I recently had a neighbor approach me as I was fixing some rotted siding on my garage. This is the neighbor whose lawn is saturated with creeping charlie. He asked, hey with all the money you are putting into this house, are you planning on staying here awhile? First, the repairs we were making weren't for cosmetic purposes, they were more functional. I'd assumed, "all the money" meant all the landscaping we've done ourselves. I love my yard, and I regret not getting started on it sooner when we purchased our home in 2004, we waited a few years and focused on the interior, with no relaxing, private, soothing patio to relax on. But, oh, today, we can enjoy sitting on our patio on our very small lot, with privacy from our neighbors. It's nice, and would I love to purchase a home with the landscaping already done? You bet, but I don't regret that I had to do it myself, because now I'm hooked and I love what I've learned - gardening and landscaping is very therapeutic to me. I've also wondered how much is too much, but I've been told by neighbors that I'm their inspiration, and we have people stopping at the front of our house to view our property from time to time, so we are heading in the right direction, especially as plants begin to mature. I have a small back yard, and yet in my rear yard I have a poplar tree (soon to be replaced), a mature lilac shrub, a hedge of privets, 2 smokebush trees/shrubs, a green giant thuja, an emerald green thuja, 5 purple leaf sand cherries, a serviceberry, a red japanese maple, a heptacodium, and a katsura willow tree, among various perennials, vines, and evergreen and deciduous shrubs. I'm thinking of adding a degroots spire and replacing the poplar with a dogwood or magnolia. The placement for each works, and creates a nice lush private space for us. I have run out of planting space, but I don't intend to lose more lawn, so now it's just waiting for everything to reach maturity and a matter of enjoying what we created. As long as you are comfortable in your own space, that's all that matters. There are a couple homes that we see on our walks in the neighborhood, with the front lawn completely over done in an awkward cottage style. There's nothing wrong with the style, but I think when homes like that are wedged between other homes with more open or formal landscaping, it looks odd and out of place. I feel sorry for the immediate neighbors. In my opinion when all you see is the landscaping from the curb and not the house, that's when you've gone overboard. I dread the day we sell our home and someone who doesn't appreciate what we've done lives here. We joke about it sometimes. But, I've recently heard from some new owners in the neighborhood that others talk about the work we've done on the house with the "striped awnings", so it's nice to hear when you've invested so much sweat into improving it and making it your own. I don't care if anyone thinks we've put too much money into our house. We didn't buy to flip it, and I don't ask everyone else how they spend their money.

Thanks for all the invaluable information. It looks like I wasn't the only one that needed some guidance, alas. Even though we have had so little rain this year, I've managed to keep most of the new and newer small/medium sized trees happy. I have lost almost every single small potted or miniature type conifer I planted this year and lots of perrenials. Live and learn. I haven't lost one thing that I mail ordered or bought directly at Klehm's on my bus trip however . I personally think it speaks to their stock and their caretaking. Ken, you really helped me understand something important. Brown needles from the inside means something different than turning brown on the tips and receeding in. Guess I'll stop watering a few more "goners" and start dreaming about what I'll replace them with in the future! Yes, it makes me sick but I will never give up the enjoyment and personal satisfaction. I am also guilty of buying and planting another tree this past week. It looked good, the price was right, and it was talking to me. I do plan on trying to plant in the fall and spring when possible but in that case, it will have a better chance in the ground, IMO. Robyn

Andy, thanks for your thoughts. I have grafted and own-root roses and both do very well. But some people here at the Far North stick with own-root because they perform better in their location. Multiflora is definitely the best rootstock for our climate. This past fall I dug up 3 old, grafted hybrid teas and they had very clearly formed their own roots as well as using the rootstock. It was actually very interesting to see. (I dug them up to move them to my new house BTW, not to dispose of them). According to HelpMeFind, some of the rarer Bugnets are on display at Roseraie du Témis in Quebec. Wow I would like to visit there. Here is a link that might be useful: Roserie d. T.

Moc - Millman tells the fictionalized account of himself as a college student and his introduction to the concept of living in the moment and being acutely aware of everything going on around you at that exact moment. Some might call it a state of enlightenment and he does explore that concept too. Although this is a fictional tale, he tells the tale as if it really happened to him and I gather that parts of it did actually happen but he embelishes. Much more tame and understandable than Ekhart Tolle. I swear that with a little practice, there are times when if you really really focus on all the details creating one particular moment and really take in those details, it is almost like stopping time for one brief moment. Weird and unbelieveable, but attainable. Good luck. An aging hippie chick I met near Brevard, NC got me interested in reading the book then coached me along for a short while. But like daffodils in spring, or desert flowers after a rainstorm, our time together was brief yet memorable. Scott