" was thinking of running a low watt deicer OR draining the pond a few inches so that the "island" part sticks up so I can keep a few inches of water in there and run a birdbath deicer for the birds". coneflowergal, Since you are using the pond as a wildlife oasis, I think your above mentioned idea is the way to go. It sounds like a great plan. Horton"

Thanks for all the repies. While my interminably slow dial up opened this page, I took a survey of the slope, and all the beds in the back yard. I guess it really is only one plant I am worried about making it through the winter, and that is the lavendar "Munstead" which is at one part of the top of the slope. It is my first attempt to grow lavendar here, and a cousin with deep pockets and who hires professional landscapers has had no luck here with lavendar. Mine is alive so far (planted in early summer) though it isn't much bigger than I started out with. I love lavendar, and am hoping it will makes it. If it does, I'm getting more. I think I will forget the netting--it was free from a relative who grows grapes. The mulch seems to be staying put. The slope, which used to be buffalo grass and weeds, is too steep to mow safely, at least at my advanced age, and too big to weed-eat. The slope: Faces west, runs north/south, bounded at the top by a sidewalk and at the bottom by the street. Depth? From sidewalk to street is about 10 feet. It is two city lots wide. The south end curves up because that is our driveway. The north end curves because it intersects with another street. About 2/3rd of the center portion contains four very old trees. The south end is the smaller of the two planting beds and gets a little shade because of the first tree. The north is a larger area than the south, and I have planted the full sun portion of it. The angle in general is about 35-40 degrees. I am pretty confident about what's planted in the north bed. At the top facing the west, is what I call section one. I transplanted some ornamental grass (Pennisetum alopecuriodes) in three clumps at the top, and it is thriving. Below that also facing west are three "little spire" sage plants and below that near the bottom is artemesia. Section two is the curved part. Staggered down the slope between section one and two are Stella d'oro daylilies. Section two then is planted in liriope which goes around a city light pole. Coming down the slope in section three, which faces north, is creeping phlox, emerald Blue. Just room for three plants going downhill. At the curb, going all the way around and forming a border, is a type of sedum that grows everywhere here and townspeople refer to it as "Everlasting." I think it is a pink relative of Autumn Joy. All the plants are doing well, and after the initial period of daily watering while they rooted, have really been nicely drought tolerant. I know the plants arn't terribly original, but we save our time and money for our back yard where we spend all our time. The grasses (pennisetum) were a transplant fromthe back, as were all the lirope and the "everlasting." The Stella d'oro's were on sale and cheap, the "little spires" bought on sale in June, and the artemisia on sale last week. Other than the border sedum, I am trying to stick with blue/yellow. I forgot, on the west facing side running down the slope and bordering the area where the shade begins, are 9 creeping phlox plants, also "Emerald Blue." I also plan to put in some spring bulbs here and there next month. So, is this enough to root the soil and prevent erosion? From one comment above, the phlox doesn't have deep roots, so that worries me a little. The south sun/partial shade now has the "everlasting around the curve like the north. In the sun part I have three red switch grass plants that I just put in coming down the driveway slope in a slight curve. I couldn't get them very close to the driveway, so there is an area behind them that is quite steep and I need to do something there to hold the soil. I was thinking of using some large natural colored stone rock pieces, and also plant some bulbs in there. From the street, the switch grass will hide the dying spring foliage. If you think that the rock will hold the soil. In front of the switch grass are three meadow sage plants. The partial shade part now just has black cloth weedblock and will stay that way until spring. Any ideas for this? It does get late afternoon and evening summer sun and early morning sun, but is in shade from about 10:30 a.m. until 5 pm. Then it gets sun till summer sundown. Sorry this is long, but I think I need to find some more deep rooted plants and need your ideas. I just put the switch grass and meadow sage in. The sage seems to have a very thick center root, so I think the switch grass and sage will hold the soil. As for the center largest portion, it will have to wait for spring. I want something agressive and have been thinking of the common blue-flowering vinca. The tree canopies are very high, so there is some morning sun, and quite a bit of late afternoon and evening sun in the summer. It might not flower without much sun, but I don't care. I just want something there to hold the soil and be green. There's a lot of space to cover which is why I thought vinca would work. I'd be happy with some sort of ivy too if you have suggestions. It just has to be non-fussy, and no care. BUT....will vinca hold the soil and stop erosion? If the vinca really grows and works, I don't mind trimming it back now and then. Thanks for listening to this long description. I really appreciate any advice. I had written earlier about plumbago and still want to plant some, but not in any large swath. Alleycallie, north central Kansas

Greetings Laura, Briefly, after the first good frost, cut off all your leaves and spray the entire pseusdostem with COPPER based fungicide then wrap the stem in burlap. Then I would build a simple cage a foot or two around the stem and fill with DRY straw or other types of mulch. Afterwards, cover everything with plastic or a tarp to keep everything dry. In regards to keeping a potted plant outdoors, I would strongly discourage this as potted plants are more susceptible to the cold even if you mulch heavily. If you like I could show you some pics of my crude wintering process. Regards Phil

konrad: Thanks. I've noticed quite a few red-tails sitting in trees on the side of Route 1 in Chester County, PA (Route 1 is a 4-lane lightly used road here). The hawks stare into the grass median, and when they see something, they are quite focused on their prey. In fact, I had to slow down to miss one that was flying into the median. Claire: I remember reading a post here about bluebirds going to a window to ask for food. That was when I first started watching the birds. Well, I thought it was someone's imagination--until I realized it wasn't. There was a time when a mother mockingbird kept screaming at me until I chased a cat from near her nest. When I was feeding the birds regularly, the white-throats, upon seeing me, would jump up from the brush, land in the bushes, and sing to me. Probably the most amusing was when the male and female red-bellied woodpeckers--whom I always call red and rosie--landed in a tree on the side of the house and started shouting at me. I looked at the feeder with mixed nuts and saw it was empty. Once I filled it with their mixed nuts (they like the white ones and always search for them), they left me alone and ate their nuts. Here is something you may wish to try with mockingbirds. While in the yard, I may discover a mockingbird nest by observing the parents repeatedly going towards the same general area. The parents will first land on a nearby branch and look at me. This is where I must obey their rule. When the parent looks at me, I must turn away from the parent. I usually turn my back to them. Then, the parent heads for the nest and I hear the happy chirp of the chicks being fed. I don't know if this is a learned mockingbird trait or if it is instinct. However, the parent will fly away unless I look away while they go to the nest. I've been obeying their rule for years now.