Some plants that have done well for me in dry situations: They aren't very formal, but rugosa roses have a strong, sweet scent, beautiful foliage, and large red hips. They only bloom once, but I like them quite a bit. Flowers are single or double in shades of pink, magenta and white. They sucker some and have wicked thorns, but will grow in beach sand. Penstemon pinifolius is a relatively short plant with typical tubular penstemon flowers in early summer in shades of red, orange, and yellow and fine needle-like foliage. If you typically have good snow cover, it is worth trying Caryopteris which I have found works for me, rather to my surprise: small tidy shrub, late summer violet-blue flowers, and either silver or gold foliage. In the coldest areas it works more like a perennial, dying back to the ground each year. 'Arthur Simmonds' has trialled as the hardiest selection, though I haven't grown it. (available at Lazy S's Nursery via mail order.) I have 'Sunshine Blue' with gold foliage which experiences some dieback but comes back every year and either 'First Choice' or 'Dark Knight' which has survived just fine for several seasons. This does better than lavender for me which survives, but takes too long to recover to look good most seasons. I do replant lavender (small inexpensive plants) most years and it grows well as an annual since the insects and humming birds like it. The only western Agastache that has survived at least one winter for me has been A. rupestris. It is a short-lived perennial for me, lasting at most 4 or 5 years, but I really like the silvery foliage and August salmon and smoky lavender blooms, so I replace it when it hasn't survived a winter. You may find that some of the blue Agastaches work for you, but I haven't grown them since they have a reputation for self-seeding. I have had Weigela grow well on a completely unwatered slope, so it should be fine. However, the Cornus kousa that is in an unwatered dry spot doesn't look nearly as nice as the one in a more average setting, and the serviceberry that I planted in a dry spot died the second season, despite my hauling water to it all of its first season. Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler' is a long-blooming, bright red selection of a native vine that does fine without supplemental water in a well-drained bed. I have only had mine a couple of years, but I really like it. It should do fine being trimmed to its support, an iron trellis of 3/8" rod, if I decide it needs it. Daffodils should be fine if you are looking for spring bulbs. Plants that others have mentioned that have also done well for me in well-drained situations include bearded iris, flax, rose campion (though it self-seeds ferociously unless deadheaded), coreopsis (both lanceolata and verticillata), daylily, Baptisia, Liatris, Sedum, Semperivirens, Amsonia hubrichtii, Nepeta/catmint, Alyssum, and columbine.

NHBABS--thank you for your reply. I have read about this issue with the "hybrid willow" attacking water lines/piping--this is a huge concern. We plan on possibly listing the house next year or sooner; thus requiring a pretty quick solution (vs a tree/shrub that will take several years to grow to a proper hedge). To address your questions... -privacy is not an issue as we are set back on 100 acres. We have looked into painting the chain link green or black but it still lacks any charm. We will however paint it green before adding a hedge so the steel doesnt "stick out". -The gate is around 4ft tall; I would like 5-6 feet to cover the fence and add some wow factor. I would definitely be willing to prune it. -i chose willow bc i read so much about the rapid growth. i would be willing to explore any option that is affordable and will provide results in 1yrs time. Unfortunately for me, im a city girl who doesnt know much about the gardening or the options avail to me. -ive seen picture of evergreens that make amazing hedges. im concerned about the rate of growth. How long would it take to create a 5ft hedge using evergreens? -I dont know much about vines but am concerned that it wont provide uniform coverage and the gate will still show. This is something we do plan to attempt along with some wisteria to add some charm to the chain link around our tennis court (which needs a lot of work as well--but thats another can of worms). -we plan on planting outside the fence. -I hardly ever see deer on the property...plenty of turkeys, foxes...a bear now and then but no deer. -i like the bamboo in the photo but i think too much of it wont add anything visually--the pool is very large, approx 240' in diameter. I also looked into snow fencing which you often see in beach areas. im concerned that neither will hold up. plus with the number of properties lingering on the market in the area, i really want to do something that adds more sales appeal and doesnt "look" like a quick fix. We looked into changing it to a farm style wood fence but with removing the steel posts and adding new posts and wood fencing along with dealing with town approvals, the cost and hassle deterred us. Im attaching pictures of "hybrid willow" that i find appealing, if you could help me identify the proper name and a nursery in the area that sells it, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

