Ok, neighbor (I live down by LAX), I'll throw in a couple more cents. First of all, no, you're not silly, you just shocked the heck out of us is all...I think it was the evening view toward the house that did it!!! Secondly, don't give up your questions because you do want to make *some* changes otherwise you wouldn't have asked. It sounds like the 'sterile' observation hit a chord, so work with that. I can't tell from just the two pics, but is this a fairly new property, because the landscaping seems small, either young or groomed that way. As someone with a passion for gardening and I would think the feeling you have being in the garden may be add odds with the straight, although beautiful, lines of the columns and house since you had the idea for the English garden. Sooo, take a deep breath, with any house, let alone a large one, it's a marathon, not a race, and there's always things that need changing. So, since you asked, here's some thoughts that come to my mind, in no order.... -For sure keep the view from the house to the ocean open, it looks nearly like an infinity pool, is stunning, and I would think very relaxing and good for the spirit. As mentioned, taking out the pool entirely is probably not the best thing if you move, and if you're not old enough for a jacuzzi yet but you will be eventually so that's a must keeper if they are the pools on the sides! ;-) Or, for that matter, if you re-arrange the pool a bit later, I'd keep the 'therapy' water in the design. Folks may not swim, but most everyone has a bad back, etc. and what better than enjoy the therapy looking out over the ocean??? -Is that a balcony in the middle of the house? What about some _modest_ sized, so as not to eliminate the lines of the house trailing plants or even roses? Bouganville would be monsters unless you could find a small variety, but would be drought tolerant and match the style of the house. -Urns would match the decor, but not soften the appearance if that's where you're going. Also, don't forget, unless you specifically drain water away from pots, they'll stain the concrete around the pool and it will look ghastly. -I have to agree about finding a professional for more guidance in the pool area. There must be a ton that work up there. There are so many landscape designs up there drive around at least for ideas, and if you're really brave, knock on the door on a weekend to see if they'll share. If nothing else, they should take the question as a compliment. -Knowing not what I know not, I wonder if there are pool people that could change the style of the pool to (it sounds like?) something elegant but more garden appropriate, more pond-like as mentioned above, ie, darker bottom, garden waterfall into it, etc. If it's chlorine you can have a gizmo put in that somehow makes chlorine for you, eliminating some of the maintanance, or go for salt water, some people like it, I don't know the pros and cons. -Weather. It gets chilly up there in the afternoon, let alone other than the summer season. And foggy. If you do make changes, do keep in mind some protected space if you don't have it elsewhere, if you want to sit outdoors and enjoy the view of your new garden design and the ocean. Ok, gotta get back to work, but do take to heart that although I'm sure you love your new house and the view is amazing, you wouldn't have posted if you were 'comfortable' in the pool area. Follow your instincts and see where you go. It's your space, keep asking questions until you're happy with it. Best wishes!

For Bush Early Girl a 5-gallon bucket would be sufficient since the plant itself is very compact. For Celebrity, though, 7-10 would be better due to its larger size. For any plant larger than Celebrity, 15-20 gallons is much preferred. With any tomato plant that is grown in a container, it needs to have a high-quality soil-less mix and you have to be prepared to water often....up to twice a day in the hot summer months, and maybe 3 times a day if the temps are exceeding 105-110, which is rare but which does occur. Because all that watering leaches nutrients from the soil continually, you have to feed regularly with a good balanced fertilizer, avoiding those with excess nitrogen. You also cannot let the soilless mix dry out completely one day and then soak it with water that night or the next day to overcompensate, because those kinds of wide variation in available moisture can cause problems with the tomatoes themselves. Tomatoes grow great in containers as long as you pay careful attention to meeting their needs for food, oxygen and water. Otherwise, they will stall or die, will not produce many tomatoes and the ones they do produce will be of infereior quality. With careful attention, they'll be incredible. Finally, whatever you do, do not try to grow tomatoes in a soilless mix that is designed to hold extra moisture because the results will not be good. Dawn

It'll still be possible to produce a decent amount of fruit, and therefore seeds, from the pruned plants, right? Not sure what the relevance of fewer and/or bigger fruit is to seed saving since you want to save the seed from a wide selection of fruits anyway and preferably from more than one plant and at different times of production. Are you assuming bigger fruit will yield more seeds? That may or may not be true depending on growing conditions. But lots of seed savers routinely save seeds from unpruned plants with no issues. Or is your goal increasing the size if the variety if possible? And I assume you know that the size increase that might result is only marginally bigger. But yes, assuming the plant is not overly pruned or overly stressed by pruning and so more inclined toward disease you can still get sufficient fruit for seed saving. Dave

I'm sure others will add opinions, but my take on it is that I notice my different varieties have slightly different leaf color. Certainly the Indigo Rose has an unusual coloration, quite "blue green," so I wouldn't look to compare that to the others. So, it could just be that. Or, it could be the soil, for sure. Some people find they have better success in the ground, and some better success in containers, depending on their garden soil. On watering, I am no expert at in-ground watering, but it sounds to me like you are watering shallowly. I hear it is better to water more deeply and less often. You could, for instance, use a soaker hose, and run it for 30-60 minutes to get water a foot or more down in the soil. This will promote much better root growth and plant health. It's also better to water based on the actual state of the soil that day, rather than an arbitrary schedule. Feel the ground with your finger (or a bamboo skewer or wooden chopstick, which can go deeper) and water when the soil is getting dry. Doing this will teach you how much water it takes to moisten the bed deeply, and also, how long your soil stays moist after a good watering. Jenn PS: Pictures would help! They are easy to post here.