I would imaging what you have are seedlings...that in time will mature. I would think with maturity you will see the desired look. Time...is what I am thinking they need. I took three seedlings and braided them together...and put them in the ground. They are doing well...and I de-leafed the trunk to braid further up since they have grown since planted last year from original spot they once grew as seedlings from seed spent. But the three together have a decent top canopy for saplings so small by taking three trees and combining them. Possibly that is an option...though...it takes and makes it more ornamental than natural growth with the trunk braided.

I'm also still in recovery mode from this year's garden. I normally do spend time planning next year's garden in the fall and reviewing the previous gardening season in my journal, but I've been pretty busy with other things that thoughts of the garden are considerably rare these days. Everything in the garden is done for the season. We had a fairly large bin of compost that was emptied and spread to make room for chopped leaves. The bin is 2/3s full of leaves already. We extended the front garden by about 4 feet, covering grass with lasagna layers that are waiting for spring. We finally got around to pulling out grass and weeds from an area on the side of the house, that has developed a nice large patch of moss, moved a shurb there and put another lasagna layered area around that for further planting in spring. Added three new shrubs this fall and barely a couple of dozen new bulbs, etc., etc. So I guess I have general plans but I don't like to invest in the details yet, because it's a long winter and you know the old saying 'the best laid plans of mice and men....' In general, the back yard is going to need adjustments. I will be moving things around as usual. The front yard should have the lion's share of any major work. I have overgrown shrubs to come out and I'm 'this close' to mulching over the small patch of lawn that's left and extending the garden bed that is there already. There is a large Maple that I'm hoping to fill in under it with epimedium, hostas, ferns, tiarella, etc. It already has a very good stand of crocus in the spring and I may add other small bulbs next fall. But I'm looking forward to a break this winter as I always do. I want to add more houseplants over the winter, but I won't be giving that a thought until January. A little winter sowing, maybe. I collected a good amount of seed from my favorite Hostas and hope to have seedlings to grow on for the front Maple. As soon as the holidays are over, I'm sure I will be counting the days until spring too. [g]

I am new to it the same as everyone else here. I have been learning from some helpful rose growers in Florida and Texas who say that some years you get more damage and some years will be light. Keeping populations from building up is essential. Heavy pruning in the heat is asking for a Thrips battle. I saw that at nearby Fullerton Arboretum. The plant cannot keep up even if you cut every thrip damaged stem and flower off. The new growth is thin and weak. The canes grow stretched thin in an effort to outgrow the thrips rasping away at the tender tissue. At the end of the year, only thin canes remain and these will have few flowers. A few years like that and the rose fades away to nothing The antique roses at Fullerton were left alone after spring bloom and had little damage on the mature growth. So even though heavy damage was going on nearby, the roses that weren't making an abundance of soft growth seemed to get a break. There was some damage here and there which I would have sprayed. I did tell them about chilli thrips this time last year but how they responded to them seems to be by trying to prune off damaged canes and buds. I don't know for sure, that was just my guess by looking.

harold100, thanks for your feedback - you're right, those bushes were hideous! When you suggest I move the taller plants and put in low plants, do you mean like sunflower tall, or anything over creeping phlox tall? I have a few low plants like some dwarf salvias, creeping jenny, and silver mound artemisia, but if I were moving all the tall plants from the road, I'd have to basically dig and amend another 60 foot bed closer to the house, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that much change, lol. I definitely plan to deal with the moss, but will probably hire someone to take care of it because I am afraid to get moisture under my shingles with a power washer, and I don't own a ladder that tall. I will try garden art to distract from the sign, thanks! I have this armillary sphere from the Philly flower show in my side garden - is that similar to what you were picturing? Ken, thanks so very much! I truly appreciate the encouragement - I am so often inspired by thinking about your responses on this forum to experiment and try things with my plants. For example, I was waffling over foxgloves and couldn't decide whether to winter sow, direct seed, buy small plants, or get larger plants and let them reseed - and then I remembered all the times you have advised someone to try them all and see what works, so I did, lol. I agree that "free" is one of my favorite garden words (right up there with "clearance" and "end of season sale") so I have enjoyed learning ways to make my plantings grow by saving seeds and dividing. I am on the corner of a cul-de-sac of three houses, but I have been careful to keep the sightlines clear, and have my daughter check in her shorter car, too. There is a drainage culvert that runs along the main street (which is to the right of the picture) that gives an extra 6 feet of view before you turn from the cul-de-sac to the street, so that helps, and I haven't planted anything along that side curve. I will try to keep building confidence in my garden decisions, but I'm sure I will kill those required plants along the way. Honestly, I have probably killed enough lupines to qualify there alone! lisanti07028, thank you for the compliment and the good advice! I definitely have to work on my spacing, although I want it close enough to flow together and choke out weeds. It's a tough balance between tightly planted and plants devouring each other! I look at my puny little first year ostrich ferns with their 6 fronds and think, oh, they're so small - but then I make myself look at the ones I planted last year that are arching over the caladium and merging with the oakleaf hydrangea and say, "patience, Jenn!" NHBabs, great advice! I didn't think about the idea of letting the front border be flat for winter, but bulking up the evergreen presence in the foundation area. That makes lots of sense, because it gives that pretty blanket of snow up to the green by the house look. And then spring brings it back to life. I did pick up a red twig dogwood which is near the lamp post, although currently hidden by dahlias and the summer perennials. I'm not sure what I want to do about the garage - I'm really not sure I can plant anything there. The arborists ground the stump of the huge cherry tree that used to be there, but the roots are still everywhere, and the soil is like concrete. The reason people tend to use it as a path is the overhang - my kids got used to using it as a shortcut to the car in the rain. Currently, there's an 8 foot mulch bed there, and I was kind of wondering about a narrow raised bed with paver stones or maybe a big huge planter with a trellis for a clematis (I have this sweet autumn clematis in a pot I haven't found a good spot for yet...) I am excited to research your specific plant suggestions for winter and early spring interest. I do have iris and crocus and scilla and snowdrops and hellebores, but they are all in the backyard. I take too many photos, so I will definitely go back and look through and see where seasonal interest is lacking. For example, it's much less interesting in very early spring... And in winter, there's basically nothing. Again, thanks all! Off to research plants with berries, evergreens, and flowering evergreen groundcovers. (There are flowering evergreen groundcovers?!?!)