"shrubs and trees never really stop growing ... many height estimates are at 10 years or so ... " Well.......that's not precisely true :-) Mature size is genetically programmed into a plant and once they approach that size, growth slows to an almost imperceptible rate. There are all manner of shrubs that would fit your height limitation but how much spread can they have? Often shrubs will get nearly as wide as they get tall unless sheared to a more narrow profile. I'd suggest you look at a few of these: Laurus nobilis - Bay laurel Myrica californica - Pacific wax myrtle Pittosporum tenuifolium - Kohuhu Podocarpus gracilor - fern pine These are all evergreen, well-suited to SoCal and all are prunable to maintain a desired height and width. You can extend this list by looking at the Sunset Western Garden book - they list plants specifically for this purpose. One thing you should be aware of is that plants have minimal ability to block sound. You would need a very dense and thick hedge (think forest) to achieve much sound blockage. That needs a solid surface, like a fence.

Alex, there is an extremely talented gardener here in my area who has done some gardening similar to your zone - although I haven't seen her posting in the last few months. I attached a thread she responded to a while back about growing hydrangea in the Laguna area. 'Macs' - hydrangea macrophylla. But, be warned, if you are not seeing them at all in your own neighborhood, there may be a reason. The florist type hydrangeas you mention are varieties of hydrangea macrophylla. Sometimes they are perfectly acceptable planted in the garden in mild zones like my own 8b....after being acclimated to being outdoors, these are greenhouse grown plants. The problem with them is they have been bred and raised for the flower trade, and grown under a strict regime of fertilizers, hormones, lighting and temps so that they will bloom to coincide with particular dates, like Valentines Day, Mothers Day etc....often grown with no regard to long term plant health. Sometimes they recover from the treatment and do well, other times they do not. If you were to receive one as a gift, I'd say go for it and plant, but if you have a choice, choose regular nursery stock, not florists stock for your garden. Your seed choices look good with a couple of exceptions. Hellebores sown in Feb may take 15 - 18 months to germinate. They need to experience a period of warm moist, followed by a somewhat lengthy moist chill, then will germinate while conditions are still cool. If I sow them fresh by Aug/Sept, I will have germination approx March into April. If you were to ask around June, someone could probably send you fresh seed (like me) that you could sow - much more reliable than dried commercial seed. Alstroemeria can be similar, they self sow like crazy in my garden, can be stubborn or at least very slow (many months) from dried commercial seed. And do you know they go dormant around August, leaving a blank space in your garden? The hummingbirds love them while present, but they spread, become a little messy, disappear until Fall rains begin or the weather cools. Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrangea, California

Hi EasternCo, DonÂt freak out too much about exactly what zone you are. Even if you were right in the middle of a definite zone, local terrain and other conditions can make noticeable differences in what you can grow. Structures, fences and vegetation can make differences, as can lay of the landÂlike someone in a slight valley might have colder temps than nearby neighbors. And the other thing is that if you start to look up individual plants, youÂll often find that different sites will list them as different zones! GardeningÂespecially "zones"Âis a very imperfect "science!" And other conditions like light, soil, and moisture have at least as much to do with success as do your low temperaturesÂwhich are only averages anyway. The best way to figure out what will work for you is to try things little by little. In a couple years youÂll have a pretty good idea of whatÂs working for you and whatÂs not. If you find something that needs warmer temps, plant it in a more sheltered place like next to a fence or building. You might be surprised by some of the things that do just fineÂthat werenÂt supposed to, and by some of the things that ARE supposed to work where you areÂthat donÂt! The winds that have just kept blowing and blowing for the last couple weeks have been pretty unusual, so while you will probably wind up with more wind out there on the plains than we get here in the Metro area, it shouldnÂt always be as bad as itÂs been lately. Be prepared to tie things down when you need toÂand never give up! And with your grape, I definitely wouldnÂt give up on that yet! I planted one late last summer, and I was SURE it had died over winter! ItÂs just started to leaf out in the last week! I was doing a happy dance! So if your trees and stuff are behind ours, the grape probably is too. And mine looked DEAD! The stems really looked dried up! I think a couple of the (4) stems might have died offÂtime will tell, but I noticed today that itÂs also starting to develop new stems down at the base. So hang in there and hopefully itÂll come back! When youÂre transplanting small plants, try to wait to do it on days when itÂs not so windy, and remember that itÂs not unusual for things to wilt a little bit when theyÂre first planted. Do it late in the day or on a cloudy day/afternoon, water them in wellÂand keep your fingers crossed. Things might look worse for a while after you plant them before they start to look better again. Hang in there! Once you get a better feel for your new conditions, itÂll start to be easier again. Welcome to RMG, Skybird

Just getting back to this now. The plant on he left is a wonderful thriving but unruly-looking lemon tree. I’m not sure the variety but it has been producing delicious juicy lemons since December (all our friends and neighbors have been well supplied!). I’m not sure whether I should prune it for appearance since it’s thriving so well. The green “stuff” on the right is a big mess of things - in winter we discovered a nice flowing quince behind, covered with brambles, an old grape vine, and underneath some aloes and some yucky invasive species. There’s some kind of fruit tree in there maybe peach or plum but it’s gone wild, and an apple tree sapling planted in front. All in about 10x10’. We removed some of the brambles and invasive but for now left the rest so we don’t have to look at the neighbor’s deck there. We ended up planting a toyon, a coffeeberry and a Ray Hartman along that fence line. The lemon tree will stay but I hope to gradually prune back the sad stone-fruit tree and remove it as the toyon replaces it, and I should probably transplant the apple tree and the grapevine to a more suitable location this fall after they go dormant. We had too much more pressing to do on the house last fall/winter. Will I likely kill them if I try to transplant?