Graham, your question is sorta like asking what type of gun is best. There are tools and guns for different purposes. The two things that give me the most problems are my aging body and the weather. If you can find a way to control either, you will be in great demand. I garden about 2000 sq. ft. which is small by most standards. Two tools I would not want to give up are my wagon to to haul compost, mulch etc. and a small hand tool that is much like the Ken Ho weeder. I even have one that I put a long aluminum handle on. You might get a better response if you ask this question on some of the gardening forums. Best of luck on your project. Larry

Hi! Just a quick note on planting times for daylilies..I have had a lot of luck with planting in the Fall also; it's a great time to get good deals at the garden centers, and also works out well when I need to divide and transplant, as I'm not so busy as in the Spring! Just do the usual cutting-back of the foliage, and be sure they get enough moisture before the ground freezes. The plants should be well-established by Spring, and you should get flowers, depending on the size of the scape. I have ordered online with success, but my favorite place to visit locally (I live between Rochester and Buffalo)is a place in Shelby called Cottage Gardens. They have a website also; just Google them..Happy gardening!

Sq. Foot Gardening has its own forum here. Sq. Foot gardening forum Lots of info there but do keep in mind that it is just one possible method of gardening, it has its own learning curve in addition to just learning the basics of regular gardening, and it has its limitations. Spacing used in SFG all depends on the varieties used with many things. Indeterminate variety tomatoes will require more sq. feet than determinate varieties and will require heavy pruning to fit and produce. Smaller pepper varieties do ok in 1 square but the larger bell pepper varieties often need 2 sqs. Many things require trellising to work in such limited space. <One thing I realized I didn't do though - I didn't use any weed cloth. I dug out my grass, added newspaper and filled the box. I planned (but forgot) to put down a type of weed cloth near the top of the soil. > Weed barrier goes on the bottom of the box if you are going to use it for some reason. It normally isn't needed or recommended with raised beds because it creates drainage problems. But either way it doesn't go on or near the top. Doing that would only make planting and fertilizing more difficult so I'm not sure what you were planning there. After planting, mulch goes on the top of the soil around the plants. Dave

Hello Desertgarden I remember before you going thru the same dilemma. You and Jasminerose4u or somebody kept talking about it. It sounds like you are trying to talk yourself into moving. I remember back then I wasn't going to answer anymore but alas, here I am. I think moving in order to have a job must be a lot easier than just deciding where to live. I think I would move with others to Santa Barbara:) Anyhow, I have lived here for over 50 years and was born 100 miles from here and have a sister that lives in Boulder City, NV and works in Vegas. I go every year and have for many years I would not have to give her advice to move here because she would never do it. It's more like a great place to visit but wouldn't want to live there with her, even tho' every year she complains about her summers from H*ll. She's been there over 40 years. Every place has their own set of problems. Too hot, too cold, too rainy, etc. etc. etc. She freezes here and I tell her to put more clothes on. DUH!!! First of all, I would worry about you more than your roses. Roses grow almost all over the world. Look how many members around the world this forum has. Every rose we grow is just an experiment anyhow. I see you got some good answers on your rose concerns. I will try to give my answer to some of your other concerns. 1. Zone 8 is just not cold for most roses, including tea roses, but I know that Sun, and Summer heat to an extent, is something most seem to enjoy I am zone 8A. The zone map says Min 10 to 15 degrees. Rare but not unheard of. I am in the urban area so warmer than suburbs. Mom used to say this was the banana belt. I've never lost a rose to the cold, doesn't mean it couldn't happen. And if it did, just a reason to try something new. Not the end of the world. 2. Seattle receives less rain than the U.S. average.. definitely less than many states in the middle of the country but likely with more cloud cover, and I know that there is a time where the city skews towards dry and sunny. Don't move here if you can't handle the gray. We may not get a lot of rain but we can make it last month after month after month. I find it cozy but it would drive my sisters crazy. Some people move here and love it. July and August and some Septembers are usually our dry months. https://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/cloudiest-cities.php But man, it is gorgeous on a sunny day. It was 96 degrees today and broke a record from forever. Most of us do not have a/c. Back to the 70's tomorrow. 3. I recently visited the Woodlands Zoo Rose Garden ( an ARS test garden). A few roses had blackspot (Bolero was the worst), however, some had missing leaves, so I am assuming that was due to blackspot. The vast majority of roses appeared extremely healthy in this organic garden. Woodland Park Rose Garden is 3.5 miles from me. I don't worry about blackspot so much as Powdery Mildew. Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Even the new landscaping we just had put in has it. Hey, but we don't get as many weird bugs as other places. LOL! 4. Portland - the city of roses???, also known for beautiful roses 143 miles SOUTH of Seattle. Different city, hotter, colder.....not the same city. 5. Most of the roses were modern hybrid tea roses, rugosa, floribunda with Austin's here and there. At the Woodland Park Rose Garden? It's a test garden. Or maybe they found those grow well. It gets a lot of tourists and a lot of weddings. 6. Sheilah's PNW, Oregon/Rogue Valley garden is breathtakingly beautiful, filled with healthy plants including Tea roses. Rogue and Heirloom are both in Oregon)..???? Rogue River, OR is approx 425 miles SOUTH of here. Completely different climate than Seattle. Sheila is probably near there and I think her garden looks lovely and she puts a lot of work to make it look that way. Thanks Sheila:) I love South Western Oregon and would move there if I didn't move to Santa Barbara. HA! 7. Beautiful, healthy roses could be seen in every neighborhood/area we visited. Was my visit to the PNW at the prime time and not indicative of the norm? June and July are prime for roses. I would say my roses are good, some May, mainly June and July and start to slow down August and September they are gone. Or at least not that good. That's it! Seems like a pretty short season. 8. The Rhododendrons were magnificent. Are they a problem to grow also? Rhodies are tall as a lot of houses here. I don't have any but see them everywhere in the Spring so I don't think they can be too hard to grow. Probably just need the correct soil. I would be more concerned about: gray days, traffic, home prices, Seattle freeze (with so many newcomers not as strong), the convergence zone if you are a little north of the city (it is real) and other things. Every year you seem to have so much angst and I wish I could help you to just go with the flow and enjoy life and roses. If I had to move to Las Vegas I would probably feel angst too. A big change. My sister was telling me how beautiful her neighbors roses were this year in Boulder City. Seattle is a small city. With your husband being a tech executive he should be able to get a good paying job. In the future when your children have children it will be more important to be a grandma and to be near your parents. Enjoy your children while you have them. They'll be gone in a blink. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-is-a-world-class-city-for-traffic-congestion/ http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/seattle-once-again-nations-fastest-growing-big-city-population-exceeds-700000/ http://www.seattletimes.com/life/lifestyle/newcomers-talk-about-the-seattle-freeze/ http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/more-records-fall-median-home-price-hits-722000-in-seattle-and-880000-on-eastside/ A lot better than California https://www.zillow.com/nv/home-values/ Las Vegas median home values PS: Have you ever driven from Seattle to Vegas? When you do you will realize it is a different planet;) You don't get that same feeling in a two hour flight. Good Luck!