You can grow pretty much anything with the right setup. I grow most everything hydroponically, though most people would never guess that because I use what would be called a non-recirculating "to waste" system. But that's a fancy way of saying I water plants in pots with fertilizer water, just like everyone else. If you use Al's gritty mix and fertigating you are growing hydroponically. It doesn't have to be a complex recirculating setup. What is important is that the plants are getting their nutrients primarily from the irrigation water. Those recirculating systems get used when people are very concerned about the cost of fertilizer and water. That's generally not that big of a deal for a hobbyist, but when it's a business it sure is. There are people growing all sorts of stuff from lettuce in 2liter bottles of solution (Kratky system) to Disneyland growing 30' rubber trees and bedding plants in huge concrete planrers filled with gravel (essentially Missouri Gravel Bed). I have done a wick based system with perlite and sand. That particular medium and wick combination held way too much water. But I don't see why you couldn't get some kind of self watering thing to work. I am over the whole self watering container thing. I could never get them to behave exactly the way I wanted. On the other hand, timers, valves, and mains water allow for a lot of adjustment. I live on a steep hillside with lots of stairs. I don't like schlepping compost up and down those steps, but I do it because the soil needs organic matter. When the organic potting soil is spent, I can just dump it in the garden and it's not a big deal. However, I have a lot of my propagation stock in gravel, so that I can reuse it without dealing with the stairs. I know if I were gardening on a roof, I would want to minimize hauling medium. I would probably use pumice and calcined clay ( or better yet Axis (diatomaceous earth)). And if you're an engineer, a fun project is making a irrigation controller out of an Arduino, a relay board, and a 24v transformer.

Eric, It's fine to have "elegant and eye catching" as a goal. In that context, wouldn't you still wish to accomplish the basic objectives of landscaping ... screen undesirable views ... enhance desirable views ... provide a sense of protection or sheltering for certain areas, etc.? ... which is why I asked about your thought process on analyzing what you have. From the brief description of your proposals, I could imagine how either might make an artistic statement, but not how they'd accomplish the aforementioned general goals of landscaping. "Formal" and "informal," in my mind, don't do a very good job of describing what something might appear like. "Formal" wouldn't necessarily look like a Victorian scene, but that's what most people associate with it. I'm not against large pots, per se, but when you add "placing them around the yard," I'm thinking that such plants might ought to be huge, if they're going to have an appropriate scale (the house is tall) and give the impression that they don't need to be replaced with larger material. I can't really imagine that you'd be thinking of buying such large containers ... when formal looking plants planted in the ground would be so much more affordable. Doesn't it seem like some analysis is necessary ... or is this only about a superimposed artistic vision?

There's no lack of support here! I'm in zone 5, and I'd be more than happy to help! There are many good points to gardening in the north, and a few bad ones... but aside from our cold winters, which are good for growing plants that require a cold dormancy, the other seasons are wonderful! Let us know when you get to zone 5, and we'll be here to help! I have rather shallow raised beds for veggies... I grow bush green beans, short carrots, tomatoes, pea pods, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, peppers, okra... you name it! Just remember that the edges, especially, will dry out faster... keep an eye on moisture content. It's entirely possible to grow kind of shallow... the roots simply go in a different direction under the soil, spreading out horizontally rather than growing quite so vertically.

Replacing the tree in the front yard is on the next-year list. Your guess of Sorbus acucuparia was spot on; that's what this one is. It began as a multistem tree and is losing one trunk per year. I think voles may be eating the bark just below the soil surface. Now it has only one trunk that is leaning at an odd angle. So that will be replaced for certain, and perhaps the bed that contains it will be moved or reconsidered. No other trees are on the table for now. We have glorious mountain views and we have been very careful to frame them deliberately. In this case I'm much more concerned with the view from the house than the view of the house. The tree on the right in Yardvaark's photo would block a spectacular view. Of course, you had no way of knowing that. :) But rest assured, the front yard has generous clumps of aspen trees that do soften the overall look of the front yard. Also Yardvaark, it's pretty easy to reconcile liking the idea of a tree yet not actually wanting one. In the abstract, small trees look nice anchoring house corners. Yet in specific, in this particular case with the long and lean layout of the front porch, I prefer that to be left open. Make sense? That said, if I could find the perfect, small, well-behaved, interesting tree to put in the left corner of the foundation, I would consider it. I've always wondered about Hawthorne trees because they stay narrow. Deviant, I just love the look of that entryway patio and porch. That creates a very welcoming face on the house and is probably a lovely place to linger and socialize with the UPS guy. Thanks for sharing the photo. Thanks for the ideas and input, I am benefiting from the collective wisdom here. I am home from my trip now and will have a look at my space with fresh eyes.