"Is the American Holly compatible with septic tanks and leach beds?" It depends a lot on the specifics of your system. Most new septic systems are not prone to damage from smaller trees. Planting any type of tree directly over or very near a septic tank is not a good idea because of the need for access. "How deep would one have to go..." Here is a rough/generic rootball size guide for transplanting trees and shrubs. Soil type, tree species, and other factors are not taken into account, but it will give you an idea: For trunk diameter below 1/2", multiply the diameter by 20 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1/2" and 1", multiply the diameter by 18 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1" and 1-1/2", multiply the diameter by 16 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1-1/2" and 2-1/2", multiply the diameter by 14 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 2-1/2" and 4", multiply the diameter by 12 to get approximate rootball diameter. Here are guidelines for rootball depth: For a rootball with a diameter of 1', depth should be approximately 8". For a rootball with a diameter of 2', depth should be approximately 1'. For a rootball with a diameter of 3', depth should be approximately 15". For a rootball with a diameter of 4', depth should be approximately 18". Here is a link that might be useful: Generic Rootball Size Guide

Greenthumbz, those are gorgeous pics! I've heard that there are a couple of trees that are not native to North America but are used by significant numbers of native insects. 1) Malus/Crabapples - native, hybrid, or exotic, Douglas Tallamy's book stated that the leaf chemistry is so similar that North american insects will use all species. This certainly bears true in my experience. I've got lots of crabs, a few specimens and a crazy wild thicket full of them in back,and they are bird magnets, not just for the fruits in the fall but for the nectar and insects in spring and summer. 2) Picea abies/Norway spruce - don't have any personal experience, but was told this by an ornithology student at Cornell who was doing a study on the subject

balloonflower, I will be regularily trimming growth before it yellows. florauk, It will be going into a giant container (about 5 times in size) as soon as it is adaquately filled with roots. The mint will be in a south facing window with direct unobstructed sun light for about 6 hours in a day, the rest of the day there will be indirect bright light (Approx 5000 - 20000 lux). I will also be supplimenting CFL light on top of that; a 45W bulb on each plant, which will be on 18hrs/day. This will generate an additional 10000-20000 lux for each plant. As for the winter rest, I'm not sure. If I have to burn it out to find out what happens, then sobeit, but I dont want to leave this plant out all winter and chance its death. Here is a picture of both plants:

Some sort of dogwood - Cornus drummondii, or Cornus racemosa, maybe. Cotinus obovatus is a native smoketree, but would get too big for your spot. Redbuds generally stay compact, and Cercis canadensis is definitely a local native. Bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) is probably not big enough for what you have in mine. I am guessing that there has to be some sort of Holly or Viburnum that would do well in that type of situation as well.