Well, I don't really care for conifers. I have 2 boxwoods (as seen in the picture) that I only keep for winter interest. I thought about a Rhododendron, as it is one of the few evergreen plants that I truly love. Really, when I garden, it's all about me, me, me. :) Of course I don't want to do something that will send the neighbors packing, but to answer the question, yep--it's really for me. :) I do want something that I can enjoy from the porch, and I get a full view of this from my living room picture window (at all times--we have 2 leaded glass panels on either side of the main window that do not have window treatments, so we can always see the front yard and we don't cover our pretty glass). Yes, we can also look down on it, but chances are we really won't, since the bedroom blinds are nearly always closed. So yeah, I probably need something for winter interest, but I am terrible at giving thought to winter and not much a fan of anything with pine needles. My mom had some pretty hollies, but don't those genreally have to be planted in m/f groups to grow berries? Would a holly look stupid in front of my house? I prefer the rhodie idea, as I think those are more fitting for my home (b. 1912, arts and crafts influence), but is there too much sun is the question I have to deliberate now. Thanks for all the input, everyone. This is my second house, and I learned a lot from my screw ups with the landscape of my first house, but this house is much "cooler" and I am being a lot more careful this time.

I had 'New Day' at the old house and regret leaving it behind. It was an excellent cut flower as well as garden rose. It is a Kordes so is somewhat more cold-hardy than a lot of yellow HTs. My new PJPII has a lot of that growth as well. It is a very vigorous cultivar, full of energy and vitality. As it has gotten taller the growth has become very normal looking.

Just thougth I'd throw this in. It's from the PSNH (Public Service of New Hampshire) Website. It's actually the first time I've seen it. Although I live in NH, I'm not on PSNH, I'm NGrid. It;s a bit to read and the chart got skewed pasting it, but I'm not patient enough to fix it, but you can probably decipher it. But this is their baseline, and they clearly state that it may go outside of it, either way, for many reasons, so.... "PSNH Service Voltage Requirements Like any electric utility power supply, the voltage on PSNH's system will vary throughout the day largely due to the variation in customer electricity use. Under normal conditions, PSNH's secondary voltage service levels are supplied in accordance with the NH Public Utilities Commission requirements. These requirements are based on industry standards set by the American National Standards Institute. The rules governing utility voltage standards do provide several exceptions to these voltage limits. These exceptions are conditions that: Arise from adverse weather conditions; Arise from the operation of customers equipment Arise from utility equipment failures; Arise from circuit switching equipment during emergencies; Are causes beyond the control of PSNH. Even though PSNH endeavors to maintain constant voltage to your service point, your equipment must be prepared to expect occasional deviations outside the nominal ranges. PSNH Voltage Limits (Average voltage for 2 minutes) Nominal Voltage Minimum Voltage Maximum Voltage 120/240 114/228 126/252 120/208 114/197 126/218 277/480 263/456 291/504 Types of Electrical Disturbances Electrical disturbances, a form of distorted electrical power, come in many shapes and sizes. Electricity as it comes from the generator is smoothly flowing and shaped like successive waves cycling up and down 60 times per second. Distorted electricity can be caused by electrical equipment in your building or in neighboring buildings, as well as by events on the utility system. Research by the Electric Power Research Institute and others has confirmed 70 to 80 percent of the disturbances originate in the customerÂs building or factory. These disturbances are caused by equipment interaction and are often exacerbated by wiring and grounding problems. The remaining 20 to 30 percent of the electrical disturbances that affect equipment originate on the utility system. These disturbances are caused by a number of factors including weather (lightning, rain, or fog), tree or limb contacts, accidents (dig-ins, vehicles hitting poles), and utility equipment failure. Electrical disturbances interact with the system in several ways. First, something must cause the electrical disturbance such as a large motor starting or a lightning strike. Next, the wiring network, which carries the disturbance to other equipment, may aggravate the disturbance. Finally, the disturbance reaches electronic equipment which reacts to the disturbance. Listed below are the most common types of disturbances, typical causes, and impacts. Transients: Also known as surges or spikes, these are caused by lightning, appliances such as printers and copiers, as well as utility activities such as circuit breaker operation and switching. Transients of sufficient energy can upset computers, corrupt data, or even cause damage to power supplies and components. Sag: A brief drop in the voltage (electrical pressure). Sags can be caused by equipment such as motor starting, and heaters in printers and copiers cycling, as well as utility events. Sags often cause lights to dim or flicker and computer equipment to lock up or lose memory. Swell: A brief increase in the normal voltage level. Most swells are caused when a motor stops. Although not generally a problem, swells have been known to cause failure of marginal components in electronic equipment. Over and Undervoltage: Longer-term increases or decreases in the normal voltage. These disturbances often indicate an overloaded transformer or circuit, or the misoperation of a voltage regulating device. Momentary Outage: Also called a "momentary".This type of power outage is generally caused by utility protective equipment operation when trees, animals, vehicles, lightning or others contact the utility wires or striking the utility pole. Harmonics: Harmonics are a regular distortion of the voltage waveform often caused by the power supplies of electronic equipment. Harmonics can cause overheating in transformers, building wiring, and motors. Noise: Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) is electrical interference caused by electric and magnetic fields emanating from electrical equipment, typically transformers or wiring. One impact often seen is a wavy computer screen. Noise - Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is electrical interference from equipment that radiates high frequency electrical energy such as TV/radio transmitters and cell phones. Interference can also be caused by arcing sources (switches) or switching power supplies such as those found in electronic ballasts and adjustable speed drives. This kind of noise often causes interference to control circuits." Sorry so long, but the PoCo here is adnitting 20-30% of the faults are theirs.... And their range is 5% UP AND DOWN, under normal conditions, that will fault smarter drives, etc. A 460 drive will almost always fault if it sees 504. They'll only commit, kinda, to a 48V window.... I know the stuff I'm talking about is up at 460/480 so the percentages make bigger windows, but the math is the same at all the voltages.. One little pull, and......... If your cut-out fuses are popping, it's definitely WAY outside this, WAY.... I know I'm way out of my lane here, but I wanted to show you why I suspect PoCo power. And, Yes, I have dealt with this, and argued, and the loggers have proved me right about 95% of the time. After you check all your gear..... But again this was 3phase, so if the resi guys tell me to shut up, I will. Thanks KEN

Oh wouldnt that be wonderful!! a garden party...I'm in:)) Thankyou everyone for your words of encouragement and enthusiasm. Yes ,ginnybee and ashmeri :a cup of tea would be beautiful and I have a lovely spot to sit where I can enjoy the garden MM I have other spots I can put some of the other roses which will be near the new bed and add pink ,white and purple roses around the corner of the bed.The soil has been improved and manure added so we are waiting for it to settle.The pink bed will connect the side garden bed and the new bed.I will plant some more around the front of the house.That is another story.I will just have a few around the front...its good there as it is thank goodness! The back was the huge job. So I will have some in pots on the patio.I love that. So...its a long story but I can see that soon I will be able to relax,think about garden parties and the lovely calm time to enjoy the result of some very hard work over 2-3 years:)) cheers Michelle PS I will post some more pics as the beds take shape and lose their "young look".