Baronne Prevost could probably be trained on a pillar but it is fiercely prickly - the big, pointed kinds - I would not want to be the one to tie it up! We have Mme Joseph Schwarz growing in almost total shade in the Sacramento cemetery where it stays clean and blooms. I'm pretty sure it's a sport of Duchesse de Brabant since it sometimes throws pink flowers, but it performs much better. DdB gets mildew here, too, although our summer heat discourages it so the mildew is spring and fall. I heard a European speaker (don't remember who) extoll Mme Joseph Schwatz's virtues as a much superior plant to DdB, and that's been my experience too. Some teas are big. Some are huge. Mrs. Dudley Cross is in that category. Mme Antoine Mari is the closest to a moderate-sized tea that I've encountered but even that is building in our garden. Anita

I got a reference to "The Omega Diet" book from another source and had purchased it and have read first part. Thought it was an interesting coincidence that it is also recommended here. It is a pretty impressive nutrition book. It seems to say a lot of what we have already heard but it really gives explanations. One of the controversial things in the book is that it is definitely against a "low fat diet" per se. There are even statistics that are given indicating that low-fat can actually be harmful. The key is what kind of fat which most of you have already heard, right? Anyway, if you haven't, the book gives a good case for using Canola oil for cooking and Olive oil to a lesser extent. Using flaxseed oil on salads (because can't tolerate heat) is good because flaxseed has a huge amount of Omega 3. One main recommendation is fish, fish and more fish. Seems the men on Crete eat a lot more fish than even most on a standard Mediterranean diet. Their records of heart disease seem very incredible. Recommends fish oil capsules if you don't like fish. Funny, but I've lost 32 pounds since January and one of my tricks has been to eat walnuts as a snack if I'm hungry between meals. I didn't even know it was high in Omega 3. The key for me is that the walnuts help to satisfy my hunger with a small amount. And I'm one of those people who can't stop eating until everything in front of me is gone. The walnuts seem to change that. The omega diet book doesn't seem to have much to say about coconut oil. There are a lot of recipes. Seems like one of the premises is to eat meat and vegetables and try to limit grains. Kind of low-carb to some extent except, as I mention above, it recommends that you avoid like the plague fats high in omega 6 such as most vegetable oils (i.e. corn, safflower). There have been animal studies with Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. Seems that cancerous tumors (such as breast), grow rapidly when animal is eating Omega 6 but turmor growth is stalled when animal is eating omega 3. Will we even really know what is the best way to eat ? :) --Alice

Greenfield, MA? We get folks from all over the world on these forums. Are you someone who enjoys gardening and yard work? My suggestions are based on someone who isn't looking to spend a lot of time working to keep the yard tidy, but wants it to look attractive. Right now the house looks barricaded by some of the landscaping elements. I would start by removing the shrubs (and concrete curbing) along the front of the house that block windows and crowd the walk. The shrubs look unhealthy as well as not complementing the architecture. The curbing is unattractive and makes the bed unrealistically small, making a good-looking planting impossible. The concrete-edged bed along the drive looks like a barrier between the driveway and the lawn; it's not ornamental and the gravel with the jar is a part of the barrier. Replace with grass or a widened walk along the driveway. I would widen the walk from the driveway to the house so that two people can walk abreast or at the very least put in a large landing at the base of the steps that is the full width of the steps and top landing. Even if it's rarely used you want the front entry to look inviting rather than pinched. I would remove all the concrete curbing, including the two around the trees. Any bed edging should be inset at ground level rather than an above ground landscape feature. Add a groundcover that is easy care and shade tolerant such as pachysandra under the trees if grass doesn't grow well. If you want a front yard bench, place it somewhere not directly behind a tree trunk, and choose one without the top arch. If you want, move the one you have to a sunny spot in the back yard and grow vines up it (the intention of the trellis over it.) Currently it reads as an archway to nowhere and disrupts the view of the house front. I would hire a qualified arborist to remove the down-hanging branches from the large limb in front of the house and assess the health of the trees you currently have. If it turns out tree work is needed, better to do it before rather than after landscape renovations. Your trees are a major feature, so be sure you find someone with training and qualifications, not just someone with a chainsaw and bucket truck. That will clean up the house front and give you a less cluttered slate to work with. Once you have done all this, post another photo for suggestions. I would recommend a deep bed (8' minimum) of groundcover and shrubs across the front of the house with some seasonal color provided by some of the shrubs having blooms and/or by one kind of blooming perennial in a few spots such as near the stairs. Look for shrubs and groundcovers that are shade-tolerant and evergreen. Research the shrub size so you don't have to do a lot of pruning to keep them in check. The remainder of the front should be grass where there is enough sun and groundcovers where there isn't. Neatly edge the beds; do a web search for mowing strips and choose a style with only ground-level material. I wouldn't plant anything between the front door and the street (other than perhaps a low-growing bed of flowers around the lamp post) since you want the front walk to be clearly visible. PS - I know you didn't ask about the house itself, but I would paint the garage doors so that they match the rest of the house trim (photo makes them look whiter than the cream of the shutters and trim) and if it's in the budget, replace them with ones that fit the home's architecture a bit better. Darker trim, shutters and garage doors (perhaps taking the color from one of the brick shades) would look better to my eye.

You have a nice neutral palette, so lots of choices. Are you keeping all of the shrubs, and just want to mix in color? If so, a few of many ideas: Lantana (perennial, drought-tolerant, continuous bloomer). Mealy sage. Other types of salvias. Skullcap (mounding perennial, easy care, continuous summer blooms). Zinnia “Profusions”. Gaura (easy care, wispy non-stop summer blooms, butterflies love it). I could write pages of choices ... the ones above are good starting points for your research, as they’re common and easy to find in nurseries. Browse around, and you’ll find lots more. :) If you’re not wanting to do a bed overhaul, and just add to what you have, I’ve kept these mock-ups extremely simple. If you’re wanting to enlarge beds, etc, let us know, and more extensive suggestions can be made. This bed, from L-R ... semi-dwarf Crape Myrtle, daylily (does bloom, but just showing foliage here), 3 perennial Lantanas, another daylily. The two column shrubs are Salvia Greggiis. L-R ... Crape Myrtle, Daylilies, Mealy Sage, Lantana. The column plantings are Mexican Feather Grass. Added birdbath. :) And I normally wouldn’t arrange things so uniform and in pairs, but my app only allows me ten choices to add in. So you can play around with arrangement, mix of things, more plants, different heights, etc, for a more layered and natural look. With reds (lots of choices ... Sunpatiens, Pentas, Lantana, etc). And another birdbath. My app is limited, so I’m not able to use some of the others I listed earlier. And you certainly don’t have to do these exact plants in pics, it’s just a starting point to see what look you’d like. Everything I’ve listed and shown will do fine in full to part Texas sun (lots of plants that need full sun in milder areas appreciate afternoon shade in our intense conditions!), aren’t picky about soil type (only that it’s well-drained), and drought tolerant once established.