Paula I think the smokebush won't be as neat as I'd like... unless I plant them close together then maybe they would form an even background, but I'm not sure how long it would last. I bet eventually one would overwhelm another and it would get thick and thin and uneven. Pencil holly... I considered that but was just too lazy to take the cuttings and wait till they were big enough. Then with my luck global warming would take a year off and they'd all die one winter (they're borderline here) Purple- I guess I see your point, but whoever follows me here is more than welcome to do some bulldozer landscaping if mine doesn't suit them.... and if I don't make it that long I'm sure the wife can dig into the insurance a bit and do the same. Life's too short to be ruled by resale or home value. I want to experiment and create something, for anything less I could just hire a landscaper for some cookie cutting. I guess some people like vinyl, others not so much. IMO it makes me feel like I'm gardening inside a human Tupperware container. Oh and I'm bad with pots.... dead plants in pots along the fence would probably not be a plus :) but come to think of it I've seen some nice fences with mirrors, garden art, pots, even complete vertical gardens.... I'll stick to the maintenance of a hedge though before I get into all that. Nice ideas though, thanks!

Please help! Our manettia luteorubra has a problem: The leaves turn brownish-black (see picture). It is flowering and growing, and the very new growth is at first not affected. We planted it last spring, and we noticed the browning leaves some months ago. We have a second firecracker vine that does not show the symptoms and looks very healthy. It is next to the sick one, maybe four feet away in the same patch of soil. Can anyone tell us what's wrong? We would be happy about any hint! Thank you! Image link:

Are you certain that is a lady beetle? I have new bugs this year that I have never seen before and they are making holes in all of my morning glory leaves. The bugs are the size of a lady bug, but they look like someone has gold-leafed their wings. I caught a pair of them apparently breeding last evening and put them in a small bottle so I could take them to the extension office to try to get them identified. Funny thing happened to them though, after they had been in the bottle for a while their wings lost the metallic gold look and turned to a deep dark red orange nearly the color of a lady beetle, but without the dots. If anyone has an answerI would love to know what they are. I handpick such critters since my garden is organic. Thanks for your thoughts on these lovely little munchers. spiderwoman

Like the two earlier post, that's natural for this plant at this time of year. Especially for one grown in full sun. I have noticed that my vine maple growing under the canopy of large conifers, the leaves are all still green, while out in the open they are showing some red.