Lass, Luckily, privacy isn't a requirement. We're trying to establish gardens that are visible & enjoyable for our neighbors as well as by us. My goal is to make them easy to see. We all often sidle up to the fences in the evening and talk, so if I put shrubbery there they might think I didn't like talking to them anymore. My neighbors don't spray. In fact, when I was gardening near her Knock-outs in May, I noticed that she had really bad rose slug damage & BS. I asked if I could lend a hand & help keep them up, & she said 'Please do!!' She was going to SP her knock-outs because she's in her 70's and didn't really want anything that required maintenance. I'm only in my 40's, and although they ARE KO's, I really think it's important to save otherwise decent & healthy roses since so few people make the effort to have roses anymore. I do have a lilac in that area, and I'm planning on some arbor vitaes for vertical interest near the center of where my future statue will be....right after I win the lottery & can afford a $3000 statue. :) I also want a grape vine, but I've been directed by the DH to take small steps. Right now the neighbors share their garden veggies, and we reciprocate with cooking herbs and mints. Would love to have lots of roses & grapes to share also. ---Laura

I have one that was supposed to be a dwarf that got to about 6 ft. last year. It is planted in a bed among roses, phlox, hardy geranium, lilies, etc. I liked how it added some height and the color of the blooms was very nice in contrast to all the pastels surrounding it. I chop it to about 1 foot each year and let it regrow on new wood. That helps to keep it smaller too. I would say that you could prune away any lower side shoots that interfere with the other plants and let the bush grow over the top of the other plants like a canopy. I felt that it mixed well with the other cottage plants and added another texture to the garden, as well as attracting butterflies and hummingbirds, which is very important to me. I have 2 others in different beds. One is probably a black knight, and was an established plant when we bought the house. They had never cut it back, so there is a bunch of old, thick wood at the bottom 3 ft, and I have cut it back each year to about that height. This shrub gets to about 10 ft tall each year, and when full of blooms is a real focal point. The third one I have is a pink one, and I just bought it last year. It is up against the house in a bed that is getting overrun with mint. I bought it to fill an empty spot, and I pruned it down to 1 ft last year as well. It should take off this year now that it has had time to establish. Here is a link to pics from last year (fall). The BB is in the first and third pic, dark purple blooms, to the right on both pics. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cottage/gal1219244828961.html?19

What a very nice space and garden! Part of the issue might just be your plants are not fully grown. My big hosta took 5 years, but given that, I agree you are so close, but something feels a bit off. The trouble is that all your plants are the same size and shape - mounds of medium size. There's a feeling that everything is static. I agree with mad - you are verging on the formal, but have a rather informal spacing. If you go formal, create a geometric type pattern and use that as a planting guide. For instance, a ring of some type of flower around the bird bath (carpet roses? A colorful ring of coral bells?), a backdrop line of hydrangeas which should be allowed to get at least a bit taller than the bird bath, with the other sides lined by hostas and all the rest filled with ground cover or lower growing perennial of your choice (various shade choices abound). This will give the mounds meaning and purpose! Also, I would more encourage a more natural shape to the hydrangeas (as opposed to a clipped hedge) so the texture can add interest. For less formal, I would suggest creating height at the back or near the middle behind the focal point and then trying to create interest by having different plant shapes, textures and colors with the general guidance of the plants getting smaller as they approach the viewer. Some of the larger ferns for an airy/spiked texture towards the back would be fun and a nice contrast to what is already there. A giant hosta is always fun tucked in there as well. The variegated grass that you have looks amazing interrupting a formal path by spilling over into it. I would for an informal garden bring them upfront to play a bit with the clean lines of your paths. I would suggest to remove the line of bushes by you sitting area as I would want to have it seem like an extension of the garden and a hedge feels like a barrier. I hope you find some use in my suggestions - you have such a nice area to work with!

bluesanne I love that! I have a bass and guitar playing son who named our dog Hendrix. Just tonight he (my son not my dog) used one outdoor outlet to vacuum out the car that he drove to The Peach Music Festival. I use my outlets for holiday lights in front, party lights in back, and sometimes random stuff on the sides (like an electric hedge trimmer.) Super handy and wouldn't plan a new house without them. For outlets that you'll use for holiday lights, be sure to have them work from switches inside the house so you don't have to go outside and unplug them when you want to turn them off. (Timers work too, but I like having the option of switches.) Placement: one in back, near the driveway side of the house; one on the side on the non-driveway side of the house; two in front on either side of the front door.