You want one of us to come over and help?

Cedar itself is one of the species sch as teak or first-growth redwood that doesn't actually benefit from any protective finishes. But . . . if you want to maintain that fresh cedar look and preventing weathering to a slivery gray, try WoodRX 'Natural'. This is a non-solvent exterior finish that will give you 7-8 years in NY and maintain the pigment of the 'Natural' color pallet. But it's an absorbing finish, so the Thompson's seal coat will have to wear off. The good news is that Thompsons is really a useless product and will be require re-sealing twice a year in the NY humidity. So not so long a wait until your can brush on two coats of WoodRX, which by the way dried very fast, so careful with the brush strokes. It's avaliable from the manufacturer in Ft Meyers, or the online sites of both Lowes and Home Depot.

Flowersaremusic: Yes, that photo was my original inspiration. I decided though, to use different colored roses behind the fence as I couldn't devote so much of my limited real estate to just one variety. Also, I skipped the salvias as they just don't return with much vigor in my garden. And since my nepeta does so well I didn't bother with the baptista either, but I love that picture! I don't know what the issue is with shasta daisies in my garden. I also lost a different variety elsewhere, but I have another in a nearby location that is doing well. I wonder if we just didn't have enough snow cover this year? Summersrythm: I have a few PIP Eden behind the fence in front of my porch and they struggle with the intense heat and sun. I'm trying a mineral type product to see if I can stop the blooms from wilting, if they don't improve this year I may have to take all four out which is such a shame because they can be so gorgeous. Cori Ann: Our spring/summer is probably somewhat similar but shorter like you mentioned. I am strongly considering a smaller ground cover rose if I can find them. My local nursery carries the drift series, not sure about carpet flower. Does the white carpet flower self clean? I have a neighbor with some type of white ground cover rose and after a while they look like dirty, used tissues since they don't ever deadhead. I do like peach drift quite a lot. But maybe something lighter would be better as I have so many colorful roses around. Apple blossom carpet flower looks nice. I always liked the idea of the shata daisies, but I was disappointed in the bloom length. Once good show in july and then a flower here or there through fall, but that's the same with most perennials I guess. Daylilies could work and do well here, but I'm not all that crazy about them. I do have a few in my garden. I like phlox, but it begins to look poorly in my garden, getting yellow legs and lower leaves.

^^^^ A really BAD idea!! Trumpet vines want as much sun as possible and of even greater concern is their habit of sending out very aggressive root suckers at a rapid clip and at a distance from the mother plant. The forums are filled with requests from other gardeners seeking how to rid themselves of these extremely aggressively spreading vines. A 3 1/2 foot tall picket fence is not great support for a climber that wants to grow to 50+ feet. Instead of the Japanese hydrangea, I'd look at something like a clematis. A zillion to choose from and many are quite shade tolerant.