I liked the 'NE Gardener's Book of Lists'. I have also had a number of books out by William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society that are very much aimed at New England gardeners. His book 'Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines' was very helpful which introduced me to lots of plants I was unfamiliar with. He has a new book out, 'Native Ferns, Mosses and Grasses'. I have out from the library right now a book called: 'A Massachusetts Gardener's Companion : an insider's guide to gardening from the Berkshires to the Islands' by Barbara Gee. I am finding that book has given me a lot of new information and lots of reminders of information I already knew. It is always great to find a book that has a focus that is so specific to your area. If you are trying to raise vegetables, you are in a colder zone then I am here in Eastern Massachusetts, and would be able to profit from Eliot Coleman's books even more than I have. His book 'Four Season Harvest' has a wealth of creative ideas for extending the season and tons of experience with organic growing. I have a great respect for the work both he and his wife, Barbara Damrosch have accomplished. I recently saw her featured on 'Cultivating Life' and her perennial garden has become even more beautiful since the last time I saw it. She has a new book out called 'The Garden Primer'. I suggest both of these authors although they do live in Maine, because they are probably dealing with the same hardiness zone. pm2

I never have. I had the same experience as you; no matter how early I started plants I didn't get flowers until late summer. So I thought it needed warm temperatures. But then the darn thing kept blooming until November in central Ohio! I've heard that cobaea is naturally pollinated by bats, but that the bats we have in North America simply don't do that. Found a few articles that reference that, this from a UCLA publication: Bat pollination is especially important in certain families, such as Old and New World Bombacaceae, including the baobab, kapok, and floss-silk tree species. Classical examples of bat flowers occur in the Bignoniaceae, including the sausage trees cultivated on the UCLA campus, and calabash, among others. Cobaea scandens, a cultivated vine of the phlox family (Polemoniaceae), has flagelliflory and is bat pollinated in western South America. Although in Westwood we have some bat-adapted flowers, and these plants form fruits, we have not determined yet whether bats are responsible for fruit formation on campus. This sounds like a good nighttime homework assignment for a UCLA undergraduate student, one not afraid of bats and vampires. And from the Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Native to Mexico and tropical South America, cup and saucer vine is a vigorous, rapid-growing, tendril-climbing vine that typically grows to 30-40 in its native habitat. When grown as an annual, it can grow 10-20Â in a single season. The descriptive common name is in reference to its bell-shaped flowers (cups), each of which is subtended by a saucer-like green calyx. Flowers last about 4 days, emerging green but maturing to purple. Flowers have a musky fragrance. Blooms late summer into fall. Pinnate leaves have four leaflets. Also commonly called cathedral bells. Flowers are reportedly pollinated by bats. And this from the Encyclopedia Britannica: Certain highly specialized tropical bats, particularly Macroglossus and Glossophaga, also obtain most or all of their food from flowers. The Macroglossus (big-tongued) species of southern Asia and the Pacific are small bats with sharp snouts and long, extensible tongues, which carry special projections (papillae) and sometimes a brushlike tip for picking up a sticky mixture of nectar and pollen. The plants involved have, in the process of evolution, responded to the bats by producing large (sometimes huge) amounts of these foods. One balsa-tree flower, for example, may contain a full 10 grams (0.3 ounce) of nectar, and one flower from a baobab tree has about 2,000 pollen-producing stamens. Some bat flowers also provide succulent petals or special food bodies to their visitors. Characteristics of the flowers themselves include drab colour, large size, sturdiness, bell-shape with wide mouth and, frequently, a powerful rancid or urinelike smell. The giant saguaro cactus and the century plant (Agave) are pollinated by bats, although not exclusively, and cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) is the direct descendant of a bat-pollinated American plant. Calabash, candle tree, and areca palm also have bat-pollinated flowers. Somehow I don't think we can replicate this with a soda straw and long fingernails!