Thank you Shawn and Suzi for the tips on Thuja Green Giants and how to get shrubbery cheap. I *have* considered arborvitae, which probably would go best with the current look of the house, and are fast-growing. bmh4796, I looked up English Laurel, and it's handsome and a fast grower, but aren't the leaves toxic? Maybe I could plant a line of arborvitae and then add some more colorful or interesting plants at their bases? Anyway, because I had them and didn't know what else to do with them, I put some 4 inch lilacs in the ground already, and a 2 day cold snap promptly blackened their leaves. Undaunted, I stuck a white Beauty of Moscow on the corner next to the twin trees, hopefully far enough behind the hydrant to not run into trouble. I don't know what I'm doing here... hope it doesn't look too weird. The more I consider, it seems like I need to come up with an overall plan for the house instead of just buying plants I like and poking them in here and there. I suppose the tiny lilacs will stay there until I find a sale on Thuja, or save up enough for a stone wall. I'm afraid that whole area is probably solid rock underneath. There are a couple of large (2 foot long) outcroppings of stone that look like they extend underground. Wish I could show you but I still can't find my camera!

The thing is that there may not be a perfect way to do what you want to do. Several of your points seem contradictory. Maybe they are, maybe not? So I went through your original post looking for what appear to be must-have priorities and things that raised questions. "Most importantly, we need some kind of path to the driveway so we're not walking through wet grass." If this is "most important", then figure out what floats your boat to make this access path from garage to home work for you. It's probably a trip you take multiple times a day. You probably don't want a material that'll track inside. You sound like you'd prefer a material that minimizes weeds. Focus on what this path needs to be. You've already floated your own thought of more extensive hardscape. Concrete is one of the better weed barriers (smile), but xeroscape plants for your zone do exist, so a paved path through ground covers could work. Think lantana, buffalo grass, liriope. "We don't want to build any structures as it'll block the view of our city's Tower of the Americas (and our main fireworks viewing site)." No structures? And, I suppose, no shade trees since they'd block the view, too? But you want shade. I know Texas. Grew up in OK. Grad school plus internship in Austin, then Houston. Yep ... I know the Texas sun. So, I KNOW you want shade. It comes in two forms outside: Something alive makes it or something manufactured makes it. If you go fancy, as in a pergola, you combine both. But decent shade comes from a structure or a tree. If I had 60 days of temps in excess of 100 deg., I'd stay inside. So, I'm thinking that you are speaking of your milder 90 and 80 degree days, as well as "winter". Still, I'd be wantin' shade. So, how many days in the year is shade of interest? How many days are you watching fireworks? Or, do you watch the show from the comfort of the AC inside? What about a screened gazebo as a viewing platform? Or retractable awnings? Or, and these are kinda wimpy in the face of TX sun, a pool-side table with umbrella? "Permanent structures: garage, 4 trees, driveway. Everything else *could* move." Apparently not. My guess is that you have already thought through your options and if someone, like Isabel above, comes along and says combine herb, vegie garden, and compost area, you will have reasons that only you know at this point for not making the change. We could suggest, but I'm betting that a few more things in the picture are not moveable. Just a few cogitations. 2 cents worth, but might be worth less ...

Anyone else here old enough to remember this Bill Cosby routine? God: NOAH. Noah: (looks up) Is someone calling me? (shrugs and goes back to his work) God: NOAH!! Noah: Who is that? God: It's the Lord, Noah. Noah: ...right. Where are ya? What do ya want? I've been good. God: I want you to build an ark. Noah: ...right. What's an ark? God: Get some wood and build it 300 cubits by 80 cubits by 40 cubits. Noah: ...right. What's a cubit? (Sorry fatbaldguy, I couldn't resist.) :) All the best, -Patrick

I think there is an invisible line just north of me that seperates those who have hummers in the winter vs those in the summer. Tom, who lives in Clermont and I have been having this discussion for a couple of years. He has them when I don't except for migration times such as the fall. My first ones showed up in late Aug. and I have had them steadily ever since. Only 1 or 2 at a time and they usually stayed a couple weeks then moved on. Right now I have 1 or 2 male Rubys - one which has been here for at least a week, then the Rufous showed up yesterday as the cold weather came in. Rufous are not as common in this area as Rubys. I had an immature female last year that stayed from that very cold spell we had in Jan till early April. I also had one that may have been a Black Chinned. Also had a couple Rubys that hung around daily. Others here in south lakeland have also had hummers recently - one guy had 7 a couple weeks ago. You can hang feeders at any height - I have 2 that are hanging close together from my pergola, one that is on the window here by my computer and then 2 more on the other side of my house where I can watch them from my breakfast area. They like to have trees to roost in and they also eat insects, plus nectar from flowers if there are any. I have lots of butterfly plants that they like - saw one going to the Cape Honeysuckle today and to the Red Pentas. Also have Red Shrimp plant and firebush but may not have much left after this cold spell. If you put out feeders, do not use the commerical nectar stuff. Make your own with a ratio of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. I heat 4 cups water in the microwave for 5 minutes, add the sugar and stir, cool in fridge then put in feeders. You don't have to fill them all the way up if you only have a few birds. Change when water becomes cloudy and clean feeders with water and vinegar if needed. Do not use bleach. Our birds here can become territorial - a male might like to claim a feeder for himself and chase away other males. Rufous also tend to be aggressive and chase others away. That is why I like having a feeder for each bird. When they are relying on feeders, you can watch them visit about every 15 minutes so once you find one in your yard, you will spend hours glued to the windows watching. Its habit forming!