Those trees used to shade that complex, and I'm sure the tenants appreciated it during the summer. They'll probably have tufts of twigs at the ends of those stumpy branches for a long time now. That will be interesting to see!! How do I find the City Forester? I know Texas Parks & Wildlife used to have an Urban Forester, I heard him give a talk about the urban forest once, but have no idea how to get in touch with him, there's no link on the TPW website. A search for "urban forester houston" yields a landscaping company. Way to go, Ken. private means private, even if what they do is butchery. God forbid, they should cut them out and replace them with Bradford pears, though! I found a city ordinance that regulates the planting of street trees, but I think these are a bit too far back to be street trees. And I learned that the city of Houston requires each new house to have one street tree in the front yard, and it can be a new tree or existing tree. Wow, I had no idea. I have noticed that the landscapers usually stick a small live oak in the yards of new houses, even if the yard is the size of a postage stamp. I can just imagine the damage to foundations and driveways when those trees get large. The tree canopy will be larger than the yards. Very good, Ghost! Thanks! This post was edited by eahamel on Thu, Jan 31, 13 at 20:30

hehehe....I'm starting to feel like I'm in a receiving line at an very big Italian wedding! This forum looks deceptively obscure and small, but step in the door and....MEET the inlaws! "This is my cousin Vinny. He's a Grimaldi man all the way...he'll set you up". Okay, my giggles are subsiding enough to type on... Phoenixryan, thanks for the welcome. And I really appreciate you confirming that Kartuz is a reliable grower, cuz that was just a shot in the dark. And I also appreciate knowing about the eBay grower/venders. Someone else mentioned them in this thread but I thought they were folks from this forum. So now I know they are eBayers. Well any addict will tell ya...always good to have sources...day or night. Hi Daniella (or is it Daniel?)! Maybe we should start a 12 step program for pre-brugs. However your enthusiasm is dangerously contagious and it might backfire. And yes we are all one...and I'm sure to become color blind. Speaking of enthusiasm... I went to the nursery today and the woman attendant led me through a maze of plants in the greenhouse and finally stopped at the one brug plant which apparently was left like an orphan to fend off the winter alone. I was still on a brug high from my conversations in this forum and was speaking about them in hushed, breathless tones of awe. The attendent seemed perplexed at all the fuss. I asked when they were planning to get more in and she said it was not really on their plant list, but they sometimes took them when growers had them available. She said they weren't big money makers for growers. I must have gasped because she raised her eyebrows and began backing away. I'm guessing she thought I was one of those folks who claimed to see the image of Mother Mary in a leaf or cracker....as my reverence for this mere 'plant' seemed vastly disproportionate to her own borderline disinterest. See what you guys did! I need to get a grip! Anyway, thank you again for all the help and welcomes. My name is Dragonfly Wings and I've been a brug addict for two days, one hour and 36 minutes....

Here are some thoughts from the southern fringe of the Hill Country, AKA Canyon Lake. Water and electricity are expensive but to well heeled folk moving here it doesn't seem to be an issue to scrap bare the native vegatation and transpose what ever city concept of plants they choose to use. They bring in "top soil" (with weeds:( and want their city lawn grasses. I guess what I am saying is many new folks moving in and think they want what they had from where ever they came from to grow here. Some even succeed to a degree but many learn over a few years not to try and subjugate Mother Nature and learn to adapt often after they have destroyed their ecosystem. On the other hand there is a groundswell of people moving in that appreciate Mother Nature and try to adapt to their environmnent and utilize the local plants to make their landscapes an extentsion of the surrounding area. Getting involved with the Master Gardner program will be a big plus. It is what I did when I came to Texas from Hawaii 11 years ago. I would also look at the Master Naturalist program to further educate you about the local flora and fauna. Deer will be an issue so learning about the basics of plants that are deer resistant (there is not such a thing as deerproof IMO:). Many folks will do raised beds to adapt to the area instead of trying to punch holes in the limestone rock. I would expect you to do just fine with finding work after a period of adjustment and real Hill Country living. Welcome to the Hill Country and enjoy the majestic beauty that abounds here and look to educate those behind you how to help keep Austin weird and the Hill Country, the Hill Country. An Eagles song says a lot for how I feel about the Hill Country or any place we humans call Paradise. The song is Paradise Lost. I love the Hill Country and try to help other keep it that way as a horticulturist and garden center manager. Mulch of choice local when possible, red cedar if not. I am of the camp that termites are not an issue except those that build on the ground. I am on pier and beam so I would see tunnels before any damage would be done. Not much leaves my property unless I can't figure out a way to reuse it some way. Welcome and Happy Growing David

OhmyGOSH, thank you guys so much for the reassurance! If success is possible, armed with less than a dozen pictures and my own personality, well, what a relief. :-P Don't become too enamored with any specific house design or type until you have specific land in mind. :-) Virtually zero chance of that happening, lol, but the reminder is *always* a good one!!! I'm actually not sure I'm capable of becoming attached to a house (former military brat who moved around a lot), lol, so no worries there. And yes, atrium would be awesome, but so would a million combinations of other things, like 2 L's facing each other but one inverted; 2 mirrored U's; 2 mirrored C's; an I with an L; an H with an I; three Is (man I wish this forum used a serif font, so that my Is made more sense); whatever. As long as I can get some courtyards out of it, that I can throw potted roses into, I'll be happy, lol. I will admit that sometimes, it seems like I'm so picky I'll never be happy, and other times I'm totally like, "Oh yeah all of those options are cool." I think with macro stuff, I'm happy with a ton of different things, but the micro gets me every time (like why can't I find *any* light fixtures that I would kill to have????). :-D So maybe my real worry should be interior design, lol.