Even here in northern California the rhododendron planted beneath the palm tree is an all-too-common sight. It is so easy to grow so many things here (compared to western Massachusetts, where I gardened for 10 years) that it is difficult to avoid. My yard admittedly suffers somewhat from "plant ecologist syndrome", but at least I try to keep biomes consistent. Water conservation is also a concern. So, the front-front yard is "the Southwest (U.S.) meets South Africa", and the hill in the back is "multi-cultural chaparral", with elements of California soft-scrub and hard chaparral (Artemisia californica, toyon, coffeeberry, Rhus integrifolia, Ceanothus, Salvia mellifera, manzanita, larger Eriogonum sp., and more-- whatever will withstand Livermore's heat and clay-ridden soils!) cheek-by-jowl with the rosemaries, Grevilleas, and Eleagnus pungens which were already here. The CA natives replaced literally 1000+ sq. feet of blindingly fluorescent magenta mesembryanthemum and invasive gorse that were also on the hill and almost immediately ripped out. A large valley oak at one end and a really old CA pepper at the other anchor the more-or-less native part of the garden. Like Kim says, it's a real challenge to plant within the severe constraints out here (of course, in Massachusetts, I always thought there was too much rain and lived in what was practically a swamp, but the peonies were beautiful). The roses here mostly hang out in the irrigated flatlands of the yard with the fruit trees and berries. The fruit plants sort of provide infrastructure or divisions for the various "rooms" of roses and keep the color schemes from getting too crazy. Some "non-biome-correct" plants seem to look okay with roses, such as caespitose Yuccas from the southeastern U.S. (e.g., Yucca filamentosa, and where else am I going to put them, she asks?!). -- Debbie

I think I may have to get some grape vines too! Your's look wonderful Don. ☺Successes Yes, deciding to join into the Farmer's market with Brenda, turned out to be great idea. I've met lots of new people and made some coin as well.....surely a win/win situation. Most of the plants made it through last winter, so that's always a plus. I think I only had one iris die, so that was pretty good. Most of the roses bloomed well. Whether the alfalfa tea that I gave them was the cause or not, I'm not sure, but I liked the end results either way.;0) The lilies bloomed really well this summer too. 'Red Dutch' and 'Fancy Crown' didn't do well this year. Fancy Crown just didn't come up at all, so I may have to replace it yet. Forever Blue iris bloomed in the beginning of September. The Pineapple Lily that I thought was rotten this spring and then just tossed into the veggie garden to be tilled under, I found growing in the peppers. So now, it's potted up and will grow happily in the living room for the winter. Got my first seeds from a Tet daylily 'Quest of Dreams'. And I also got a few seeds from Red Ribbons and a noid pink daylily too. I'm not sure why Tets are harder to set pods on, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more next year. Failures Dahlia barely got blooming before frost. And the cannas never did bloom at all. The veggie garden didn't do overly well at all. I think that the poplars and spruce that we planted on the east side, are taking too much of the water and shading it for too long in the morning. So next spring, it will be time to re-evaluate where things will be going. There were quite a few daylilies that had spring sickness, and for some it extended into the summer as well. There are maybe 3 or 4 that I'm not sure if they will make it through the winter or not. Keeping my fingers crossed on those. So therefore, the amount of daylily blooms was a bit disappointing. Cabbage worms did a number on my ornamental cabbages....grrrr. All in all, it was a successful year for me in the garden. I added quite a few new perennials this year, so I'm quite excited to see how well they all do next year.☺

Resin: I appreciate your willingness to continue making suggestions, especially in light of my resistance. You have given me good ideas. Now I need to take field trips to W&M and the Botanical Garden in Norfolk. I'd love to find a conifers expert in this geographic area because it is quite different from most of the Southeast. Beng - Yes, there was something about the Aleppo pine that struck me too. You described it perfectly. I'd like to try growing it. I'll look into the Table Mountain pine and Resin's recommendations as well. David, you are right about our climate. We live on Stingray Point, at the end of a peninsula that juts out into the Bay. Being surrounded by a large body of water on three sides is a strong influence on our climate. Temps and humidity are much lower here than 2-3 miles away. The wind blows most of the time, but we are protected from winds out of the north and northeast by a band of trees. Winters are mild with the first freeze in late Nov to early Dec; last frost around mid-March. The Bay has a cooling effect in the spring and early summer - our temps are often 10 degrees lower than the nearest town 3 miles away. Yes, Pamela Harper lives a few miles south of here, as the crow flies. Now anyone reading this thread knows more than you wanted to know about SE VA. I am sorely tempted to ask about cedars (see photo #2 above) that can take a fair amount of wind, usually from the south, that may go on for weeks in the spring and summer. Given what you know about my climate, would Cedrus libani manage? Cedrus atlantica var. glauca? Neither? Other? Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so I give thanks for your patience and your help. I hope you have a peaceful, happy Thanksgiving. I'll be planting trees so I'll be happy! Pam

Kaspar, if you're still looking in....just to give my tuppence worth, or 2 cents for the locals.... ...to be perfectly frank, the appearance of the wall with it's broken fencing and tatty exterior generally in the background, bins and other debris lying around... doesn't warrant anything too exotic in my opinion, even though your climate supports it... unless you have ambitions to upgrade the site... ...I would keep it simple and plant a hedge of Euonymus japonica 'ovatus aureus' along that wall, for a bright variegated effect, if you don't mind that... alternatively the plain dark green version with an occasional variegated plant thrown in... ...you have some useful wire netting fence behind, on which I would grow an easy Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette'... which would cover that fence by mid summer and contrast with the hedge to startle all passers by... but without being too fussy... it flowers June-Sept and pruning is simple, cut to the ground in February... ....to go a bit further and if you want to startle and amaze, then Clematis 'Bill Mackenzie', another easy pruner, would cover that fence and half way up your tree I should think...but I would use the dark green hedge for this... Alternative hedging suggestions that appeal to me would be Rosemary 'Miss Jessups Upright' or Lavender intermedia 'Grosso'... ...none of these would object to your conditions... ...put some soil into those gaps in the wall and you could grow some attractive Cornish wall plants like Lampranthus, Aubrietia or Alyssum etc... to cascade down... ...at least cover that white pipe to the left there... happy choosing....