chinatreasures, first of all, where are you? I had St Augustine and also think it's beautiful when it's healthy. I don't have it anymore since my whole (very small) yard is either rose beds or path areas. I tried to keep a round area in the front yard with grass, but the St Augustine was just too much for me. It was monster grass where I need something much more demure. I used RoundUp and mulched on top of the dead grass for a few months, hoping it would decay. Yeah, right. It hadn't even begun to decay when I dug it up. If you kill the grass in the whole area, you really only need to mulch the finished planted area as you go along. I would use some weed preventer (like Halts) in the killed area while it awaits planting. You have a lovely location and plenty of grass to admire so I don't think you'll miss the St Augustine. Which roses are you planting? The up side of preparing a large bed is that you'll be ready for all the future roses that you'll be compelled to buy - just plop them right in, no muss, no fuss. Welcome to roses!! Sherry

one CAUTION ... foundation plantings should mean.. plantings to hide the foundation ... THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE PLANTED ON OR NEAR THE FOUNDATION .... plant them as far away from your house foundation as possible ... i grew up in a pasture that was turned into suburbia in the late 50' ... by the 90's all the cute little bushes planted within 3 feet of the 'foundation' ... were taller than the houses ... those who had foresight.. removed them sooner ... other still remain .. and they make the whole neighborhood look like carp ... make big beds.. and place stock appropriately .. i know they will be tiny.. and sparse for a few years.. but in 10 years.. you wont be tearing them all out ... good luck ken as an example.... there is a tiny bed on the foundation ... then the sidewalk.. and the bigger plants exterior to the sidewalk ... another view ... i may regret that i left the rhodie there.. but it was the only ornamental on the 5 acres when i moved in .. and i was sure it would die... lol ... and i doubt the azelia will ever outgrow the spot in zone 5 ... the bed is 5 to 6 feet wide and another .... think outside the box..

Hello, daisy_head_maisy. Technically, all those are Zone 6 hardy but I hear you. Many folks have reported blooming problems with ES in very cold weather zones. I think I would still try it if I was in your shoes but, if you are concerned, review some of the Forever & Ever Series (mophead) Hydrangeas to see if any of those that grows in your zone gets your sign of approval: http://foreverandeverplants.com/Index.aspx/GardenFavorites/Hydrangeas Did you know? Incrediblall and Annabelle are basically the same plant. Incrediball's claim to fame is bloom size and stems sturdier than the "standard Annabelle". I thought I would point that out in case you were trying to get hydrangeas that were "more" different. They should both be very hardy but Annabelle's blooms may flop more if weighed down by rain. I have one in a protected place where this is not too much of a problem. Paniculatas are probably amongst the best and hardiest of the bunch but some get quite large so one has to keep size in mind or you will beed to prune them often. If you plant them away from any walkways, this may not be an issue. Check some new ones like Bobo and Bombshell too. From a design and landscaping point of view, I have not tried planting different hydrangea varieties together side by side before, because I felt that the different blooms kind of needed to be separated by different plantings. Ego45 is very good at this sort of question. I hope he chimes in to add his opinion as one thing I would point out is that, in that section where all these shrubs would go, you would end up with no "green-ery" in front of the house during the winter months; I try to plant evergreens so things are not too bare during those months. This post was edited by luis_pr on Mon, May 6, 13 at 3:16

With regard to the appropriateness of using Miracle Grow type concentrated nutrient products, I think it depends totally on the growing methods and media employed and the correct rate and frequency of application. For example, Miracle Grow and similar products provide ideal means of delivering nutrients to tomatoes and peppers grown in containers, IMO, and I have had excellent results and repeated success with such products. Let me address a few points made in a previous post: 1) The build-up of "salts" can easily be flushed out of the growing media in containers and raised beds by occasionally and flooding the growing media a day before you plan on repeating the fertilizer applications. 2) As to "quick fixing" the soil ... when growing in containers, I use a soilless mix of rotted bark fines, sand, ground corn cobs, peat, etc., and the plants depend on supplemental nutrients on a regular basis. Raised beds present a similar problem, but not as dramatic as I fill them with composted manure and other materials supplimental to the other soilless media. I agree that Miracle Grow is rather inappropriate for grade level, traditional dirt farming ... manure, compost, organic fertilizers, and granular chemical fertilizers are more appropriate to that type of gardening. 3) I'm not sure why finely granulated, instantly water soluable nutrients such as Miracle Grow wouldn't be readily available to plants? Maybe Dave can elaborate on that one. But yes, I agree they can be leached out of the growing media easily, and as I mentioned above, it might be appropriate to frequently flush them out and reapply. 4) When using Miracle Grow and similar products on tomatoes, one should pay close attention to the nitrogen percentage as over application will result in excessive foliage production and not address flower/fruit, stem, and root production. That's why such products have formulations especially for bloom boosting, tomato plants, rose plants, azaelias, etc. Read the labels. The products Korney highlighted above work well for tomatoes especially in containers. I've gotten great results in 5-gallon containers using tomato or rose formula after transplant and before blossom set, Bloom Booster a couple of times after blossom set, and then tomato or rose formula again later in the season. I flush the containers and reapply fertilizer once every week or ten days until a good fruit set and then less frequently afterwards. I had to water daily this summer due to extreme heat and drought, so I didn't worry a bit about salt build-up in the containers. In raised beds, I use a modified Earl's Hole Method at planting (do a search), granulated 9-15-15 or 9-12-12 side dressing once on transplant and once again after fruit set, and only use Miracle Grow if I see a serious deficiency. Some varieties are just naturally heavier feeders than others. Has anyone mentioned Epsom salts in this thread. It's very helpful for trace minerals, magnesium and sulfur, and helps the tomatoes take up needed calcium from the soil. I also believe in bone meal ... don't know why, but my tomatoes seem to love it. I can't stress enough the importance of heaping on the compost, mulch, grass clippings, whatever you have to build a good mellow growing medium in your beds and ground level gardens. But I also believe that no matter what you add in the way of organic material, tomatoes need more nutrients than what one gets from rotted organic matter. Just my opinion from experience.