Try some dwarf lilacs- Syringa 'Bailsugar' (Sugar Plum Fairy), Syringa 'Bailming'(Prince Charming), Syringa 'Baillina' (Thumbalina), Syringa 'Bailbelle'(Tinkerbelle) They are from Bailey nurseries but if I can get them up here in Northern Maine I am sure you can get them. The height 5-6' and width 4-5' but they can be pruned. What caught my eye last year was (the tinkerbelle anyway) bloomed a second time in Sept.! The smell was awesome, just the one plant made my whole yard smell(it only had a few blooms as well). If you want something that looks good all four seasons try a red twigged dogwood with a variegated leaf like Ivory Halo Dogwood(Cornus Alba Bailhalo) or the larger version cornus alba elegantissima. The one thing I heard about though with the Ivory Halo was the leaves are prone to leaf spot(in the fall the leaves get black) I have 2 but this will be my first summer with them. How about a ninebark. I have a Diablo(height 6-10' width4-6') it has dark leaves all spring-fall then after the leaves fall the bark looks really neat. The bark is said to shed 9 times a year hence the name(that's what I was told anyway) but they have other types that are just as pretty-I think Coppertina, Darts Gold and Center Glow are a few. A smaller but really pretty bush is Clethra alnifolia they have 2 colors white(hummingbird summersweet) and pink(ruby spice) . I think the Hummingbird only gets to about 3-4' wide. Sixteen Candles and ruby spice gets bigger. Another bush is the Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent')they get height4-6' width 4-8' they are green but are supposed to be covered in white blooms in spring. They have edible berries that I was told taste a little like apple. Another bush I acquired only last year. So far they seem fine but they only just budding here now in The County. If you are looking for more info on blueberries you can ask local farms. I don't know where you are but I know every county has some sort of website to the major local farms. http://www.pickyourown.org/ME.htm I also know that the coast has different growing zones than from inland. When I lived in K-port things grew very differently than N. Berwick.(I know one is more southern than the other but I can only compare where I have lived :) Good luck I hope I helped a fellow Mainer.

I'm getting ready to move from West Virginia to SC myrtle beach and I wanted to know if I could take my grape vines with me and if they would survive there. I just bought a chardonnay grape vine but, I'm not that worried about it.The one that really matters to me is a concord grape. The concord grape vine has been at my grandparents house for three generations and I would love to take part of it with me. So two questions will they grow and how do I take a piece of the concord grape vine with me? Do I use the seeds or cut off part of a vine and stick in some dirt? Sorry I'm new at this game but I think I already really like it. Please email me with help or respond on this page.

I have found a place for the plant swap. We will be using the greenhouse grounds for the city of Charleston in Hampton park. I know the woman who runs it and she said it will be a super thing to do. We will have to wait untill next year because of the season and that the neighborhood next to it wants to be involved also. It will be on a Saturday and when the times and date is set I will post it with direction on how to get there.Hampton park it a great place to walk through and the city is starting a program to rebuild it to it's old glory with the help a volunteers and fund raisers.So start thinking of what you all want to swap and remember to bring smoething extra for us to continue on with the swaping.

Agapanthus may be a possibility. They aren't native, but they come from a similar climate (southern Africa). When we moved to our house in Marin last year, there were many agapanthus lining the patio. We dug them out (actually a tractor did it) as we replaced the patio. Despite the digging out and all connected to creating a new block patio, little agapanthus sprouts still pop their heads up every now and then. At the fence line there are more periodic volunteers which get mowed and still show up later. That spot stays wet from neighbors' enthusiastic watering and underground seepage from the nearby hill. They have done fine in the hot, the cold, the wet, and the dry. The flower is very attractive, but so is the plant when the flowers are done. The ones in our yard were knee high, but they come in various sizes. Had we preserved the originals, we would have needed to divide them as they get dense. On the con side: clearly agapanthus are persistent, aggressive even. They grow on rhisomes, which is a plus and a minus.