Well :) ... I have the lovely challenge of a North facing balcony on the 3rd floor with a maple towards the front of it (not extremely close)and in Minnesota. My challenges have been to find shade-tolerant, winter hardy (to -30,-40), and my balcony has a roof. I currently have in my planters 2 Annabelle hydrangea's, a 5ft alberta spruce tree, CL. Iceberg rose, New Dawn rose, 2 "The Fairy" roses, 1 variegated Weigela, Morden Centennial Rose, Spreader Yew shrub, Ramona Clematis, and a Blue Princess Holly bush (which overwintered fine but I decided to replace). Last year I planted two Lamium plants(one in each half barrel planter) and each completely covered the front of each from top to bottom, side to side :)

I don't. Even if the soil I repot a plant in doesn't say it has food in it, I still don't feed it to give the plant time to settle in and use up the nutrients that are already in the soil.

I love seeing photos of landscaping, too. It is great for ideas and inspiration. To tide you over with some juicy photos, I linked a website called "Landscaping Ideas". At the top of the website, you can filter your search by Yard Type (front, back, side), Location (zone, state), etc. Lots of landscaping eye candy. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Yardshare - Landscaping Ideas From Your Neighbors

Dorothy, I never thought of it that way. Although, I have to admit that I enjoy watching DS deal with a two-year-old and it does seem like 'payback' (hee hee) for all the grief he gave us when he was little. So, I guess I'll get to enjoy watching him be on the adult side of the adult-teenager conflict one of these years. Paula, I remember that age well....."dumber than a box of rocks" pretty much sums up what most teenagers think about their parents when those kids reach that age. LOL Aren't you glad they outgrow it? You're raising some little gardeners too, and it reminds me of the old saying "If I'd known grandkids would be so much fun, I would have had them first." Isn't it just the most fun to share those home-grown pumpkins with the kids? I always get the greatest sense of pride from eating/using anything and everything we raised ourselves. And, you should be proud because your grandkids are learning early on just where their food comes from AND how they can be a part of the whole process. Mandy, If your mom says that your daughter's behavior is a little more "intense" than yours was, well, you know what that means.....it means it is your DH's fault because she got the entra fiesty genes from him! LOL I vote for having chickens. We have had them ever since we moved here and there's nothing better than farm fresh eggs. However, you absolutely must have a 100% predator-proof chicken coop and securely fenced chicken run or your kids' hearts will be broken when predators get your birds and your eggs. Every child that comes to our place is simply 100% fascinated with the chickens and their eggs. I know of at least one young boy who wouldn't eat eggs at all until he got to start gathering eggs at our house and taking them home with him. When I hear the name 'Felicity', two images come to mind. One is the TV show, 'Felicity', which was on in the late 1990s-early 2000s and starred Keri Russell in the title role. The other is the American Girls doll, Felicity. So, when I saw your daughter's name, those two pleasant images came to mind and now that you've described her, I can picture her in my mind and I see a darling and spirited young girl who loves to garden and who will, later on in her teens, give you every gray hair you have. I love traditional names too. Dorothy, Love the iron hand in the velvet glove reference. I think it is true, too. As long as those kids know there is an iron hand inside that velvet glove, the iron hand doesn't have to put in an appearance very often because just knowing it is there is quite a deterrence. You know, everyone, raising kids is a lot like raising a garden.....and don't we all know it! Dawn P.S. Mandy, I linked the American Girls website to show you their Felicity. One of our nieces had the 'Molly' doll when she was younger because Molly looked just like her and that was her favorite toy for years. Here is a link that might be useful: The Felicity Doll