about 4 years and it has done fine. Its my understanding on a couple of other tree sites I have seen on that Slash pines are zone 7a-10a. I have also seen a few Slash around here growing on roadsides. Brandon7 - your right, I just have not updated that "zone" on my computer, but I am in zone 7a now. Also, I do have them in good draining soil. Its just where that one is in a lower/flatter spot on the lawn and naturally it was the one with the thick clay soil... that was the one with standing water. We had a heavy soaking rain again today and water was pooled up around the base of the tree. The others are in good draining soil, but I know for a fact I have the "top root" below the soil level, but I think I planted my Loblolly pines the same way and they have done extremely well. Got lucky I guess? Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 70°, so I guess I will dig a couple of them up that I know I may have planted too deep. I think some of them I did plant the top root about soil level. I wish I could remember. Thanks again.

Strange is almost an understatement . . . I feel like I've been gardening in the Twilight Zone. My annual JB grand fiesta was a non-event this year, thrips hardly made a showing, mosquitos DIDN'T make a showing and blackspot -- well, what's that? Have we finally succeeded in eradicating BS from Planet Earth? Undoubtedly, a bone-chilling spring & very late freeze followed by an ultra dry/hellishly hot summer are factors that contributed to these eerie conditions. And, yes, I did spray -- but not nearly as frequently as in the past. On the negative side, 3 roses that I've grown for years chose this season to reveal that they've been infected with RMV all along. Otherwise, it's been a banner year (albeit a highly peculiar one). Next season, the fates are sure to extract their due . . . just you wait. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fall flush and maintain a vigilance to see if I can catch a glimpse of Rod Serling lurking out there around the potting shed.

Westelle, I'd like to see that photo, thanks! Wanda, I've been looking at photos of clematis winding around with climbing roses and got that idea. Didn't realize they weren't an evergreen, hadn't gotten that far in my planning yet, thanks. I am so used to plants that do die back in the winter. Lowe's, HD etc are like candy stores to me and alot of times the info is not complete especially zone info and I thought I plotted carefully for what I did put in the yard. I was thinking dips below 32 and primarily how hot summer is here, had no idea we were going to have two weeks straight so far below freezing. BTW they were 2 degrees off last night, it was 26 not 28 and when I got up at 8am the back yard temp said it was 24 and from the frost on the ground I believe that one! I'll look up the ones you're advising on with the exception of Star Jasmine. I really love the smell of the flowers and love it in someone else's yard:) I would have thought that the way your back yard is enclosed your plants would have made it through better, sorry they didn't, you had some great looking plants, amazing what did survive. What will you do on the others, I know you're waiting for spring, but will you cut them all down or just cut back to where new growth starts on each plant at whatever height that is? Thanks for sharing your photos too. You can't measure in money your time and years in your plants, well you can, they'd be very, very expensive plants. I forgot my one verbena didn't make it through this freeze and my 8 lantana were toast from the first freeze. On a bright note I do have bulbs that are growing. I know what I planted but the writing washed off the stakes:) I'm trying to figure out where the crocus' are, in the mountains they'd be growing first by now and blooming soon, here I don't know, it looks like what's coming up now are iris. I planted those two, daffodils and narcissus. So I do have some color to look forward to while waiting to replant in the spring. Leslie