Georgia-rose, Your statements about H hibernica and H helix are actually incorrect for Tennessee and Georgia. I am aware that they are correct for many areas in the US, but they aren't for around here. I've talked to taxonomists and researchers that have looked into this specific claim. They found it to be untrue for this area (all of Tennessee and at least the upper half if not all of GA). H helix, NOT H hibernica, is the widespread invasive ivy in this area. In fact, H hibernica hasn't been shown (at least so far) to be invasive at all in Tennessee (which is kind of weird, I guess). Unfortunately H helix is more commonly sold here than H hibernica. If you got your info from Horticulture Magazine a few months back, take a look at an example of the letters they got in the next few issues. Whoever wrote that article just didn't know what they were talking about. Come to think of it, this is a good example of how invasives aren't invasive everywhere and how some plants that seem pretty tame in one place can be very troublesome in others. _______________________________________ Jay, It's obvious, from your comments, that you don't really have a firm understanding of what invasive plants are all about. When you claim that you know more about which plants are invasive than the foremost experts on the subject in your state, all of which probably possess doctorates in related fields, that pretty much says it all. And, BTW, I am very familiar with bamboo, both running and clumping varieties. Many of the runners are quite aggressive, but few are seriously invasive. I am certainly no bamboo expert, but at least I am familiar enough with it to know that most species are NOT considered invasive here by the REAL EXPERTS. Seriously, you ought to take a little time and look into just what invasives are and the problems associated with them. Believing that you can somehow control the problems associated with invasives with pruners, an axe, or a machete is misguided, at extreme best! I know that some people overreact to the problems (that's true with just about any subject), but choosing to ignore them certainly isn't a valid solution.

They suffer from being traditional. And slow-growing. Faster, less refined hedge plants are more attractive to current tastes. Here English holly has the considerable drawbacks of reseeding abundantly, infesting undeveloped land and of being prone to leaf miners and a leaf spot that causes the lower part to go bald in late fall - just as it should be coming into its prime for the holiday season. And prickly forms produce prickly prunings. Highclere hollies don't seem to present these pest and disease problems much, but are not as varied (no dwarf or small-leaved forms) nor as hardy. Okay when near enough to salt water, but might be damaged farther out. 'Golden King' Highclere holly is one of the most ornamental of all. The Seattle arboretum had a great display of Highclere hollies for a long time, but this got broken up and replaced by a new exhibit a few years ago. The more dramatic holly specimens that were saved and replanted elsewhere have been malingering since, look very poor. I think I have seen honey fungus (Armillaria) mushrooms coming up among them.

Hmmmm... looks like I'll be using a jackhammer a bit this weekend. I checked the location other two I planted on the weekend (the fourth is still in its bag) by driving a long starpicket into the ground - and there is at least a metre of topsoil available to them. Yes, we are reasonably close to the top of a ridge in hilly Lugarno in suburban Sydney, so the ground is naturally rocky in most places - having said that, there are some extremely large eucalypts around that seem to have no problem at all. Sigh - its hard to know when putting in the trees how big they will ultimately grow in their partly shaded position. It would be too bad if they never got to the minimum 3.5 metres that I need them to - but it would be a pain if they got much over 7 metres. I figured A.Smithii seemed to be the best choice - short of having a crystal ball. Is there anything I could do to try and predict their mature size - under the assumption that I can give them a good metre or so of topsoil? The size range on the web seems to be between 6 metres and 20 metres. I figure (and hope) that in a garden in Sydney, the norm is closer to 6.

Both Ligustrum japonicum (privet) and barberries suggested above are listed invasives for most of the east coast. Invasive means that it spreads into wild areas via birds or wind and replace native plants. So I would recommend against either one. Considering your other responsibilities, the easiest maintenance is lawn because you just mow it. If you don’t feel the urgent need for gardens, and it seems you have enough on your plate without adding gardening chores, grass probably involves the least time and skill to maintain. There are no maintenance-free gardens. If you want flowers and healthy plants, proper bed preparation is important. The first thing to do is to get rid of all the weeds currently there. If you are comfortable with glyphosate, go for it. Get a soil test done through cooperative extension to see what if any improvements you should add to the soil. For instance, if you have some of those old oak leaves that have rotted, dig them in to add organic matter which will improve the soil texture, moisture-holding capacity, and some nutrients. Or if you have a pile of rotted bedding or manure from your animals add that. Make your beds a minimum of 5’-6’ front to back so there is actually room for plants and the garden looks proportionate to the building. Then mulch deeply (several inches) with a fine-textured mulch, tamping it down to keep light from getting to the soil surface. Use a deeply buried edging and add bricks on the inside edge to help keep grass from growing into the bed, but you may need to use grass-be-gone periodically or more glyphosate. Use Preen as directed on the box to prevent weed seeds from germinating. You will still need to check every couple of weeks and pull up any weeds that sprout to keep them from getting a foothold. And mulch will need to be added periodically to the surface since it breaks down. Preventing weeds is far easier than getting rid of established weeds. As far as planting, few if any plants other than annuals will bloom all season. You want an overall combination of perennial plants (both shrubs and herbaceous), including some evergreens along with some annuals that need to be replaced each season (so perhaps 2-4 times annually in your area) to provide a lot of flowers. In choosing shrubs and perennials, choose some with evergreen leaves and some with colored leaves for the times when flowering isn’t happening due to adverse weather conditions. Use a range of leaf sizes for textual interest. Even in times of no flowers, you still want the garden to look nice, and there will be times with no flowers. For me, the no flower season starts now, but in youR area it may well be the hottest time of year. Way up near the top of this thread, someone suggested getting a consultant. It need not be too expensive, and can save some potentially expensive mistakes since gardening successfully has a good learning curve. But if you don’t want to go that route, at least go to a good independent nursery with photos of the beds and ask for suggestions. Then do research, looking up the plants for the potential to be invasive, their ultimate size (tags typically give 5 year estimates), any disease issues, etc. Less variety is usually better than using one of this and one of that. Plant in sweeps or blocks of one kind of plant for more impact. You can also look around at plants that you like in gardens in your area and seem healthy. Take photos and post on the Name that Plant forum for ID. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/namegal Generally, my area is too different from yours for good plant recommendations, but for one plant I love that is perennial and long-blooming here, but also does well in Georgia, check out the native honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens such as Major Wheeler. Mine blooms from May until now, though in your area, I am sure that will be different. Japanese honeysuckle are invasive and so should be avoided, but this native is very attractive to hummingbirds as well as beautiful and long-blooming. It is a vine and so will need a stout support that it can twine around, but it can be pruned when it gets larger than you want.