native .. schmative .... so many facts.. too much coffee .... ooooooohhhhhhh ... dramatic moan ... linden .. let me get this straight ... you have an otherwise healthy tree.. and this guy wants to .. on a preventative basis ... drill holes and add cables.. so that he can insure that you pay him every few years to come back a 'maintain' this threat to your garage ... sounds like a tuition investment program for his son in college.. or a repeating boat payment ... be done with it ... ITS A THREAT ... the poplars ... get rid of them .. period ... figure out how to do it legally with the lot owner ... since you will have the tree guys out.. offer to pay for it ... since it will be a minor cost since they are there .... DO NOT RELY ON THE COURTS for you might be homeless for the few years it takes to sue them ... the box elder .... i have a 50 footer .. what a carp tree ... horrible form .. ugly ... and those darn bugs ... harmless but irritating when they come in the house ... be done with it ... its just another maple.. and you should know my hated of such ... the smaller ... if you were to keep it .. just cut off the two side ones.. and ignore the tree canopy reduction theory ... its a maple.. with no root zone impact from transplant/planting ... it will probably double in size in 2 years ... but i would still get rid of it ... did i hit them all ... ??? was there an ash ... is not EAB an issue up there.. if so.. just get rid of the ash .... if the team is there.. do everything that needs to be done .. its a lot cheaper than repeatedly calling them back ... as i recall.. you have down-sized the property size .... and you need all the space you can get... on your new 1/2 acre ... WHY WASTE SPACE WITH THESE WEEDS .... native or not ... if you had 5 acres.. and more space than you need.. what the heck .. but we both know you can do so much better ... the best upside.. this time of year.. the chips are all wood ... have them leave them.. and make some nice beds next spring ... with my first house.. i 'saved' all the prior/original owners 'problems' for the history of it .... what a nightmare.. and the happiest day of my life at that house... was when the last was gone ... YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER ... please... just bite the bit.. and be done with them ... ken PS: as you are addicted to gardening .... have no guilt.... as i am sure.. you will replace it all if not twice... mother earth on the plus side ... Here is a link that might be useful: WI EAB

20 minutes once a week, probably ok but might depend on the type of soil you have in the planter boxes. My guide would be to test each morning how quickly the site dries out - by pushing finger into soil should give a good indication - if it's bone dry after 4 days or 5 days then you might consider adjusting. Some of those natives you've mention, however, do require more space than you've indicated: banksias, grevilleas, lilly-pillies, depending on the variety, for example.

My ambitions have scaled back considerably - I now clear much smaller areas at a time - no more than I can easily resow with native grasses and flowers. I allow myself a blast of herbicide to do away with the worst of the nettle and bramble and hand weed until the grass and flowers are growing well enough...and I am still propagating as many plants as I can after the initial shock of proudly clearing the first huge bramble patch (a million tiny brambles appeared almost overnight)...and I have decided to get along rather than fighting all the time. I have a little wheeze at present, using the brambles as 'nurse' plants. They have shallow and not terribly competitive root systems while also making good natural tree guards so I cut back the longest canes, thin some out at the base and plant maiden whips in amongst the blackberries. The little saplings benefit from the support (and although deer pressure is very slight, the bramble also helps with protection against the infrequent water deer incursions)...and bulbs are turning out to be the restorer's friends - over 10,000 bulbs in 3 years are beginning to make little pools of light and colour... I let the celandines have their head, as well as wood anemones. It still feels terribly experimental and contingent...but nonetheless, I have planted the first trees I raised from seed this autumn - little understorey rowans (sorbus).

I welcome all rains! But, I suppose my climate is one where the rain avg. is low in the summer. I couldn't imagine a scenario where I would cover the garden unless the plants were very young and would get damaged from a storm. Right now, for example, my indeterminate tomatoes have topped their concrete wire cages, even with a hail storm (which are fairly regular here in the summer) it would be entirely impractical to attempt to cover them. When I have seedlings that were started indoors, but outside to harden-off and take advantage of the sun, I do bring them in during nights and cold weather, and I put them on the roofed porch during daytime rains. I want to control the water and soil conditions of my seedlings, and being tender, they can damage easily. If, over time, you create soil conditions that drain well, the main issue with drenching rains is the temporary runoff of soluble fertilizer. That's easily replaced, so I personally don't see it at an issue. That said, there are areas where too much moisture (especially surface moisture,) can create conditions for fungi, bacteria, and disease. Also keep in mind that gardening is a win/lose proposition from the start. Some years, depending on many factors, you gotta just cut your loses. Knowledge and experience will help you act and react to prevent problems, but even the best take big hits time to time. One trick I like to employ is to watch for a light rain. Then, if the conditions are right, I'll get out there and water the garden. Use nature to jump start and share the water burden. I don't think anyone mentioned it yet, but you can pick up a cheap rain gauge, That will help you monitor water amounts. Also, and I think I read someone else mention this... if you overhead water, set out a cup or an old pan and keep it in the garden. By measuring the depth of water in the pan, it will help you get an idea of how much water the garden has received. It also has the added benefit of attracting wasps and solitary bees.