I'm not a landscape designer, but I'm very familiar with Washington state. From your picture, your zone, and your statement that you live in central Washington, I gather you live somewhere at the base of the east Cascades in the area where the conifer forests of the mountains mingle with the sagebrush steppe of the Columbia Basin. The forests typical grow on well-drained gravelly soil, probably acidic, but not always (depending on underlying rock). The Basin has more alkaline soils, sometimes sandy, sometimes clayey. Before you start selecting plants, you need to determine the pH of your soil and whether it is sandy, gravelly, clayey or loamy. And, before you settle on a landscape plan, you need to think about that bugaboo of eastern Washington forests: fire. It looks like you live outside of town. If so, you need a fire break around your house. I think 30 feet minimum is a common recommendation, but you can probably find someone in you county for advice. No wood piles near the house. If you don't have a wood deck, don't build one. Etc. Keep the plants near the house green and watered. Back to plant selection. "Xeriscaping" in eastern Washington isn't quite the same as xeriscaping in, say, New Mexico. Eastern Washington, like western Washington, has a long wet season, from about late September to early July. July, August, and September have hardly any rain. The same is true in western Washington, but in eastern Washington, there's no humidity either. Both soil and air become very dry. It's this pattern, not the dryness per se, that your plants need to be able to tolerate. There are an awful lot of plants that thrive in a broad range of the eastern and central US that can't take the dry period or the long wet season of eastern Washington. The good news is that there are a few plants that those people with humid, hot summers lust in vain for that will thrive where you live. Don't be afraid to experiment with Rocky Mountain specialists (penstomons, etc.) I can't tell you specifically what to try. I live in Pullman with alkaline clay soil, which you likely don't have. If you really want to know what sort of ornamental trees and shrubs can take the climate, drive around and look at abandoned home sites to see what is still alive. Kelly Cassidy

I guess I haven't been keeping up with how many new Hibiscus there are. Yes, 'Midnight Marvel' and 'Summer Storm' and 'Brandy Punch' all look very good. I've been looking at my 'Kopper King' with a more critical eye this year because I've had it long enough for it to be settled in. I realize that there is the side of me that is just a plant collector and the side that loves a great landscape. I think in the case of KK, my plant collector side is pulled to this shrub. I really anticipate seeing those huge flowers open every year. They fascinate me for the short time the shrub is in bloom. But as a contribution to the landscape, I'm not loving it. In fairness I haven't attempted to shape it so, one more year before I decide whether to keep it or get something else. I'm glad there are other choices.

I do love myrtus communis! I just used several of the compact variety to form accents in a border, have used one of the variegated compacts in a mixed border, and have a regular Myrtus Communis near the Kitchen Garden. I love the summer flowers and fall berries for seasonal interest and culinary use. However I try to branch out with each addition to the garden, so this ideally will be a somewhat distinct feature as regards flora, yet still homogenous aesthetically. The problem with most big box stores is they really only carry Buxus Microphylla or Buxus Sinica which will take much more regular pruning than my mother would like. They don't even really seem to carry dwarf cultivars of Japanese or Korean Boxwood, let alone English. Perhaps we'll end up using Teucrium x Lucidrys, but It'll be some time before we settle on anything in particular. Jay

The Buxus Microphylla 'Green Mountain' I have has dark green foliage with white variagation on mature leaves, and a slightly looser habit of growth than my Buxus Sempervirens 'Suffruticosa'. The 'Green Mountain' has been in the ground for two years and has grown about six-eight inches in that time. Be prepared to wait or else shell out some dough for mature plants. Good luck.