Great list of questions! Thanks for the general framework to think through my decisions here - super helpful. We have a very small backyard in which I am constantly tinkering - the back fence is a pretty prominent feature because of the size of the yard - and right now it's still dry dusty dirt mostly except for the two veggie beds, and the giant orange tree. So, to answer your questions: -I am very "into" gardening (borderline obsessed maybe?) though new to it, happy to trim a couple times a month; - I don't need flowers all the time - seasonal flowers I think are appreciated differently/more in fact, but either is fine; - flower debris is fine (I would probably just let it fall into the beds and become mulch around the other future-plants if possible? Also happy to sweep them - orange tree drops loads of debris it turns out); - our yard backs up to a concrete garage pad and concrete walkways at the backs of the other properties, so I don't think it could creep anywhere really - as long as it doesn't shoot vines 20 feet underground; - I am concerned about invasive plants generally and invested in native plants in our front yard - so don't want to plant anything that will get eaten by birds and dropped into Griffith Park (Pampas grass, tree of heaven, ice plant for instance are all terrible) - I am also somewhat impatient - less so in my front yard where I've planted for the long-term and happy to wait - backyard is like an extension of our living room.... in the pic you can see the fence and the orange tree and patio relationship - I also need to be mindful of orange tree roots too... you can just barely see the dichondra, salvia and penstemons I just bought and am trying to place in front of the fence....oh and the lovely view of the neighbor's garage...;)

I am off to the local nurseries this morning. I am going to take a chance and get the Lemon BES. It might rain this afternoon, so decided that today is my "shopping" day. I hate shopping. So hard to make up my mind. Many times I come home with plants completely different than what I planned to buy! Steven...hopefully I will have better luck. I'm sure if you were to plant it again, it would grow great for you! Your yard is just beautiful now and you have amended your soil a great deal! (Especially the back yard) :-) Bloominganne....yes I had planned to plant 2 clematis on it this year. Had checked with the nursery last fall to see if they were going to get in more Kivistic clematis, as last year they lost their grower. Yup, they would be getting some in. So I waited....then I stopped last week on Monday and they had come in late Friday and SOLD OUT over the weekend. So now it is another year to wait as I have not had good luck with mail order clematis. Memo...thank you. Yes, DH is really a sweetie. He has a few project he wants to work on this summer. One is to hang the 1859 bronze bell (we purchased last year) in a corner bed in the front of the house. He is thinking about building a brick arch to hang it in. Hopefully it won't grow legs and walk off that way! party_music....the plants at the nursery are quite good sized and are blooming beautifully. So...fingers crossed. The picture above was taken on May 30, 2005 but not much has really changed. Just that the cedar has weathered gray on the obelisk. My peonies are all up with lots of buds. I expect them to be blooming in about 2 weeks. We have a very sandy soil that warms quickly in spring. I am finding that everything really gets an early start here. I usually start picking my strawberries on Memorial Day weekend. The lilacs are blooming now and I baked fresh rhubarb pie last week. Much different than the clay soil we had 160 miles north of where we live now. It is a joy to garden here.

My black-eyed Susan vine is an annual, but reseeds readily. In fact, little seedlings are poppling up everywhere right now. It grows slowly until the weather gets hot, and then it takes off.

Thanks. I guess I should have cut it off sooner.