Thanks for you comments. I really appreciate it. It is really hard for me to visualize what the landscaping will look like in 10 years. I usually buy perennials that I like, and then find a place to put them, moving them if needed. The spruces were mature trees, and last winter we noticed all three losing needles in huge sections. I was hoping it was seasonal, but they continued losing needles until one side was almost bare, and then the front started losing needles from the bottom up. I assumed that it was either the drought we had the previous year, or perhaps just old age. I didn't notice any obvious bugs or disease. I would love to put in some rhodies, but I don't think they'd like the hot sun all afternoon. I will have to look and see if there are some which kinda like the sun. I'll look into the shrub roses as well, although I'm not sure what they'd look like in the winter. I'll also look into andromedas as well. I'm thinking, if I have enough room, maybe I need to have 2 rows of shrubs, one sun loving facing the road and evergreen, and then one shade loving facing the house. Annie

at the link.. is a guy who knows how to buy mulch ... i had suggested.. way back when.. a delivery by stake truck ... i dont recall having read how you did it all .. though i do recall that you suggested it nearly killed you .. lol... if you asked.. i missed it.. the one time i bought black mulch ... it retained so much heat.. and got so hot in the sun.. it cooked some of my groundcover type plants ... so .. in the future.. you might want to go a different direction ... in fact.. with your blue house .. an un-colored mulch.. which fades to grey would be my suggestion ... BTW.. is yours actually dyed black.. or is that just natural??? the soil in these pics.. look KINDA dry ... if its just surface.. that OK ... if your finger..a t 2 or 3 inches.. indicates to is still damp.. down in the root mass ... i suspect i know why your mulch is pulled so far back ...but if that is basically the surface of what was in the pot. and you did not break the pot ball up well ... you might want to not leave the mulch at the edge of where the pot was ... bring it closer to the trunk ... but not mounded on the trunk .... it will help alleviate the 'look' of being bone dry ... and finally.. it looks just like most of my picea pungens .. [how about you move toward latin names] .... they are some of the latest conifers to get a move on .... your buds look just fine .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

cal ... do not buy the picea pungens .... wait until spring ... to verify its spring color .... the blue.. is a waxy coating.. its is prime.. the best ... at spring flush .. this is when you buy an unnamed variety ... if you want to buy now.. you buy a named variety.. [of which we can provide names and mail order places] ... and do to such.. there will be predictability of color .. as a waxy coating.. it wears off to some extent.. over the summer.. high heat.. rain storms... sprinklers.. just to piss you off ..... etc ... so they all dull up to some extent.. as summer rolls by ... if you look in the interior.. you will see 2 and 3 years old needles.. nearing the green color all needles are.. under the wax.. this is all normal .. regardless.. BUY A NAMED VARIETY ... even if you have to buy smaller and mail order ... and it will make your toes tingle.. too many peeps buy unnamed seedlings... which are kinda blue.. and hope they will be like the ones that make your toes curl ... odds are.. it wont be .... go for quality .. over the instant gratification of size.. pic below of my Picea pungens Hoopsi.. at spring flush.. showing its annual growth.. starting from a one gallon ... one foot turd ... ken it was a blue turd.. lol...

It does have a great bright color. So your planting eight 'C. Blue'? That will be one beautiful bIue grove. I don't have one, but was thinking about adding one last year. I have since decided to not add anymore Picea pungens since all of mine recently suffered from needle cast. I'm going to be treating them with fungicide every spring and fall now, or keep a closer eye on them now to prevent it from possibly happening again. I'm not sure how they fare in St. Louis, but it seems to be a gamble here. Some do great and grow large and beautiful, untouched by the needle cast, and some get ugly, loosing a lot of needles. Happy planting.