I admire your dedication! Perhaps enough grub killing will make them decline even more next year? One can hope, right?

See what I mean about conflicting reports on how beneficial these can be? My compost pile has definitely been untended. I saw the grubs when I first turned it after a winter of leaving it alone. Here a post saying that the grubs are beneficial: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/soil/2002013027009234.html Here's another one on the exact same grub, saying that they can be very destructive to your lawn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fruit_beetle And Soldier fly larva are pretty much acclaimed for being helpful, so we should be careful lumping everything into a single category. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=802&storyType=garde I was hoping for a solid ID on what kind of grubs I had in my compost, but my pictures may be too fuzzy for anyone to tell for sure. Here is a link that might be useful: Soldier Fly Larvae

Just thought I'd post the results if anyone is interested. I soaked the rose that was getting wilty as suggested by my customer. I pulled the mulch back from around the rose to about the rose drip line and mounded it to make like a little berm. I put the hose on trickle just so the water level inside the berm stayed about 1/2 inch deep and I left it like that for 48 hours. No grubs came up. Had to rescue a couple of earthworms. However, since Thursday, there have been no more wilting leaves. The ones that were wilting have dried up at the ends. Everything looks healthy and happy. Hopefully, that has cured the problem. My original damaged rose is looking very sad. Wilted and its leaves have turned yellow. I have it shaded and watered and have trimmed it back but it looks awful. I'm just waiting to see if it completely dies or if it will perk up. The weather is so hot right now that even my established roses are stressed. Gilli

I remember how difficult it is to get started when you have a bare, flat yard. I kept staring out the windows, trying to imagine what I could plant where. It helps if you have someone stand outside while you look out the windows. Have your helper walk around from place to place, waving his/her arms, and maybe even holding a broom up overhead. Try to imagine your helper is a bush or a tree. When your helper gets to a spot that looks good from the inside, make a note of the position, or have your helper plant a garden stake (much easier to move than a tree!) Then go stand outside, or across the street, and see if that really is a good place for a tree. Use pots of annuals which you can move around until you find a space placement that suits you. THEN dig a bed. You can always set out empty boxes, or laundry baskets or even chairs to find spots for a shrub. Anything of a similar size that's easily movable will do. Here are some general principals I've found helpful. If the front is your main entrance, plant things that you will be happy to see when you come home. Start planting close to the walk and steps. This will encourage you to expand. Take it slow. I read once that you should live in a house though one set of seasons before you do any major changes. I translated that into planting annuals at first...which will have to be redone anyway. Fall is really the best time to plant trees and shrubs, as then they will get lots of rain. And, they will be cheaper at the 'year end' sales. Plant evergreens and long season perennials in the front as you and the neighbors will be looking at this area every day. Don't be afraid to take out something you don't like. Try to transplant it, or give it away. If it lives, fine, but you don't have to put up with something you don't like. Bare ground will make you feel better than a plant that irriates you. Don't plant acid loving plants close to the foundation of the house or near the cement path or sidewalk. They won't thrive. I figured this out after losing a row of azaleas, one by one. You can buy spray paint that is specially made to be sprayed holding the can upside down, so you can mark the edges of the beds. Just make sure that it isn't 'clear' paint. (Yes, it does come that way - a friend did this!) Or take a container of flour out and use that to mark plant placement or bed edges if you want a very temporary marking. The front yard is your house's public face and a place to show off your gardening skills. Rather than screening off the street, plant so that people driving or walking by will have something pleasant to look at and your visitors will find inviting. And for safety reasons, you don't want to 'hide' your house. Burglars go for entrances that are screened off from the view of the neighbors. Re paths: Make sure you leave good access to the utility boxes. Make sure you can get a lawnmower and wheelbarrow everywhere they'll need to go. You won't want low branching trees too near paths, either. If you don't have a pleasant view out the windows, one small patch of bright color will draw your eye away from the eyesore. Try a few pots of color, just set out on the ground, and see how they draw your attention. You do want to 'hide' the foundation of the house with taller, more solid shrubs. This will help transition the house into the lot, and help it look 'planted' rather than just 'plopped' onto the lot. Place lower plants further away from the house, along the path and sidewalk. You don't have to have ANY lawn in the front, but you don't have to take it all out at once, either. Have fun! Daphne in Tacoma