Hi Lynn, love your adobe look walls in the front and your view in the back is wonderful. I'm glad you plan on preserving your view in the back and think it's great that you're thinking of water conservation. Since you're close to Santa Fe I hope you've been to High Country Gardens/Santa Fe greenhouse. I've been buying plants mail order from them for fifteen years and I understand they have some great waterwise landscaping at thier store in Santa Fe. In this month(Sept.) issue of Sunset magazine there is a Santa Fe landscape with adobe walls and a planter against the wall like what you are talking about. It does have a lot of plants in the ground also but it is a great backyard landscape by Wilder Landscaping. Your idea of all raised planters sounds very attractive and ambitious. I know you where conscerned about the heat situation with all that masonry. All your walls would act as a heat sink collecting the warmth during the day and then radiating it out at night. You would have cooler temperatures in the mornings from the walls and warmer temperatures at night. About the planters using less water I can't get around this idea. Planters because they are exposed to the hot summer air on the sides as well as from overhead actually heat up the soil more than in ground plantings. This makes them use more water not less. Of course you are talking about other issues too such as ease of planting and not having to deal with your rocky soil. Mulch is a great way to help keep soil cooler and use less water, rock mulch for more deserty type plants and organic mulch for others. And your shade trees will really cool things off for you too. If you use plants well adapted to your area you could really keep your water use down and not have to feel like you need all the planters.

You might put an ad in your local paper or swap shop publication - for the free fill concrete - "break and take" so to speak - you never know who might need some filler for something....never hurts to put your request out there! We have a paper called The Peddler and I have never ceased to be amazed at what I can sell in it. I am no expert like most of the people who are answering you, but it would be a shame to haul in all that soil [I just got finished hauling great soil in for several beds] and have it to not work. The only other suggestion I could make is for someone with a jackhammer to come in and punch lots of holes for drainage in the slab. But that still might not work. Or....make a patio out of the slab and cut some trees.......Were it me, I would put out a "free" ad first - if that didnt work, get bids on taking it out. Then do the bed. My dad taught me something that has always served me well - do it right the first time, then you dont have to redo. After just finishing hauling all that dirt [and more to come for some new beds] I would certainly not want to do that unless I knew the bed would work. Good luck! Where there is a will, theres a way! Judith

Hello Montana_rose, Being a zone 3 gardener myself, I'd say it's gonna be a whole lot of effort to have those roses make it through. They'd need to be covered with very heavy protection and still this would be iffy at best. Karl gives good advice, though when it's bitterly cold, some additional heat source would likely also be required, such as a string of incandescent lights turned on when temps plummet. It also depends if you live in a high snowfall area, as snow heaped over would really help. If you're willing to do the work, it just might be possible, though you'll need to go to great lengths and be keeping your fingers crossed. I have no problem growing tender hybrid teas and floribundas in zone 3, though of course in the ground. Most of these are situated along the south side of my house and have their grafts planted about 4 inches below grade. Snow cover is rather reliable here and also much is blown off the roof and collects in that particular location, they're all snug under about 2 ft of snow at this time :) Terry

River rock of various sizes is attractive. I have used it in several situations, but never on a high traffic surface. If not cemented: Preparation is important. Placed on dirt, stones will gradually sink into the ground. Weeds will then grow into area. So need to prepare with heavy duty landscaping cloth as a minimum. Ideally, compressed sand/crushed granite bed similar to what is used for laying patio stones. Two downsides: 1) stones tend to move around. Smaller stones much more so than larger. But large stone make a difficult walking surface. 2) Leaves and debris tend to get between the stones and can be a pain to get out. More a problem with larger stones. For 6-8" stones, a leaf blower is a necessity if you have leaves, pine needles or other plant debris in the area. Smaller stones easier to keep clean, but more likely to blow around with leaf blower or just move with traffic. If topping cemented surface: Attractive look (very small stones only)--I have it on front steps. Hard to shovel if it snows due to uneven surface. Can clean with pressure washer or leaf blower otherwise.