I am hearing so much diffuseness in what you need--mostly putting out fires here and there--whereas you need a set of goals and a plan for addressing them. For example, now you have bare spots under trees and are talking grass one minute and then groundcover. Perhaps you have not really defined what needs to be under trees and where and how much based on what you want to do there and what you want it to look like. In other words, don't define what you do based on the size and shape of the bare spots left by fallen leaves you just removed. I like to pay attention to what falls out of my trees and where, because as you mentioned, someone has to remove some or all of that in the fall. Different leaves (or other tree stuff) is handled or tolerated differently by different plantings underneath. Some groundcovers "absorb" leaf fall well and some do not. Some shrubs tolerate drifts of leaves and others are messy and misshapen as a result. The life cycles of some perennials works better under some types of trees than others. Grass could be your best friend if the type of tree, light conditions etc allow a shade-tolerant grass. Mass plantings of hostas can be effective when you need to remove leaves in fall, because then you can rake when bare in winter but have very effective weed-blocking growth throughout the warm seasons. All these are things you might need to read about, research, discuss with a professional. Of course it is easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to get a large lot "under control" so deep breaths are in order! You will likely have to mow weeds, mulch areas, use some Roundup here and there, as you won't wrestle this property back from nature overnight, or maybe never, meaning, there may be large areas you need to think of as how to do as " woodland natural" or leave sort of bare and weedy, letting the trees outcompete the weeds, to some extent, and enjoy smaller cultivated areas that give you pleasure. Read some of the threads about lawn vs. garden--what I mean is, it is not realistic to expect to make a very large (meaning like the size of a yard, not a garden bed) shady area under trees look like a manicured landscape without lots of mulch and maintenance.Further, it won't look like the magazine pictures of a "woodland garden" either without a lot of maintence, usually, or very judicious choice of mass plantings. OTOH with a plan, you might be able to determine where to create some civilized areas and what to let go as "natural" and what can be in between. I just think it may be too much to expect to get your solutions by asking, what to do about this? then what about that? That is not a criticism, but trying to be realistic. For example, if you decide on what you want to achieve in the front yard, and let's say you chose a certain area to put to groundcover, then you want to identify the area, make sure the soil is amended, identify the ideal groudcover for the conditions, plant on adequate centers, then water/mulch/weed/maintain until established. You don't want to plop a few things here and there and scatter your efforts all over the yard. Here's another to-do to think about--if you are likely to stay there awhile and be an avid gardener, identify an area to start your compost pile. You can make something elaborate, but until you have a plan for what goes where, you can outline a big 3-sided rectangle with a few landscape timbers to fill with leaves. This can always be moved later. This is if you think that will give you the sense of control and satisfaction known to compost-whackos, to have a ready supply of a bushel of partly decomposed leaves for mulching around a newly planted shrub or of compost to dig in when randomly planting something--it's not for everyone.

I'm going to not have to worry about this til spring now. But I have 3 options that I can consider... 1) I bought this a while back. Since it's going to go more or less by the evergreen in the corner next to where the deck starts, it could blend in better than the next option below. I only wish this had some type of a hose winder, pain to try and put it back each time with my length of hose. http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Butler-HCF-3-Standing-Garden/dp/B000CZ2XRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321707766&sr=8-1 2) Hose box - bulkier than above, beige color, but winds up easily, sit sprayer on top 3) Use neither of the above in that location. Why I didn't think of this before, maybe my mind is going worse than I think it already has. Take the longest hose I have and hook it to the faucet on the right side of the house, which is right behind the lattice that's now up under the deck. I had one put in, right to the left of the door to the crawl space in the pic posted on Nov 11th, bascially to the very left of that picture. I think the hose I have could be used almost all the way around the house if there. Can't remember the length, but it's pretty long. Will measure it and see if it's a possibility that could work. That way, no need to wrap up more than 1 hose and it would be hidden and not be an issue. Here's hoping!!! I can keep a smaller hose on the first option just long enough to do the very front of the house, in which case, it's length would be a breeze to wrap up after use. Thank you all for racking your brains with me! On to the next problem....

Jodik says: The coir might look dry on top, but down in the center of the pot, it could be quite moisture-laden! I have found it helpful to insert little wooden skewers carefully into the soil to about root level, and leave them there... I take them out and press them against my cheek to test for dampness... if they feel at all damp, I wait to water... but if the skewer comes out dry, it's time to water. My coir is 4" deep in a closed pot. I put the skewer to the bottom of the pot. When I take it out how many inches of bone dry top "soil" should there be before it's time to water again? Is it 1", 2" or 4"? I just went 10 days without water and only 1" of the top was dry so am I supposed to water this direct sun pot once every two weeks or so to avoid over watering, really? And how much water for my 6" closed pot? I had been watering 1 1/2 cup or so once a week and my plant was fine but I'm now worried that was too much so I'm re-evaluating. I know what conventional wisdom says (water deep, not shallow) but that advice doesn't seem to apply to my situation. Also how long should it be before I see new leaf growth in the summer time (first season outside)? My 18 month old Red Lion so far has only grown new leaves once a year. At potting and at dormancy end.

Lady Vix, I write this only because you say you are new to this and something caught my eye in your last post. You said "you weren't going to go down to the bank and sign the papers until ......" And then I checked your other posts a quick scan didn't bring up any mention of a mortgage application or approval. So I want to point out that it's not as simple as buying something like a car where essentially you just sign papers promising to pay a certain amount and then you're good to go. With a house you have to apply to the bank for a mortgage on a specific house and they not only evaluate your credit, but they also require you to pay for an appraisal (not the same thing as the tax "appraisal" or the relator's comprehensive market analysis.) Then they decide how much money they will agree to lend to you as a mortgage. You have to come up with the rest. (These days banks' appraisers are being very conservative about values.) There's tons of paperwork you have to submit to the bank and then they will tell you if they will give you a mortgage for this house and how much down payment they require. They will give you an good faith estimate of the closing costs (which may include a lot of fees). You may also have to refund to the seller a portion of the year's property taxes. Plus you will need to have homeowner's insurance, etc. You are spending lots of money on inspections, but you need to get the mortgage app process going right away because if you can't get a mortgage (and banks are reportedly being extremely choosy these days and requiring much bigger down payments than in recent years), you could be wasting a lot of money on these inspections. If you have been to a bank and have been told you are "prequalified" you should know that means nothing Sorry! You need a mortgage approval, which you can only get from starting a mortgage application. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt from different banks. And this typically takes weeks, or even more. If you already have this covered, meaning you already have a mortgage committment/approval on this specific property, ignore this. If not, get to the bank, TODAY! Good luck! L