There are some pines in a neighbor's yard near my blueberries, the needles of which would tend to make the soil acid, and I did use some peat in the initial planting. I should make some amendments for all the acid loving plants we have, though; it's well past time to do that. The grapes grow so vigorously because I raised ducks in that area years ago. They need more sun--some finally produced running along a ditch behind my other neighbor directly behind us, which gets full sun, but he destroyed the portion of the vine edging his ditch, with all the unripe grapes on it. I never got to taste even one. :o( He hates my plants, I guess. When he first moved in he put a chain link fence around his yard so he wouldn't have to walk his dog and killed the best hibiscus shrub in the neighborhood to put in an enormous shed. I swear he throws herbicide around every spring--I get allergic reactions to that so bad the membrane detaches from the whites of my eyes--but of course he denies it. His ditch edges what used to be a nice row of forsythia placed there to avoid erosion; of course, he also murdered all of that to protect and make even more visible his ugly chain link fence. Luckily I had started some Allegheny viburnums back near there a few years previously, and they obscure most of his disgustingly plain doggy lawn with the garishly colored, enormous dirty plastic toy house for his kids (which he placed in the only spot where my other shrubs wouldn't obscure it from view. I really have begun to believe the b****** is jealous because I have a few bird feeders and a lantern hung back there, as well as a little metal gazebo. He did say he wished he had time to do more on his own property. I don't know why people move out of the city if they don't like plants. They want the fresh air and space, but cut down all the trees (they did that too) so they don't have to rake leaves. People like that should stay in the city and choke to death on their own fumes. I do have to admit that my growth of Motherwort was a bit alarming for a few years...

A bit late in responding.... You can find clover (you want 'Dutch' clover, it's low growing and will tolerate being mowed and some foot travel) at any farm and feed supply place. Make sure if the clover seed you get is NOT innoculated to get the 'innoculate' for it (aids in germination). Also, if you live in a suburban type neighborhood, be prepared to be hated by your neighors and have every chemical lawn care business in a 3 state radius knocking on your door! Hard core lawn fanatics go apoplectic at the thought, let alone the sight of a lone clover plant NEAR their yard. Keep in mind that using any herbicides or 'weed & feed' products defeats the purpose of sowing clover. On the plus side, clover, once established, stays 'green' without all the watering that a 'normal' lawn requires, will grow well even in bad soil (it also helps enrich the soil). It's not to late to sow some clover into your yard... I sowed it in my lawn three years ago and absolutely LOVE it! While the rest of my neighborhood reeks of lawn chemicals and festooned with the little 'warning' flags about not walking on the poison they just dosed their lawn with for 24 hours (what happens after 24 hours, anyway, does it just go away?), my yard is awash with clover bloom, green and fragrant! Oh, do NOT let your dogs repeatedly urinate on plants you like! While a little may be good or okay-too much will 'burn' the plant.

I like the idea. Living where it is hot and dry, I removed the grass along the street, and where a driveway was on the side of the house (the garage is in the alley so I did not need a driveway). All of that is slowing being coverted over to plants. I have lilac bushes, lots of lavendar etc. The part of the lawn closest to the house has has 40% of the lawn removed and plants added. I would like to finish it some day. I left this smaller portion grass cause my dog does like sitting under a tree when I work in front. Where I live in Denver (an older neigborhood built in the 1910's and 1920's), it is very acceptable to convert the front lawn to plantings. As I drive to work, I see more and more people doing it. I love the look of a nice green lawn. On the other hand...I prefer what I have....esp with drought and heat With 20 different irises lining the front I had people stopping to compliment my yard this year. I say go for it...esp if you are in a desert-ish region. Mulching and weed barriers can do wonders for conserving water. Planting plans with the area around is slightly lower helps to retan moisture. Do it!

Wombat and MM, the first year up here I planted Ficus Trees, Ponciana, and Jackarandas, as well as Port Wine Jackarandas, god forbid I had know idea that we dropped that low in winter, and as you can imagine we had day time temps of around 23 up to 27 so the temps are very extreem for the poor old plants hot one minute freezing the next, shock horror when they all got burnt and died except the Jackarandas, so bought new trees, and applied ENVY and so far all is ok, I am still keeping an eye on my Poinciana and holding my breath that new shoots will appear, it has been burnt about 8 inches down the stems, the trunk feel very firm though, I found that when they go to god, trunks feels very much like cork. Anyway here is the info on ENVY: Made by AgroBest, plant protection for moisture loss, windburn, sunburn, frost, Envy can substantially reduced moisture losses by up to 50%, eliminate sun and windburn damage, transplant shock as well as increase frost tolerance by an additional 4 deg. Envy will not impede plant growth or photosynthesis, is non-toxic, pH neutral and will biodegrade in sunlight. You can put it on anything, ordimentals, shrubs, palms, vegetables, herbes, lawn/turf.it is sold in 500ml bottles and is around $19.95, the web site is www.agrobest.com phone 07 55960622, Fax 07 5596 0616 Help Line 1800 802 801. I find that if your temp is really extreem Wombat, I would spray with this and give extra protection as well such as hessian, but I did find out and this is a must, remove all mulch as frost loves it, another thing that I did and I found this searching an American site, water your plants, and trees deeply in the morning by plunging the hose below the soil, so by night time the soil around the trees are warm and you have created a mini humidity barrier that keeps the plant warm on cold freezing night. Hope this helps. Here is the seaweed Plant Tonic that I pick the plants up with made by Amgrow Organix, it is Tasmanian Bull Kelp, no added chemicals, it stimulates root growth and is a natural source of trace elements it is $19.,95 for 1 litre, you use 30mls to 9 litrs of water so it is quite economical their web site is www.amgrogardenking.com.au and you can put it on anything at all. Kind regards Karn