Hi Andrew, I live in Burlington County. I started Asparagus 13 years ago here and in Camden County 5 years before I moved here. I planted Blue berries about 8 years ago here. I have two suggestions. First read as much as you can. I have a decent garden library. If I had the web 20 years ago I wouldn't have one book. There is so much good free info. So many States have university extentions with web sites that are loaded with info. Rutgers, Cornell, UC, Wisconson, etc... This site has all sorts of things that are also interesting and informative. A great place to get ideas and inspiration. Two, do all you can to improve the soil. The asparagus likes a rich well drained loam. It is a heavy feeder and the crowns will spread. I have a raised bed here that is surrounded with lumber and I believe the crowns are outgrowning the boarder. I don't have a big plot and I think I got a dozen crowns. Eight would have been enough. Gardening does require some long term planning for the best results. It may be one of the reasons it is satisfying. The blue berries also like well draining soil. It is very important to get the PH below 5 for the best results. It took me a few years to accomplish this and the results were impressive. Adding a different variety will also help fruiting. Leave the berries on the bush to ripen. Birds do like them though. I could add more but try the Rutgers site for info. Best wishes Chef Hick

The only one I have grown from your list is Casabel. They take a long time to ripen, are fairly large plants, and personally, I didn't have a lot of productivity. I dried them for grinding into powder for chili. They have very thin walls. Kind of a neat pepper, but, if you are that limited on space, that one would be on the chopping block. Put it this way...I tried overwintering one to see if it would do better a second year. Assuming it survives, this is its last chance, if it doesn't do very well in my garden this year, it won't be back next.

"I've heard enough stories to know that unrealistic declared budgets are common enough that many professionals routinely disregard them, and enough clients manage to cough up cash they said they wouldn't spend," Sounds like what happened to us. We wound up firing the architect, redoing the drawings, and going it on our own. Believe me, this is only the start, before you have touched anything. AT this rate, and especially if the architect is charging you everytime he talks to someone and chooses a faucet, then I'm betting you are looking at doubling the cost of your project before it is over. Believe me, every little decision that he makes "managing" your project---and there will be a thousand, he'll charge you. Consider it the lawyer-fee approach to padding the contract... "Oh, that $80 on the bill? I was thinking about you when I was in the shower." You are naive, as were we. But I'm a little fed up with the ads for the AIA that encourage the general public to work with an architect, because it's way overkill, considering that there are many general contractors who are capable of doing your plans and completing the project with you making real decicions, since you obviously know what you want. My advice is that if your budget is real, that you should get out now while you can, break off the relationship with the architect, even if you must redraft plans and get new permits. Know what? Our architect drew remodel plans that were not even buildable, based on our existing foundation. So we'd have been into our $200K project for at least another $150K. We brought it in on budget only by doing all the finish work ourselves.... we also fired the contractor. Get out now.

Hi Ken, Thanks for responding, I really appreciate it! I hoped that you would, because in my silly diatribe, I forgot to specify WHY I'd be concerned about planting nem-infested plants in the gardens. Here's why and it shows how much I don't know.... I read a list by a university that specified "host plants" for foliar nems. It included nearly every shade plant I own: Heucheras, Brunnera, echinacea p., garden phlox, ferns, Azaleas and RHODYS!!! (The brunnera looked suspicious, so I tore them out yesterday.) My fear is that if the hostas have nems that maybe they somehow could infest the RHODYS which are about 5+ feet tall now, and I hope to have them get huge along the perimeter of my yard. I have big-leaf and little-leaf rhodys. I would DIE if they contracted nems and perished or "stunted" or whatever. Also, if they (rhodys and azaleas) are carriers of nems, will they infect the hostas so severely that they will suffer and die? I really don't know! And btw, I did not plant echinacea and phlox in the shade gardens!! The birds did!! Thanks!