Hi Karen, I'd love to trade for some of your liatris pycnostachya also. Take a look at my list to see if I have anything you like in exchange? Alice Here is a link that might be useful: ~~~My trade list~~~

Parsnips can also cause skin irritation and burns if you combine the sap on your skin with sun exposure - personal experience. Either way, cow parsnip or hogweed, be careful handling the green leafy parts. FataMorgana Here is a link that might be useful: Hogweed info & identification brochure

Update on Grubs all gone bait not touched at all now Finally its happening I have three spikes I have no idea how I missed them considering the tank is next to the monitor plus I mist every morning. The third spike is harder to find its on the top RH side Till and not as big as the other two spikes Because we have had a few very hot days and nights I have been misting them a bit more every morning, the medium below is very moist possibly helping with the humidity. Can I assume that they will flower during the Australian Summer Months I hope I have named them correctly. Keith

Does it matter if the shrubs you use are evergreen? Do you have a maximum height or depth of the bed in mind? Do you like the more formal look of all the plants being the same, or do you want a variety of plants to extend the season? IME with V. dentatum Blue Muffin, the Viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni, chewed the leaves unmercifully until I finally pulled it out and burned it to kill off the eggs (which overwinter in the twigs.) I have other Viburnums which they don't chew up much. This pest is in NJ, so I would avoid the types of viburnums that are particularly susceptible. You should also know that many viburnums aren't self-compatible, and so you need more than one selection to get berries; thus only planting Blue Muffin would leave you without berries unless a neighbor had a cultivar other than Blue Muffin. It also had no fall color in my garden. Having Winterthur and Brandywine would allow for berries, and IME the beetles aren't especially fond of V. nudum. I don't know those particular cultivars, but in general V. nudum has good red fall color. I think you are right about Ilex glabra sometimes being too short, such as the selection 'Shamrock' @ 4', but there are other ones that reach 6'-8'. If it doesn't need to be evergreen, I love Ilex verticillata, winterberry holly. It has tiny blossoms that are unobtrusive other than up close though the pollinators love them, and the berries really sing through fall into winter. You could also look at Rhododendrons. There are selections of natives, and I like the evergreen leaves for long season interest after the flowers or there are quite a number of native and native crosses of deciduous azaleas and rhododendrons, some of which have lovely vanilla-like scent. Many of the deciduous ones have good fall color. I'm afraid I can't help with the deer as I live in an area where the deer prefer to avoid people. However, in general, unless a plant is actually toxic, there isn't much deer won't eat if they are hungry enough, so you will have to judge based on what you see around you as far as deer damage and what alternatives to planted yards the local deer have for food. Before purchasing, I'd consider planning field trips to some of the world class public and botanical gardens in NYC if you are in a reasonably close part of NJ, or if not, check out your more local area to see what is closer. There are some amazing nurseries with demo gardens in NJ as well. There's nothing like seeing the actual plants in person to help you decide.