For one thing: DON'T step in your garden when its wet. Just leave it alone, you'll only compact the soil. Any cultivated soil will become thick, deep mud when when. I am very proud that rows in my garden have two feet of mud after it rains - I had to till deeply and repeatedly to get it that way! I also have a garden over clay with drainage problems (at the bottom of a hill). My solution has been to shovel deeply between rows down to more compacted soil, and to pile dirt into taller rows. The path between rows is more solid because it is just a little topsoil over clay and can be walked on when wet, and the rows themselves do not go under water. All that shoveling is also a great workout! You can see it here where the furrows are wet, but can be walked on, and the rows themselves have dried out.

in my zone 5 .. i would move them about mid-october .... which would give me about 90 days until soil freeze ... and they would be safe from high temps or indian summer temps ... perhaps a call to you local extension office or soil conservation office will get you a better idea of the proper timing ... because timing is everything ... try the phone book under US Government ... the conifer would be no different than the other... a plant is a plant ... water well ... in advance ... dig the new hole first... dig out the plant... move to new hole.. insure PROPER water until late in the fall .. do NOT drown them ... and you will be responsible for PROPER water all next year ... both need water.. neither is a swamp plant.. so let them dry out in between watering ... good luck ken

There is an end table my mom wants to get rid of, and I thought, wow, I can make a Swamp themed, for lack of a better word, "topper". I have gotten some plywood from our new craft store, it';s a Micheals crafts store. I got it cheap there. My mom got me a $50.00 gift card for my birthday, in October. That on top of a 40% coupon in our local paper add-ins and a 50% coupon later, attached to my store receipt. I purchased me a top layer of plywood to top the end table. I may not like a bayou or swamp area if I lived there, but TV has made it appealing. I would think it's okay, if not for the snakes, the gators are big enough to see, the snakes "cottonmouths" seem to chase people, so no thanks, I would rather avoid them.. I have already gotten the needs to make the swamp water, a yes "fake " gator. I still need a "cottonmouth" fake, of the right size. The previously mentioned raccoons, we have in Pa. They come on our porch and try to eat the cat food before our cats get it, only 2 cats don't come in and eat. We get skunks sometimes, but nobody (cats) come to challenge them.Anyhoo, I still need crawfish, frogs,Pelicans and ducks in miniature. That should be easy.. We have bullfrogs in a pond about 400 ft downhill from my house. In summer they are always croaking. There are ducks I n this pond sometimes in summer. Never pelicans. I THINK crawfish are ocean living beings I think I have one in miniature already, but it may be too big.. As far as plants go, this may be hard to get in miniature. I may need to get creative. We have real cattails here, I may have to make them out of some native plants. I can make lily plant fakes out of some Creeping Jenny. Just cut and paint green, (mine are yellow) The others mentioned are not recognizable to me except for Palmetto. I have a Saw Palmetto in my yard, but it is wrapped in burlap because it is colder here than there native area. I have 2 in small pots from seed. They will always need protection here, unless global warming goes crazy. The beavers are surely active in a bigger river area. My area hasn't got the BIG area of waterflow. For lack of the right words. We don't have large flowing rivers near me. I will be going to see if I can find these swamp natives in miniature. I still have money on my craft store "Micheals" card. I have money on my "Jo ann fabrics" card yet also. There is a store about 40 miles from me that is big enough to have crafts as well as fabrics. I am hoping to find a miniature snake that could pass for a cottonmouith, and a pelican or duck. I am clueless what a kingfisher is, I am guessing a bird. I know a quick websearch can solve this. The trees are not really specific when you buy fake trees in a hobby/crafts store. I haven't found any trees yet for the mini swamp. Cypress trees will be easy to spot. I am sure I can sort of fashion a tree to look like a Cypress, it would be nice to locate a already real looking DOZEN or so examples of them to add to the fake water.

What a lovely house and yard, chippy. You've gotten some good advice already, but I'll add my suggestions: Dianthus - perennial pinks come in a huge variety of colours and size, but mostly under a foot. Added bonus -they smell spicy-sweet. Aquilegia - they are a personal weakness of mine;) They only bloom for about 3 to 4 weeks, but depending on variety the season goes from May to July here (Can. zone 4/5). Many colours, striking shapes. Some don't tolerate full sun well, but others do. Creeping phlox - these also only bloom about 3 weeks, but are lovely when they do. They are also evergreen and form nice low mats of green the rest of the season. Sea Pink/Thrift (Armeria) - lovely small clumps of grassy like foliage with blooms in pinks. Very hardy and tolerant of neglect - like babies;) Alliums - onion/garlic family. These are bulbs, but they are lovely summer bloomers and hardy (last years). Campanulas - many are shorter in stature and tolerate sun. Usually spring and summer bloom. Perennial Geraniums - many colours, spring and summer bloom; many under a foot. Lavender!!! - if you like lavender, it's ideal for a hot, sunny walkway! Mine thrives on neglect and less-than ideal soil. It also blooms later on in summer here. Penstemon - another of my favs - lots of colours and sizes; hardy plants that bloom over long periods - some all summer. Veronica - low, spreading clumps with lovely pinks, blues, purples in bloom; unique shape; tolerant of hot sun. Those are a few I can think of off hand. My advice would be to start with two or three perennials you like and start filling in your walkways with these, but still use some annuals. That way you are guaranteed colour all summer. Build up your perennial collection each year. Keep in mind that some things will not work or you won't like, so be prepared to experiment. And don't ignore spring bulbs like daffs, tulips, and crocus! They are lovely colour early in the season when not much else is going on. Congrats on the new baby, too:) Looks like you've got a busy summer ahead.