On another thread recently, a regular poster here did a *:facepalm:* which perfectly expresses my feelings when I see "window boxes" in posts about landscaping. Honestly, spare yourself. How the heck would you water the things, and if you could they'd drip on your cars... Ditto for clematis up the posts. Very romantic - in summer - but have you ever seen clematis in winter? And they do grow INTO eaves; they do not naturally curve out and go over the roof. Ask me how I know. Blank slates, big or small, are daunting until you start fleshing out the parameters and constraints you face, which can be best done by looking really hard at function. In this case, these include preservation of sight lines, shade and sun preferences, and property lines, both on the ground and in the air. So for example, you want shade on your son's room - so put a tree in spot A. But choose a tree that does not make an overwhelming mess nor spread or seed excessively (hint to my neighbours: not a Norway Maple). You want some screening probably just at a certain spot when people are looking from a certain height to a certain height. A wall of green may not be necessary to block this - perhaps three columnar evergreens, either upright or droopy or some of each. The property line looks like it is a huge issue to me. It looks to me as if your neighbour will want to have walkable space next to that boat, and will step on your plants if they don't have it. Having had my fill of neighbour issues, I personally would either leave that area for them to do something with, or do it in flagstone with ground cover or in brick - end of story. Then it's space you can use to weed or prune your plants too. Legal issues aside, it just has to work on a day to day basis. Now, the next step is debatable depending on whether you DIY or are having this done for you. You see, a designer always has to do a plan in advance and then get approval and work to it, because the designer then goes away. If you are DIY, you have the luxury of feeling your way through this, because you're always going to be there. And plants can be moved. In other words, the designer has to get it right first time. In contrast, you get to make a few mistakes, and change your mind. Yes, it can cost an extra few dollars, but if you get it mostly right, not that much. First maybe you address a boulder(s). If your husband is a rock person, I'd go along with this, because I am one and I know that when you need rocks, you need rocks. If you don't get your rock, you suffer from rock envy, which can make a person grumpy. Go rock shopping together (or watch craigslist or your local construction sites for free ones). Next, you go plant shopping. You get a few plants. You may find tall slender evergreens among them - there are some great junipers in this category (also some great ground-hugging junipers for the front end of the driveway) and some amazing drooping spruces. You argue about where to put them, and then you go back to the nursery a few weeks later and get a few more (lots of new stock coming in through the season, don' t just go once). Then you plant and live with it. Move it around if something isn't right (in the fall, not in the summer). (It is already actually a little late to plant without being sure of watering adequately this first summer - be aware of that). You might find yourself picking up a few new plants as the weeks or months, or years, go by. In a way, though, all my advice is only going to lead you to one key realization: what you and your husband each want is not incompatible. There's plenty of room on that strip for both of you. KarinL

Yikes! Not only Miracle Grow....but Moisture Control! That stuff holds an excessive amount of moisture, which leads to poor root development and overall plant stress. The only trick I can think of right now is to use a wick from the bottom of the drainhole. This will allow excess water to drain down the wick, lowering the perched water in the pot. Next year, I'd recommend a mix of bark (or appropriate mulch), perlite, and a small portion of peat (or potting mix). This will give you the drainage AND the water retention you want. I haven't used that particular fertilizer, but I'd go with something that offers nutrients in the ratio that plants most closely use those nutrients: a 3-1-2 ratio. Josh

West: Suggestions? You want suggestions? Tiffy and I would fill the front garden area with beautiful flowers, and we shamelessly lure unsuspecting victims to our obsession. Wintersow flowers for next to nothing. Required are empty milk jugs or other plastic containers with lids, potting mix, some cheap seeds (and we can direct you to some free seeds too...) In Tenessee, I start with things like echinacea and Black eyed Susans, gaillardia and agastache, salvia, melampodium... Email me or Tiffy if you're interested- we'll get you on the road to a beautiful flower garden by summer. And you can wintersow veggies, too. Karen

Thank you everyone, and especially those of you who have posted photos. I have been on a little hiatus because I had some minor surgery, and to be honest I forgot that I posted this! I truly understand what most of you mean when you say that you should not prune until the roses are about 3-4 years old, I know they need their energy stores, I know that they have awkward teenage stages (hey, who doesn't?). The thing is that most of the ones I am having troubles with are Austins, and just judging by how much growth they put on last year, if I went this whole year without pruning them I think by fall they might be gathering up mailmen and loose dogs that wonder on to my porch. I suppose I am of the same mindset as Lori_elf, to help inspire new growth I want to get rid of some of this awkward growth that will not support strong, large canes, even if they seem a little young for it. I always get a little confused when talking about the ages of some of my roses anyway, Munstead wood for example is going into it's second year in my garden, but I purchased it as a large (4' at time of purchase), grafted, 3 gallon plant from my local nursery, so it obviously spent at least a year with them, if not more, so would you consider him to be 3 years old at this point? or still just going on 2 because that is how long he has been with me? Not that it really matters all that much because when I judge them, I don't really consider their age as much as I consider their overall size and the vigor that I have witnessed under my own care. For example, I have two Jude the Obscure plants which I got last spring, both have been living in pots that are 12" across since their initial transplant. One plant was a band from from Heirloom and it was purchased earlier in the year, the other was a gallon sized plant purchased from Chamblees purchased a little later in the year. The band from Heirloom really took off and put on a lot of growth last year & is now about 3' tall, he is the one with the odd candelabra situation. Even though the Chamblees specimen was supposed to be a "gallon sized plant", he has grown much slower, but has retained more of a pleasantly round & even shape, it is a little over 1' tall. I feel comfortable pruning the Heirloom specimen because the largest cane is very thick & long, the plant is tall and seems very healthy. I would however not prune the Chamblees plant, it is still very small and looks very young at this point. I think this is due to the unusually small root ball it had upon arrival, both plants I bought from Chamblees did (the other being Molineux) which is why I probably won't be ordering from them again, they were puny as gallon sized plants and have been surpassed by every single band I purchased from Heirloom at this point. I did prune both the roses that I mentioned in the original post, but I did it gently, not removing the entire candelabra, just a few of the smaller branches here and there, or the most awkward growth on the cane in question, so that the new growth that they put on this spring will help them evolve into more balanced, rounded shrubs. I don't have many roses large enough to prune, so these two being some of my only decent sized shrubs (3-5ft tall) I really wanted them to be presentable, even if it sets them back a tiny bit, I need something pretty to look at while I'm waiting on my herd of 1 year old gallon sized babies to mature. I really don't think it will cause them much of a problem, because as I said, almost all of my Austins have grown very quickly and vigorously so far, and I already see Jude swelling into large buds in all the places I was hoping he would, so I think he will do great this year, still waiting on MW, but I think he will do great as well. I'll try to snap some photos today. Thanks again for all your responses! Jessica.