I've a south facing front yard and it's a small plot with tons of flowers - cottage garden style. I've recently started to re-do one part of it because I was disatisfied with the mix. However, recently I've been given one of those front yard recognition signs by the local horticultural society so I think I'm on to something. I've been able to leave my yard unwatered for a week without a problem. So here are the suggestions. When the tulips and daffodils are just coming up - add a lot of new organic based top soil and composted manure. This should get your garden going through the season. Inter-plant with little pansies which will eventually cover up the dying foliage of your tulips & daffodils in early summer. For early spring Tulips Daffodils Crocuses Pansies Bleeding hearts siberian iris bearded iris peony Korean lilac - Miss Kim For early summer thru to early fall lavender (a very drought resistant plant) coreopsis rose - new dawn (climber) Clematis Rose - bourbon (antique rose) ladies mantle crazy daisy shasta daisy day lilies day lily - stella de oro veronica - spicata Purple coneflower (very drought tolerant) lots of different types of creeping thyme lots of regular thyme used herbs such as dill (beautiful flowers), flatleaf parsley (great foliage), sage, chives, greek oregano, etc... nigella - love in the mist love lies bleeding (a surprise from year's crop) Bells of ireland ( another surprise) rumex Yarrow ( a very vigorous plant and a spreader, so take care to contain it if you intend to use it) Delphiniums (magic fountain varieties) Geraniums - Cranesbill type Salvia blue midnight Sunflower - ebony & gold mallows coleus (just planted to fill up voids) Basil (just to fill the voids) Lemon grass (which I started from cuttings). Snap dragons Rudbeckia Goldsturm and some more I just cannot recall The way I've prepared the front yard is to cram everything in so that it looks like a giant bouquet of blooms. It also helps to slow the evaporation process. The new top soil acts as a mulch but is fine enough so new plants can grow. I've prepared it so that it's fun to inspect and to look at all times. So you can imagine that despite the hot sun, I'm out there a lot doing loads of inspection. I especially like the feathery effects of dill and you just need to remove the plant before the seeds start to brown. This prevents the spread. For added interest, I've planters in many elevations with creeping plants simply dripping off the sides. I also group flower colour schemes together so oranges & yellows are close by and bloom at the same time. The blues from the creeping thyme, carpet blue flowers, veronica spicata, clematis Jackmanii, delphiniums are peppered all over the place. Whites are from teh shasta daisies, purples from the greek oregano, lavenders, lilac etc. Pinks from the roses - etc.... You get what I mean.

Stella is how I eased my way into daylilies. I bought them not really knowing anything about daylilies. I wanted to expand my perennial flower beds. They were pretty, cheap, easy to care for, and hardy in zone 5. Those are my criteria for perennials. Two years later, I still like their pretty faces. The Stellas have quite a few other friends now! (I like the very first dandelions that bloom in the spring too!) Becky

Your Stella seems to be getting established. It might take it a little time to settle in but it should be much better next year. The above post about not planting too deep is great advice & should be remembered concerning all daylilies. Keep your Stella moist & she is one strong daylily & should take off for you soon. My Stella's take a rest during July & don't do much but again near the end of Aug take off blooming like crazy until frost. Hang in there & your Stella will do good.

