The Best Laid plans of mice and men My neighbor has started to raise a stink. The trees are right on the property line and yesterday she came over and did some hack pruning on the Yew I am saving to "show me that it could look nice" She also said that I can not take down the Hemlock with woolly adelgid even though she will expect me to treat it (It is fully on her property). She protested about removing the Leylands but agreed in the end if no one entered her property. I think her kids are in her ear. anyway, that leaves me with about 20 feet to plant. Here are the plants that I liked at the Nursery I use. Picea Omorika Picea Orientalis Juniperus Virginiana 'Taylor' Cryptomeria Yoshino Cedarus Deodor I think I can plant two and maybe squeeze in the Cedar just outside the drip line of the Hemlock. I like Hemlock but it is limbed up already and the power line boys have butchered it and it took massive storm damage. If I did not have a 70+ footer of my owner I would let the Adelgid take care of it. Thoughts? I am thinking 2 Spruce and 1 Cedar but it will be crowded since those Spruce closer than 8' is going to get competitive. Cheers, Carl

Linda, Actually, you can grow C&S outside, but they would be the cold-hardy-for-you type. Many c/h C&S would benefit from the blanket of snow - it's an insulator. There are lots of Sedums and Sempervivums which would do well for you, and I'd think some Opuntias and perhaps Escobarias, too. And some of that stuff fell on us, but nothing like the quantities which you have.

I have the same problem after the massive snow we got a couple weeks ago. I don't know when the split occurred - sometime between Feb 6 and yesterday when i uncovered the tree. There was a large split right at the crown (?) of the tree and one of the three primary branches was splitting off too. See pictures before and after my 'repair'. I used cotton rope (might be sash cord), and wound it VERY tightly. The split at the top is pulled nearly completely together, but as you can see from the pics, there's still a little 'crack' showing. I don't think I can pull it together any tighter. Do you think what i've done is good or do I need to adjust, use different materials, or try a different method? Thanks for any advice you can give. -Chris Here is a link that might be useful: split maple and repair

Sorry for the delay. Thank you for the comments :) Cnetter - I picked and ate a steamed cauliflower tonight for dinner that was delicious because I picked earlier (broccoli too). When I plunged it in water in the kitchen sink to wash, a million earwigs came out. Yuck! Lilacs - my garden has been enjoying the rain too. I should take pics again as it seems everything is twice the size in just the past ten days or so. Michelle - I like the raised beds for their ease and also for the look. My dream for the garden was to be French Potager style but the flower seeds I planted didn't work out like I'd hoped. Better luck next year eh! Digit - Thank you for your thoughtful comments and the time to browse. Parsley- anyway to get those greens in! You can't taste it with all the fruit. Parsley pesto - no recipe just to taste: olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesean cheese and a little basil. The long skinny eggplant is 'Ichiban Hybrid' and the round one is 'Satin Beauty'. It's been really prolific this year. I've eaten a bunch and there are quite a few ripening with new ones forming. I did cut some of the dill for drying, thank you. My new oven has a dehydrating setting, so I'll try it and see how it works. I finally got two cukes today. We ate some green beans, a few carrots, and a purple pepper as well as gypsy pepper. I used a cherry bomb pepper in a saute. Something is eating my cabbage. I suspect earwigs; they are everywhere ick. I'm going to make some cole slaw tomorrow before they get it all. I planted swiss chard, spinach, leaf lettuce, beets and more carrots for a fall harvest hopefully. Happy Gardening :) Charlene