Pachysandra terminalis is the only thing that I have found that will grown under my maple, period. It flourishes and eats up leafs and requires no watering or fertilization. I doubt it can take foot traffic especially children playing. My suggestion is an area of pachysandra set into a definte constrained area with a six inch or more heavy duty edging, Roundup sprayed one or twice a year on the rhizomes that will eventually work their way under the edging and peastone or artificial grass for the kids. The pachysandra, when constrained, will fill in very thick and will earn its nickname "green mulch". Left to wander it will look unkept and straggly. That's my suggestion, good luck whatever you decide. Jon

Hi, If you check Craigslist and other classifieds, and tell everyone you know that you're looking for bricks (or anything else) they may start showing up on your porch. I put out the word that I need bricks and in one month, there are over 1500 of them in my yard, all for my favorite price, FREE!! A friend of mine says that there are a few bricks everywhere. It appears to be true. If you get bricks from lots of sources and mix them up, they just all go together. Sand is cheap to lay them on. If you dig down in the soil to make the bricks level with it, you won't need rebarb around the edge to hold them in place. Some people on the Garden Junk and Trash to Treasure forums have made paved areas out of wood and other materials. You may want to post this question on those forums. There's a lot of wood being thrown away everywhere in the form of pallets and old redwood or cedar fence boards. You can build a frame from 2x4's or pallet 'stringers' and nail the fence boards on top of them to make a wood floor. If the termites move in, just throw it away and make a new one. (Treated 2x4's are inexpensive and shouldn't be attacked by termites.) Total cost-the price of nails or screws. If splinters are an issue, the boards can be sanded and finished with any exterior stain, sealer or paint. Anyone with 7th grade carpenter skills could help build this thing. You may be able to find a sale on new fence boards and be within your landlord's budget. The wood is far less work than bricks and will possibly be cooler to walk on. This answer has nothing to do with landscape design, just a few ideas about getting a cheap patio. Hope that helps, Linda

Thanks for the suggestions! The Emerald Gaity (sp?) euonymus is a popular cultivar in this neck of the woods. Do you know if they are prone to scale infestations? I'm too cheap to get my soil tested, but all the neighbours are unanimous in saying that everything will die because the pine tree makes the soil too acidic and nothing can possibly grow there. Hmm, think I'll ignore that. Soil tends to be more alkaline than acidic in Ottawa because of the high clay content, but on the other hand, I am willing to believe that the pine does have some acidifying effect. In the recent issue of Canadian Gardening, one of the head honchos of the American Rhododendron Society gently takes issue with the assertion that rhodos require high acidity. Hmm again, although I take her expertise a lot more seriously than the neighbours'. In any event, mulching mine with pine needles will be easy, we get an abundant harvest every year as you can see in the photo. I already mulch both back beds with the cones (large ones, I think the pine is an Eastern white) to discourage my cat. They aren't 100% effective for that, but they do make a difference. I think the needles and cones together should probably suffice for acidic amendments. In any case, I'm willing to make the experiment. Redtwig dogwood is another popular shrub around here. Doesn't it get rather big around though?

Things are better today. DH is feeling better today, yesterday was a "bad" day, today is a "good" day. We were told that would be the case for the next three to six months. My daughter came over and cleaned house, that's a regular thing on saturdays anyway, and she did a few extra chores as directed by my DH, so he is not only feeling better, but he's feeling more in control of his life. His eldest son called to check on him (he wasn't involved in the yard cleaning) and chat a bit, DH called his middle son and they talked, cheered him up considerably. He called my son last evening and asked him to bring my two little grandaughters over for a short visit tomorrow afternoon. DH's oldest grandaughter came by to give her Grandpa a big hug and a visit. We still haven't heard a thing from the 'drama queens' and that's ok, the last thing he needs is any more 'drama' in his life right now. I hope they stay away as long as possible. DH has decided to let it all go, he says it is their problem now, not his. He's getting a ton of support from people who love and respect him. I'm going along with whatever he wants, plus I won't allow anyone to walk on me ever again. I'll be 'nice' but I'll stand my ground. Thank you all for your good advice and for letting me vent a bit. It has really helped. And thank you for the good wishes on my sweetheart's recovery and rehabilitation. We're looking forward to quite a few more good years of gardening together.