Except the Japanese White pine (too close to the deodara and the path) I see nothing at all wrong with your planting. In fact it's very well-spaced of a planting! :) That's what I like to see.

I'd move that soft pine to the left of the deodara and behind where there's plenty of room if there's space. Wonderful job.

Dax

Thank you very much for the quick feedback!

I will take your advice and move the pine as soon as I figure out what it is, and identify a good spot for it. (the spot to the left of the deodara is already claimed, unfortunately).

Thanks again.

oh man.. what a setting ...

first.. stop planting tall things in the front ... you are going to block the view to the back ..

the yellow DR should be about halfway back into the large pines.. so it glows back there in the sun ... it will be huge ...

and get rid of that whiskey barrel ... its an embarrassment .. lol ... UNLESS and ONLY IF.. those are kids play buckets.. and it is for them ...

if we find out.. that you are using it to plant things in.. we will bar you from GW ... that is so 1970's ... and my god.. if you tip it over and plant annuals in it.. we will hunt you down .. rotflmbo ...

anyway ...

its time for you to start working in back.. and working your way to the front.. ...

the DR can not be moved if its leafed out.. you will have to wait for fall ... UNLESS you just planted it ... if so .. move it ...

as for the deodara .... pine behind it.. bright sunny spot right 2 inches.. and back one inch .. yeah.. way back there .... and NEVER amend when planting in those large pines....

the ONLY thing that should be planted within 5 feet of that wall.. should be mini conifers ... that will never grow more than a foot tall or so ... so you dont block the depth of your site ..

that looks like a prime setting for hosta .... feel free to come over to that forum.. and be enabled ...

make any sense????

where are you.. NC came to mind with those pines .. am i close ...

ken

...

post several photo of that pine. a photo of the top of a branch shoot looking down it. the underside of a branch. the buds. and especially a cone if there are any.

Dax

great extra pix ...

i presumed there was a big grass area.. before the elevation.. now knowing you play out back.. makes a big difference ..

and i think the DR is placed fine.. looking the other way ...

i REALLY .. really like that elevated patio ...

listen closely.. i will yell ... YOU HAVE DONE SPECTACULAR WORK WITH THAT YARD ... quit calling yourself a novice ...

keep up the great work ..

ken

Thanks for the feedback. I've seen pictures of your garden, which makes it a real compliment.

wrt the stone patio - thanks, I actually did it twice, the first time with leftover field stone from the retaining walls. In the end, I decided to buy proper flagstone, which turned out to be a good decision. Now if I could only get my kids from constantly digging the rock dust between the stones :)

Is it bad that I am already building plans for what to do with the space used by that playground :)?

whats the red tree over by the barbee???

how old are the kids??? why dont you take some of that mulch out of the playground, near the corners .. and encourage them to dig there???? a kids gotta dig you know ...

too bad you dont have room for this .. lol .. ken

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ken - Hey, what's wrong with whiskey barrels?!? I will have to admit that I have some in my back yard used as container gardens(none of them turned on their sides, though lol) but now you have embarrassed me and I will have to get rid of them. I may have to keep one of them that I use as a container water garden for a while - or not - until I can afford to buy a ceramic pot to replace it. At least the barrels are made of good oak so I can burn the wood in my wood stove.

elxe - your yard looks wonderful, very well thought out. You have done an exceptional job, IMHO. It's hard to believe that you are new to this; what a great start to your life of gardening.

Holly

red tree: that's the first thing I planted at the house, a Bloodgood. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a pretty tree (not necessarily that one, but the cultivar in general), but it's as common as the crape myrtles (I have one of those too in the front yard). Since then, I've planted another 8 or so maples, but they're twigs as I have more time than money.

I love the sand pit (I guess sandbox is the wrong word for something on that scale). Clever of you to include the shade. My kids are 5, 2, and one on the way, and would love something like that.

There is a childrens' science museum near me that has a giant "excavation" site where they import soil from marine deposit. Kids that dig in the pit are often rewarded by finding shark teeth or other fossils.

Ken, your kids finding any teeth or bone fossils yet? Is that pig "art" next to the ladder?

Beeeeut of a yard elxe.

I would say your pine is likely P.cembra but it might be P.parviflora. At any rate, it's growing too quick for its' current place.

Only a suggestion where to move it to:
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And elxe could you tell me what the light green plant is to the left of 'Blue Snake', please, as seen (4) up?

Dax

4 up from (your) last photos post. thanks.

Thanks Ken - I will move it this weekend.

I promise that now I keep the labels to everything I put in the ground, but there was a time when I didn't. I thought that _surely_ I would be able to remember. Well, turns out that (possibly because I like to have a beer or two when I work outside) that I can't.

However, I think I can give a big hint by saying that I bought three very similar plants at once, and two of them were definitely Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet', and the third was a lighter/green-yellow cultivar, very possibly 'Dream Joy'

Unfortunately, there are probably a 4 or so conifers in my yard that I don't know the name of.

btw, it looks more upright than it really should be partially because of the way I set the root ball into the group. I'd be happy to take a picture this evening for you if you're curious.

I meant to say "Thanks Dax" for the planting recommendation and id of the pine.

Yes, I would be happy to see a picture. I've been thinking given your climate it most-likely will be Pinus thunbergii (syn. thunbergiana). and the needles are cupped like I'd suspect for thunbergii.

Dax

the last thing i usually hear.. after the after school snack.. is a yell... I AM GOING TO THE SAND PIT.. and the door slamming shut ... mine are 12 and 9 ... there is no joy in the world for them .. greater than the feel of sand/mud in their toes ....

imagine the hose running for 5 hours.. and a bunch of kids wallowing in it ...

you confused me.. move what.. not the DR???? i said it was proper from the back view .... or do you mean the mulch for them to dig?????

and the red headed white freckled dwarf needed shade.. but does he play under it.. noooooo ....

and thank god i am honored to shame someone out of their whiskey barrels.. but i too have used them for water gardens... and that is not a basis for shame.. that is inspired ... i actually had 5 cent goldfish that grew to 8 inches.. living in a full whiskey barrel with a heater and pump.. live for 5 years [z5 winter and all] ... truly rats with gills ... so .... as long as you dont tip them over... and use them wisely.. dont fret ...

and yes.. my wife brought a concrete pig to the marriage ....

and no bones.. just 20 feet of yellow sand ... though the glaciers have left some fossils ...

i actually had to garbage pic an old green slide.. to put the hose on ... because they were eroding the hill towards the neighbors house ....

i think i covered all the questions ...

ken

Ken - you wrote:

"you confused me.. move what.. not the DR???? i said it was proper from the back view .... or do you mean the mulch for them to dig????? "

Yeah, I made a mistake and accidentally wrote your name when I was responding to Dax. He was advising me to move the pine, and suggesting a spot.

My kids would have to be at least 12 and 9 to dig in this NC clay. It is hard work with a mattock to get even a small hole in the ground. Not to mention that woodland area where some of my plants are have tons of roots in the ground.

This picture from 2007 ought to give you an idea about what my soil looks like (and see all those trees we cleared? they left a ton of roots):

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