It has been about a month... did you take any before and after pictures to see any differences? It's hard to see changes when something is growing fairly slowly and there are lots of leaves to notice. Here is my AV (i took a lot of leaf cuttings from it, so it's regrowing). The first pic was the day I put it under lights, and the second pic is 16 days later... yes, there has been a color change, I guess from the different kind of light. It used to be in a south-west facing window. I use the Schultz AV food you describe everytime I water. I think it ends up being about 3-4 drops in a standard size water bottle. I mix it up and have that bottle on hand anytime I need to water.

Although I haven't grown papilios indoors I grow many outside. (see photo below) What you may do is gently lift up on the bulb to see if the roots are rotted off. This species does best with very good drainage, I have one mounted on a board as like a staghorn fern. It does like regular water, again with good drainage. They will always shed their leaves when the roots are disturbed.

Had a similar situation once and got tired of beating my head again the wall... Finally decided to mulch a much larger area beneath the tree and dressed it with a whole variety of hostas ( aside from deer, I've yet to see a spot that will get the better of a hosta...!). Threw down some decorative pathway slabs... About 12" square each with the mulch between each "step". A couple of those cast/concrete semi-circular benches for morning coffee... A decorative, brightly colored wheel barrel (another fun kid-project) placed on its side (as if tipped) with seasonal stuff "spilling". That was my wife's gig... Pumpkins and stuff in the fall... Potted flowers in the spring/summer... Christmasy stuff in the winter. Well, you get the idea... Even the kids got to pick out a garden gnome to tuck in somewhere (only one each and it was fun(ny)... Like you, couldn't do a darned thing with the area and finally figured, if you can't beat it... Treat it like an oasis of sorts

If you knew how easy it was to install 4 posts to create the arbor, you would just do it. It's really a relatively inexpensive thing if you're doing it yourself. The arbor you're showing would actually be a bit flimsy with the weight of the top, especially when/if a vine/espalier was grown on it. Some diagonal or cross bracing at each side would help. You might construct and install a whole side (2 posts + 2" x 2" bracing) as a unit (as if each side was a separate trellis.) It might make alignment easier during the install. I little lower corner trimming of the individual "beams" and "rafters" of the arbor would add some charm and help get rid of the clunky square look. Personally, I care not for the individual ball shrubs as you're showing below the window. Not only is it higher maintenance to keep them like that, but the ball shape tends to lose lower foliage as it is shaded due to the undercut. (A dome shape would be an improvement.) As a decoration for the house, to me it seems a bit busy and fussy ... sort of Victorian-ish, which I don't think suits the way we live today, any more than Victorian furniture in the house would be a match. If you had a big Victorian house and were recreating a period piece, some of that style might seem OK. Keep in mind that the bottom of your windows can't be barely 2' off the ground, which is fairly low. The effect of planting a shrub below the window IS the effect of a window box. With a shrub in the ground and a window box, you would essentially be creating a window box above a window box. Keep in mind that the soil container -- the "box" -- is a negligible part of the arrangement. In many cases the plants overwhelm the box such that it doesn't show at all, or just barely. It's the plants in it that we are seeing and want to see. Not sure why you think so many shrubs are necessary for your small house. I think, in the end, they will tend toward the smothering-with-shrubs look. Too, you're not allowing space for annuals -- just flowers -- near the stoop. It's probably the easiest way to add "cheer" to the entrance, helping to make it look inviting. A lot of Chicagoland looks drab. But it doesn't have to. The way you have placed the small tree in your picture is exactly what I was counseling you to avoid. In that position, as it grows it's soon (immediately) going to encroach into the view of the house, covering too much of the left window. That's why I'm saying to push it toward the property line (because you have so little space. The picture you (and us) are working with is not very good because it is not lined up with the front door or with the center of the house, making it more difficult for everyone to grasp. Too, it doesn't show what's happening at the other side of the lot line, but this area certainly affects what you do, or why you would do what you do. We can't see it so we can't respond to it. The better picture would show the entire front from lot line to lot line (beyond actually) and not be from a great distance away. This usually means panning the camera from a single position and taking some slightly overlapping photos that will convey to the viewer, when re-assembled, everything that is happening in the scene. (This could probably be captured in 3 photos, 4 at the most.) The shrub you've placed at the right corner of the garage seems like it will overwhelm. I think it would be better moved to along the side of the garage, where it will still show from the street, and that in front of the garage is only room for something small ... like more annuals for more cheer. Or a perennial for some periodic cheer.