Reading campanulas thread about rambling roses makes me think of all the well meaning worried looks and wrinkled foreheads of the na-sayers & doubters who gaze in obvious criticism upon my many cactus plants and ask how I deal with all those stickers as if I am a crazy person who has a love of pain. Having dealt with both plants, I'd take dealing with cactus any day, all you need is tweezers as opposed to bandages and heavy bleeding. We have an acreage south of the city that has a wooded area that has been overtaken with rambling roses making it dangerous and a lot of work just to walk though it as you look for ways to get from one spot to the next. It reminds me of the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty and the evil spell cast by the witch who surrounded the castle with a forest of thorns. In short camps, my hat is off to you because that sounds like one horrid job making a sissy cactus grower look like piker by comparison in the pain department. We must really love certain plants to put up with such ordeals. Agaves will draw blood but they don't ramble so at least you can watch your step fairly easily. There is a serious arctic front headed our way next week from the typhoon. Here we sit, completely unprepared with trees still wearing their green leaves, most of them not even thinking of going dormant yet are getting ready to be hit hard by January temperatures. Indian summer will turn into deep winter overnight. Maybe the leaves will just fall off and there will be no colors this fall? The shock value may have me reevaluating many things come spring. We had this happen once before, a blast of bitter cold which hit before plants had a chance to harden off. Even the crepe myrtles got knocked down the the ground and had to start over from the roots. Frankly guys, I'm worried not to mention a bit bummed out right now as I sit here in dread. Many dwarf evergreens and conifers will grow here but somehow it always strikes me as cruel, sort of like having a St. Bernard dog fenced up outdoors in July and August panting non stop just to survive the heat. A really severe heat dome will often put them down or nearly so. We lost quite a few in 2011 and 12 around the city. Between that and that traveling nematode or whatever it is that has killed so many pines, there were 100's of dead trees everywhere and it was quite expensive to deal with.

Without a doubt, my garden vision would best be described as an extension of my personality. It's not all that uncommon for me to be referred to as weird nor for my reply to be a simple thank you. My garden isn't often painted in such a harsh shade but more so in a never seen anything quite like it tone which I generally acknowledge to be a compliment ;-) My motto has almost always been that necessity is a mutha and my garden began under that premise. The landscape was a disaster both cosmetically and structurally. My conscience would not allow me to put my wife through the embarassment any longer and some erosion/water torrent issues required urgent structural changes to a hillside. In an attempt to begin to solve the hillside issues, I started with an 80,000 lb pile of rocks that would soon become the foundation for my 3/4 of a decade 3,000,000 pounds of hardscape garden vision. As that first pile of rocks began to be placed and transformed into a koi pond and rock garden, my vision started to take shape. Knowing absolutely nothing of landscape design or what style was what, I simply decided to take advantage of my odd lot shape and changes in elevation and try to change scenery and style around every corner. Virtually every section has a water feature, a different pathway surface, different specimen type plants and my own fence and gate designs. Some sections are a bit more formal, some more natural but all are filled with a lot of color, both in foliage and flower. Along the way as I was getting closer and closer to it all coming together, I started to recognize the amazing contribution that roses were making to my overall scheme, especially when it came to my constant quest for late summer color. That's what brought me to these great rose forums. While I consider that a great thing, I suppose some who grow weary of my gallery postings might beg to differ. Nevertheless, I am now somewhere between 60 and 70 roses and counting and can finally begin the task of perfecting my care techniques for them.

Sadie, I looked at the photos, read the comments, then went back to the photos to see what everyone had seen. I would echo many of the comments. First, lets remember that 'instant' does not happen in gardens such as ours. Even though we know that, I still repeat that thought to myself even after many years of gardening. It's a work of art which we are creating in partnership with unknowns such as the weather, conditions of the soil, and other living things such as your groundhog. (Unfortunately the groundhog does not see it as a partnership.) I must say that I do like the look of your garden. You comment that the Mullein must go, but I have to agree with Stage Rat - it provides a place for the eye to go, height, and is a statement in itself. At this point I'll also mention that it appears the groundhog does not eat it?? A plant I would definitely keep growing since this appears to be the case so hopefully you have seedlings to keep it going since it is a biennial. Don't be scared to move the Peonies. Consider that they are something you want to see when they bloom and their foliage lasts all season so they could be used as foliage fillers for the rest of the year. Again, Stage Rat's recommendation that the crowns appear on top of the soil is crucial for bloom. The Asclepias is nice! Again, another plant the groundhog won't eat since it's poisonous/toxic to them, so you might like to try some Incarnatas or other varieties. There are other plants which they won't eat for the same reason so do a bit of research and see if you would like them in your gardens. I have a deer issue and Monkshood are great plants, Poppies, Foxgloves and others. I've stopped fighting the battle somewhat and now plant things they don't like. Your Yarrow also appears undisturbed and there are many varieties with stunning colors out there. So take a chair and go sit a few feet from your garden. It's actually quite beautiful. :O) That's not to say that everything is where you want it, but consider the plant and what it is doing for your garden then make a decision as per moving/culling based on the adversities you face, bloom time, whether you like it or not, foliage staying power, purpose, etc. Oh, and consider that next year it will all be different whether you change anything or not this year!

most of those aren't native plants. The native ones that I recognise are: Ajuga reptans; Casuarina nana; Grevillea 'Molonglo'; Myoporum parvifolium; Rulingia hermanniifolia; Scaevola aemula; Scaevola albida; Scleranthus biflorus; I've never had much luck with scleranthus, neither in Canberra nor Melbourne. It seems to died from under watering and over watering too easily. Investigate your council tip and see if they have big piles of old chipped garden waste. As long as it is dark brown and doesn't have any obvious weeds growing in it,it should be find to use as a soil conditioner. You can probably pay someone to deliver a truckload of the stuff for a tuppence and spread that out. Avoid fresh mulches like woodchip or pine bark, as they are loaded with tannins which stunt growth, and pull the nitrogen out of the soil. Another possible mulch is road metal, which is cheap, readily available and looks quite interesting (to me, anyway). You can usually get blue metal (a kind of basalt) or granite. Canberra should also still sell 'granitic sand', a form of decomposed granite which makes a dense layer (though often contains a fair amount of clay). Start saving those newspapers!