Jessaka, If you get hens, they need a place to be locked up securely at night or they won't last very long. Every predator out there will kill your chicks before they can grow up if you don't have them in a cage with very small mesh. We have a brooder cage for chicks that has 1/4" mesh and very secure doorways so snakes cannot get into the brooder and eat the chicks. If we had flat, even land we'd have a chicken tractor (moveable pen) for them. At our house, our own dogs and cats don't bother the chickens and guineas, but neighborhood dogs, cats, bobcats, ring-tailed cats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, hawks, owls, chicken snakes and rat snakes do. The snakes are only an issue when the poultry are very young and small. Ours have a very secure coop with doors that are closed/latched at night and a fenced-in run. I turn them loose to free range during the daylight hours most days, but not if there are predators around. So, if you get chickens, prepare ahead of time to protect them or you'll lose them very quickly. Your husband reminds me of my dad. We always had a dog when we were kids, and hamsters and fish and stuff, but he did not want a cat. He absolutely did not want a cat. Then, a stray showed up and we started feeding it. Of course that cat became an outdoor pet that was allowed to sleep in the garage, but it had distemper and we had to have it put down after we'd only had it a few months. Dad surprised us by showing up with a kitten to replace that cat....it was a gray half-Persian which we named "Fluffy" for obvious reasons. She became Dad's cat and was the only one, other than him, allowed to sit in "his" recliner in the den. It was just funny that the man who didn't like cats ended up with a very spoiled "Fluffy" who loved to sit in his lap when he was home, and in his chair when he was gone. Deer are creatures of habit and, once they get in a particular habit, it is hard to change their habits. By putting out deer corn near their deer trail all winter long, I've "trained" them to stay back on that part of the property, which is far from the garden, and have only seen a deer on the edge of the woods near my garden a couple of times this spring. Some people keep deer away by playing a radio (this works best if you can run an extension cord to power it unless you want to buy a lot of batteries) near the garden. You run the extension cord out to wherever you put the radio (our neighbor puts his radio in a tree), put the radio in a large zip-lock bag to keep it dry and put it on a talk radio station. Our neighbor has used the radio technique for many years to keep the deer from eating the apples off his trees. After we put up our taller fence last year, though, the deer came and ate his garden....including nibbling the okra down to about 2" from the ground. So, the radio didn't keep the deer out of the garden but it kept them out of the apples and the apple trees are right beside the garden. He has a 3' tall fence, like ours used to be, that kept the deer out for years, but it doesn't work now that the deer can't get into our okra. No matter what you use to keep deer away--whether it is a spray repellent (which haven't worked long here), radio or other noise maker, water sprinkler like the one you described, etc., the deer quickly get used to it, so you have to change tactics often. At the nursery you described that doesn't have deer damage, there is some reason that the deer don't eat their plants and/or garden because if they are hungry, they'll eat whatever they find. Deer are worst in our garden when the hollyhocks or okra, two of their favorite foods, are large and in bloom. Normally, the deer don't bother our tomatoes or peppers, although they'll eat the plants....blooms, fruit, stems and foliage in early spring when they don't have a lot of other stuff to eat. The longer a drought, the more stuff they'll eat that they normally don't touch. I gave up growing hostas, daylilies and begonias because they are "Deer Chow" here. The deer used to eat the fruit right off our fruit trees, but haven't done that in years now. They used to nibble the shrubs (hollies) when the shrubs were young, but don't do that any more either. Feeding the deer in winter does attract "outside" deer that don't live here on the property year-round, but "our" deer herd comes at specific times. To ensure that "our" deer get the food I put out for them, I put it out right about that time (they stand on the edge of the woods and 'scream' for me to feed them if I am late). After our deer herd eats, if there's any left, the other deer can have it, but they'll have to fight the rabbits, coons and wild birds for it. All the wild things are hungry in the winter months. The way I understand it, the deer's digestive systems work differently on a corn diet and a diet of nothing but corn is not good for them. I feed our herd a mixture of deer corn, hen scratch and black oil sunflower seeds. For the most part, the deer revert back to their regular diet once the winter ends, but every now and then one comes to the yard looking for a handout. And, I am not putting out enough feed for it to be the "only thing" they eat all winter--it just supplements their regular, but sparse, winter meals. Lately, I've seen deer come through the yard and walk right past the crows' piles of hen scratch and into the adjacent pasture. Then, the deer stand there in the pasture and eat native plants. So, given a choice they will eat what is better for them. I assume that they travel past the feeding area in summer just because it is a route they are used to. My favorite part of the deer routine is when they bring their babies here to show them off. Often, I am in the garden working and I look up and a tiny fawn on wobbly legs is standing there looking at me. The doe is not in sight. After a few minutes, though, the doe will come back and get her fawn. This has gone on for years. I don't know if they are bringing the fawns to "show them off" or if I am supposed to "babysit" the fawns while the does do something else. Either way, though, I love it when they bring their babies around. Dawn