How much of a leaf cover do you need for that? I don't really know. This is the first time I am planting in the front yard woods, after picking up sticks and limbs, trimming up some trees, pulling up tree seedlings, pulling up 'some' vines, and digging out lots and lots of May Apples, and raking aside all the leaf cover. Stringing the rows and doing the actual planting is the easiest part of the whole planting experience. I'd say the leaf cover is at least 6" or so. I kept watching the weatherunderground on the computer all day, hoping it would get warm. Even though it wasn't warm at 4 PM (was just 34 though it was sunny) I headed out to get a few planted. Surprisingly, I wasn't cold, the soil was wet, but not clumpy, my hands didn't get cold, and I managed to plant 15 little bags, 47 total bulbs. so all those from the front yard (city tree) went to the city for composting. How I wish I had trees that weren't all in the woods or at the edge of the woods. All the leaves at the edges of the yard are full of sticks and twigs. I used to sometimes go to friend's houses and do their leaves, just to get to bring them all home for the veggie garden. I've got this wonderful leaf shredder that reduces them 13 to 1, turning leaves into what I call brown gold. I think the little willow leaves should be fine. Last year I remember "discovering" that the open areas were frozen solid while those with some cover were not. I might be able to exploit that some year if I knew what to aim for. How deep? I wonder if you couldn't just cover an area with either clear plastic or black plastic to keep the warm in and the freezing cold out, thus lengthening the planting season so you could get in on the late sales, like from B and B's.

What you should ask yourself about any proposed design, whether proposed by others or by yourself, is whether it achieves your objectives. What do you want to achieve? Yardvaark and I have such different objectives that I rarely like his designs, nor he mine. Where we can often agree is on diagnosing the problem, and your existing foundation planting is certainly a problem. It does not enhance your house or make it welcoming; it does not cover ground well enough to keep out weed seeds, and is boring to boot. I have linked a thread below that has a photo of how tall plants next to a low roofline might look, and it is a look I personally do not like - because it does not meet what would be my objectives in this setting, which would be to showcase the overall form of the house - one of your best features of which is your roofline. I would sooner put bigger plants somewhere else where they might provide a nice vista for you as you look out the window, and also, make your house something less of one isolated big thing in a field. (understood that you need to be able to water wherever you plant, so maybe the length of hose you're willing to invest in would be your limiting factor). That is where I would put shrub and tree plantings, with lower, more decorative installations around the house - but again, selecting plants that cover the ground in summer like spreading evergreens, hostas, and the like. The side of the garage is certainly a natural place to want to put some plantings if they are desired, if this view is indeed one that arriving visitors see, but I find I prioritize letting light into windows, so there's another reason I would keep tall plants away. Yes, even in the garage, which could have a workshop function. South-facing windows often want shade in summer, but for that a tree can be a bit of distance away. Your beds around the house are some odd shapes that do not lend themselves to the best in creating an attractive setting for the house. Maybe draw a plan view of your site so you can scribble around with some alternative bed shapes. Since they are weed magnets, why have more than are really needed? On the other hand, much else about Yardvaark's proposal makes sense, and you can see how a pleasant planting can draw the eye away from your bins in the driveway. Karin L Here is a link that might be useful: tall shrubs

Dry all last year and the beginning of this year (except for a 2ft snowstorm in Feb) until the last week of May when we got a month's worth of rain in 1 week. Alternating cold(30's) then hot (90) then cold (40's) temps in May and June, finally got tomatoes out the beginning of June and MORE rain! Poured for about 20 minutes at dinner last night, weather.com is showing 0 inches but I'm guessing 1/4". More gentle rain overnight, clear this morning and then this afternoon another T-storm. So I'm saying 7.5 -8" this month plus the 3.5" last week of May. Tomatoes are looking sad - I started replacing some yesterday and also planted 6 I'd been holding back. Haven't checked today to see how they've held up in the driving rain (had a couple broken last week). Peppers are still in 6-packs, I guess I can say they're hardened off though they may sunburn when I can get them out, 1 is blooming. Squash looks like it's loving this weather, cukes OK (seeded before squash and they're smaller), spinach is bolting and the kale and Asian greens are just OK. I guess I'll try to harvest mustard greens, tatsoi and bok choy for stirfry mix rather than salad greens since lettuce is so far behind. Carrots are disappearing, lettuce is barely coming in after seeding twice (every time I seed we have a downpour) but the arugula in the mix is getting tall (not bolting yet). Radish bulbs are finally starting to show above the ground 3 weeks after seeding and I don't know what's happened to my chard and beets that I've seeded twice. Beans are doing OK, but I lost 2/3 of my edamame. The only thing I'm harvesting right now that is doing really well is strawberries and they're coming to an end just as market season is beginning. Blueberries and brambles are coming along though.

Just wanted to update on the snowstorm tonight just in case our power goes out & I can't post tomorrow. The storm has already dumped close to a foot in my yard and it's coming down fast & furious at 11:30 p.m. It's supposed to go all night and til around noontime tomorrow. I've been watching the weather channel and it's crazy how much snow is coming out of the storm for such a widespread area. The wind is getting pretty strong up here and when I put on the spotlight the trees are bowing down with the weight of the snow. They are saying at higher elevations there will be the most amounts so I expect when I wake up in the morning I will be in for a shock. I notice that the Weather Channel focuses mostly on the metropolitan areas in their coverage. Those of us in tiny rural towns are getting huge amounts of snow. I see there are already some deaths related to the storm and I hope there will be no more. Jean, my husband works weekends so he will be at work tomorrow whether he wants to or not. He owns the local hardware store and also fixes power equipment so he was swamped by folks desperate to get their snowblowers fixed in time. Snow shovels were selling off the shelves...LOL. My son works the overnight shift at our local police department and when I talked to him a little while ago he said there are cars off the road everywhere. People just weren't expecting snow in October so they don't have their snowtires on yet. Everyone in the path of this NorEaster, please be careful! Celeste