Hahaha, well my lawn looks like it belongs on some kind of a terrible rental property... the green bits are huge patches of crab grass and the rest is yellow! There's a small farm/nursery on the south side of Hwy 2 just east of Lakeridge Road - do you know it? It used to be called Lilac Farm, I think. For some reason because it's smaller, I can organize my thoughts better and I seem to be more efficient when I go there. That's where most of my money goes, although I do a lot of looking and dreaming at V's, I only buy there what I can't get at this other little place. The bigger the place is, the more I seem to aimlessly wander around, wanting everything and getting nothing. Eliza Ann, send me an email any time, if you like! Pam

Cross referencing with your other thread, it seems your walkway is flared at both ends. From your drawing here I thought it wasn't. OK, so you aren't going to re-pour it, and I wouldn't either. If you were, I would not make that corner a right turn, but rather redraft the whole thing into a more gradually curvy swoosh reaching further down the driveway. You could leave the narrow bed by the garage wide enough for something, but to be honest, I think even with a redo I really would just pave to the wall - fill in the whole bed. Plants don't like growing in that situation anyway. With what you have I would tend towards a concept that works for me in my narrow beds: Basically a container gallery with plants at their feet. You could fill in the whole bed with pavers and put in a killer container gallery, or make it a container gallery among plants like mine. Your plants can be a single ground cover or a collection like hostas, hellebores, etc. In short, a bed like this only avoids being a plant line-up with a LOT of hardscape (can include wall art). If you really don't want containers, then study columnar conifers. Say, Taxus media 'Flushing,' Taxus baccata 'Golden Dwarf,' and the other usual suspects. Very structural stuff, including anything smaller you put in and can prune fairly flat (Cephalotaxus might be cool like that, has great foliage up close). But stay as far back from the door as you can with anything tall or wide. I would not do vines here. I would do structure. Structure is really missing from all the plants you have there too. Indeterminate blobs. You need big leaves. But I'm suggesting containers because to me your yard really needs hardscape. I know you have rocks, but they echo what I think is a bit of a design failing IN your beds (never mind their shape for a moment): kind of a tendency toward... spots? That captures what I don't like in your narrow bed now, what I don't like about the rose bed (and sorry, I hate those plants anyway - more indeterminate blobs with small leaves), and what I don't like about the rocks you've got. Plop. That's kind of the way I see a lot of those placement decisions. Collecting your boulders into groups might be much better. Collecting your plants into groups would too. I know all this doesn't address overall design, but that narrow bed isn't likely going to be part of any overall design anyway as it doesn't have "line" connection with anything you might do on the property (unless you can apply Woody's idea of running lines across the walkway...). I still like Woody's drawing but as far as overall design is concerned, I LOVE pls's concept. I wonder what would happen if you erased all the beds you've got and tried to sketch that out. Maybe boulder rearrangement could be guided by this concept at least. And it might enable you to keep some of the house wall clear. So I'm rambling a bit, sorry. Yes, I see bed shape as a problem here, but I think bed design/planting scheme is also contributing to the whole composition not working. Focal points, structure, hardscape, garden furniture... I think that is where you will need to go once you have bed shape worked out. It is not only plants that contribute balance, unity, repetition, etc. Actually now that I think about it, my plant zoo is actually irrelevant to my yard's design. I could move all my plants into different positions tomorrow, and the overall impression the yard makes would remain the same based on the hardscape alone. I think you are expecting the plants to BE your design, and that is maybe the fatal flaw. Karin L

Well, its been thunderstorming the past 2 days since I started this thread so I still haven't been able to get out there and start the cleanup. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, DH pointed out to me that my entire newly-planted lily bed (of over 300 bulbs) had been ravaged by deer. These lilies were only a couple weeks away from blooming and were chewed right down to stubs. As many of you know, true lilies from bulbs will only put out one flowering stalk per year and if it is cut there will be no flowers that year. I spent a fortune on bulbs in the fall, not to mention the backbreaking labor and was so close to enjoying their long-awaited blooms. The deer have been a problem this year with munching on my roses but at least that rosebed are all modern roses that can bloom again....the lilies are done for. It's getting more and more difficult to not give up. Beetle season will be arriving as soon as the sun returns. But as DH pointed out, no matter what, I could never stop being a gardener. Its in my blood and in my heart, for better or worse. This year has certainly seen the worst! (sigh) Celeste Lily stalks chewed down by deer.....

Thanks guys, things are getting better and the sun is shining again today. My DD did call last night about 10:45, woke me up, said there had been a hold up at gun point on campus, not far from the sorority house where she was at, and by not far I mean like 50 yards away. The campus does have security and an escort service to see you to your dorm or where ever. Since DD and others are there early for sorority stuff I'm not sure if security is at full staff right now. She called to let me know that she was fine and all involved are fine, because she knew I would see this on the news this morning and worry. Why let me get a good nights sleep and worry the next day when you can call and wake me up and let me sleep fitfully the rest of the night. This does worry me, but what can you do? I caution DD to be aware of her surroundings and to not walk anywhere alone after dark and if something like this should happen to her, to give them anything they want because nothing is worth your life.