Aggie, the journey can indeed be frustrating and paved with failures. but each failure is a learning experience. What people with experience can do is help you identify the lesson, and maybe also help you to differentiate the possible from the impossible, but don't let anyone rob you of the journey or of giving it a try. At the risk of repeating myself, you are asking a lot of yourself to get both your foundation planting and your flower gardening out of one spot. If colour and seasonal variation are really important things for you, I really would suggest you consider adding a bed somewhere to give yourself more opportunity in better growing conditions - and that is tough to do nicely if you don't make a new bed out of the same stone. But maybe you can do that. The other thing that is a bit uphill for you is that you can only get so much uniqueness when your plantings are in the same PLACE as everyone else's. I suspect in your old neighbourhood, there was variety in WHERE in the yard people put their plants, as well as variety in what plants they had. If I drive through the neighbourhood, everyone's plants are probably at the foundation, and if only the details vary, the overall impression is still very similar. So your bed at the foundation is working against your desire to do something original on two counts. But it can be done... if you haven't already asked in the conifers forum, ask there for some suggestions for specialty conifers that would do well in these conditions. You do need evergreen plants - the bones, so to speak - and they can be broadleaf or needled evergreens. If you want a lot of variety in your flowering plants, you might enjoy having repeats of some interesting evergreens... I keep thinking of Chamaecyparis 'Wissel's Saguaro' but that might just be because I like it a lot. No idea if it works in your conditions. Even boxwoods would look good as consistent, repeated forms to offset the variety. If, on the other hand, you want consistency in the flowers (all purple petunias or peach roses), then go for variety in the conifers. Who knows, you might develop a talent for topiary :-) Some of my favourite yards are amazing topiary confections. I don't have the patience or the discipline for it though. Then you can do amazing things with quite ordinary plants. Pruning makes all the difference between green blobs and interesting shapes. Broadleaf evergreens will also offer some options for you; try asking for advice at a couple of nurseries - not big box stores. I don't know if the Ilex family would work or not, but if so, Ilex 'Mariesii' is a lovely plant - varies in form, can have some fun with it. Whitecap is right that people like me from outside your area may not be much use for specific plant recommendations, but we can help with form, and process. I've linked below to a site that explains the principles of landscape design in a way that I like. It doesn't all translate to the design of a single bed, but you can maybe play with some of the ideas. Karin L Here is a link that might be useful: Principles of landscape design

Well, I saw Chucky again today for the first time in a while. He was disguised as a large rock sitting on a table (OK, maybe it's time to update the bifocals). I thought that perhaps a meteorite had landed ever-so-gently on the patio table, so I went to investigate. I didn't realize it was him until I scared him away. Interesting that several of you mentioned that they like living under sheds, because that's precisely where Chucky ran when he broke out of his rock-ish state. No wonder Mowse the Cat is always trying to slink under that shed! Actually, Chucky didn't seem as large as he did when I saw him before, so maybe this time it was Chuckina, or a Chucklette. In any case, I still haven't seen any noticable havoc wreaked, so I guess he likes my weeds better than my planted stuff...or he's dining at the neighbors'. So far, I kinda like having him around.

Bringing in dirt from anywhere means bringing in weed seed. The dirt can be sandy, silty or clay, but it will have seed in it. Expect to pull weeds for the first year and possibly more. Many soils (especially clays) in Texas are calcareous, that is derived from limestone, chalk and limey marls. They are naturally high in minerals, but need lots of organic matter to unlock those minerals. This information comes from a book—Gardening Success With Difficult Soils by Scott Ogden. Plan to add composted plant matter and manures to these imported soils. Sandy soils need compost primarily to hold water and nutrients that naturally leach through. "Garden soils" are mostly composted tree trimmings. In fact, potting and garden soils don't contain soil at all. Even the minerals perlite and vermiculite found in potting soil add no mineral nutrients. The addition of major and minor mineral nutrients is important. Dillo Dirt is a product of Austin's waste recovery efforts that combines sewage sludge with tree and lawn trimmings that are composted together for several months. In my opinion you should start with real soil and add 20% compost to it—1 container of compost added to 4 containers of soil. Overfill the beds you make, and water them well to settle the soil. It may settle by half over the next year; wait to plant shrubs until the soil level stops radically settling. Expect to top off these beds next year with more compost-enriched soil. Each year after that 1/2 inch of compost should be added as a top dressing to maintain soil fertility. My advice is long term, because that is, IMO, the better way. Too often people buy plants and bring them home without knowing where to put them. One really should consider what the plants need in the way of water, sunlight, soil and climate before digging a hole and plopping them in.

Don't know if the plant will make it. While removing the diseased parts I saw that the main stem at ground level is split open with some tan colored substance coming out. So maybe it is hanging on a thread at this point. Our weather has been excessively swampy which is normal for us in mid to late July. I've a feeling that had a negative impact on it. We do have pumpkin growers in our region but I imagine their fields have better circulation than us. We are living at the edge of the woods and the air here is often quite still and humid. That doesn't help. I'm keeping a close eye on it and hoping it can survive long enough to pick our veggie. This made me think about the summer our neighbors gave us a tomato plant and it gave us one solitary tomato! Lol