Why I NEVER, justa! :-o You must examine the VERB phrase in Al's answer... (LOL!) Claudia

You have such pretty flowering trees and bushes that are your precursors to the roses:) Nature is helping you out though with all that beautiful color after a long winter though. Those crabapple blossoms are wonderful! I agree excellent pics of all of these. I tried one year to get the flowers on the neighbors apple tree and the light came through the same way yours does and I failed. That was in a zone the roses wouldn't bloom until almost June/July depending on the weather and then of course here come the deer. I really miss the quiet and the forest but not the 3 month growing season:)

Hey mountaineergirl! Glad to know I'm not the only one from "Almost Heaven West Virginia!" I'm from the big city of Charleston -- fourth generation (at least); went off to college in central Kentucky, seminary on Boston's North Shore, honeymooned across America with everything I owned in a UHaul truck to settle in Los Angeles for 4 years, then came back east, inside the Capital Beltway in Maryland for 6 years, then finally home again, home again to Charlie West. Like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home!"

alameda - usually we hatch the top of the stump both directions with the chainsaw when it comes down. I think we did this to this one but the top notches have all been knocked off by hitting it with the lawnmower. I remember hubby painting it with florescent paint in the early days. Yes you can drill holes and I have heard use high nitrogen fertilizer like ammonia nitrate or a 30 N and cover with black plastic. Never heard the Epsom salts. Linda G - if you can't burn or get a grinder then grunt work is all that's left. I haven't done a new stump, only ones that were older, the newest ones were 3 years old that I took out for my lattice garden. I have my redbud stump that I would like to remove the stump and roots so I could plant another tree because these bushes aren't cutting it for me. I am going to try the drilling with it because we never crosshatched this one. It's about 18" across at the top but the root line is of course much larger. It may take a year or two - I know it's never a quickly done thing. Kristine - " I have purchased and hauled enough soil to build my own island" - isn't that the truth! Hubby is never thrilled with all the dirt I buy each year. But he doesn't complain too much as long as he isn't paying for it or has to handle it in any way. Although he did help me unload sand last year so I could get a second load in one day. Wowser! That was really appreciated! These pathways are becoming a real burr in my side. I started thinking this garden area with the lattice takes me about 20-30 minutes a week to mow and I will spend probably 2-3 hours weeding paths, even if I use crushed limestone which packs well. I have proof of how poorly that translates in a few years. Plus the cost of materials. But grass requires trimming and edging or it looks all ragged even if I just mowed.