Oddly enough, I am presenting Phase IV of a 1970' condo redo tomorrow morning. The thing that you might find interesting is that they are converting a lot of area into lawn to save on maintenance costs. The cost of bark mulch and weeding has been killing them. The maintenance crew cheif loves it more than anybody. Mowing equipment is very fast and just about anyone can do it with good results. Environmentally incorrect? Well, here's the thing. There is high nitrogen in the ground water from septic systems that migrates from miles away toward the coastal ponds in the area. Lawn is a heavy consumer of nitrogen. One way to look at that is to assume that excessive fetilizer will be dumped onto the grass to try to make it greener than green resulting in the excess going into the groundwater and eventually causing algae blooms in the ponds. An alternative is to harness the grass's ability to consume nitrogen by using wells to remove the existing groundwater with its excessive nitrogen from the ground and feeding it to the grass. The water returns to the ground and continues on to the ponds with less nitrogen than it had before because the grass uses it up. I'm sure that it is a very different ecosystem where you are than what we have up here, but it is interesting in terms of regional differences. Think about all of the conditions the various parts of your site are in such as lawn, natural woodlands, perennial beds, younger shrub plantings, treed areas, understory areas, buildings, pavements, surface water or whatever else there is. Ask yourself and others what they really like about where the current landscape. That is how we started with this and another similar condo redo project that I was involved in. That will give you (the collective you) a better understanding of the quality of life issues that are part of what you as a community value. Those quality of life values have to balance out with other values such as cost, environmental consciousness, or others. It can be very easy to make a mistake in applying only your own balance of values and imposing them on your community with only the best of intensions. You stated that one of the problems that is driving up the cost of your maintenance is the mature planting. You also make a strong statement about the unused lawn area in terms of energy, water, emmissions, and money. The assumption is that what lies between these two extremes of conditions is either very little in terms of area, or does not drain your resources. Could converting toward those undescribed conditions keep maintenance costs down without introducing an experimental condition or changing the quality of life that the community enjoys? Look around your area to see what is working on other sites before you become a pioneer. Usually, good ideas catch on and become common place especially if they are economical. If you don't see fabulous swathes of wildflowers as you envision it is much more likely that they are not so easy or not so economical than thought rather than you being the first to consider it. One of the best things you can do for economy, environment, maintenance, and successful landscaping is to put in place what would grow naturally. You need to be more proactive than just getting a list of native plants. You need to know the local conditions very well and recreate what would grow there if we all disappeared and nature reclaimed it. You also have to be very aware of what might try to "reclaim" your plantings. The biggest problem with the wildflower "set it and forget it" seed mixes is Darwinism. Competition. Sometimes it is competition between what comes out of the seed bag, but more likely it is going to be some other crop that is better suited than what was in the mix. Local conditions are going to weaken some plants dominance while enhancing anothers. What will you wind up with? Hopefully, others in your area have found out and it is good, but you should do your best to find out before you commit.

I live in Manchester, CT and I need some expert advice as to what type of grass seed to plant in the Fall and which brand name. I received some advice from other forums telling me that KBG is the better grass seed to go with. However, there is some caution as I as reading to use only the top seeds like Midnight and Moonlight Blend. Any expert advice from anyone here would be greatly appreciated. I am leaning towards KBG but would like to other opinions as well. Thanks.

I agree. Don't cut the canes off yet. Plant it and leave it alone. The almost invisible feeder roots fall away with the soil or potting mix each time to check the roots. You should do something to keep the canes from drying out. If potted, place a clear plastic bag over it and tie it tightly at around the pot. Make sure the soil is moist but not soaking wet. The plastic bag will act like a greenhouse, keeping the canes moist as the moisture condenses and the air inside the bag becomes saturated with moisture. Place it in light shade so it doesn't get too hot in the bag. After leaf growth appears poke a few holes in the bag to allow the canes to harden off. After it appears to be growing well plant it in the ground without losing the soil on the roots. To plant a potted rose without losing the soil from the roots, cut the pot on opposite sides. Tie the pot together at the top and half way down. You can also use rubber bands or masking tape to hold it together. Have tthe hole prepared and make it twice as wide as the pot. Just before planting cut the bottom loose from the pot and leave it to help keep the rose from falling out the bottom. Place the potted rose in the hole and slide the bottom out from under the pot. Pull the soil into the hole up to the middle piece of string/masking tape/rubberband. Cut the string/masking tape/rubberband on both sides and continue filling the hole until you reach the top string/masking tape/rubberband. Cut it and continue filling the hole until just the tips of the pot are showing. Pull the cut sides straight up and dispose of them. Your bush won't know it's been moved. Water well, deep, and often until the bush is growing good. Unless you plant in clay, you can't water a new rosebush too much. If you plant the rose directly into the ground cover the canes with a mound of soil to keep them from drying out. After growth appears from the soil mound, you can gentle wash it away or as I do, leave it for Mom Nature to handle.

After stripping the walls, it will most likely require skim coat to restore to smoothness. Use a perforation tool over the wallpaper. Soak it well with Chomp! and remove it. Removal of all paste residue must be done at this time. Wash walls with Dirtex to remove the paste. Prime any damaged areas of wall with GARDZ. Perform all patching or skim coating. Prime entire walls with GARDZ and then repaint to the desired color and texture. Michael