So no flowers for me? That is quite alright as I have my hands full trying to get my Jades to flower... not sure if I could take on another "project" :) Good idea, Costarico, I have been looking into that after seeing pics of much fuller ones. The single stem look of mine is nice, however, I do admire the bushier ones. I would propagate the top part if pruned but I'm not sure if now is the best time to be doing so? When you say "cut down" about how far do you mean as I wouldn't want to cut down more than half. Thanks to you both.

I love doodling out plans like this! I snag my girls' markers to dot color in where it fits too, so I get an idea of what colors to work in where... ...May I take a minute to discourage creeping fig? My mother is having to rip it off her house, and everywhere it's clung on it rips of the paint too. It also grew up into her beautiful ligustrum tree and started to wreak havoc there. If you want something vining there, how about a native honeysuckle or [yet another thing that takes over but doesn't STRANGLE] carolina jessamine? And as a focal point, those ligustrum trees do have a lovely silhouette. They are lower-growing and any that I see in the neighborhood just look graceful. They get nice white flower panicles once a year too-- not as many as a crape myrtle, but similar shape. And they are evergreen. Enjoy playing with it! I wish I were able to stick to my plans...I get all magpie-like at the garden center when I see something new, and I don't always think of where it should go before I dart to the register with it! Shelbey

Thank you, Donn Looks like a good match to me. I'll be definitely trying some of these out on a future project. Danty

What types of evergreens? If they are close to the neighbors side, are they ok with that? Some evergreens shed their needles and can be messy. Some grow quickly, some grow very slow, most grow in width as well as up and will quickly spread into the space there...and most are likely to give a lot of shade, meaning that you will be limited on what you can plant around them if there is not much sun. Pachysandra is a nice ground cover, very low maintainence and stays green all year. But, it does spread fast. I wouldn't put any ground cover if you have any desire to grow flower there at any point. If it were me, I would put up a hedge type shrub to act as a fence along the neighbors side, look for one that is pretty tame and grows fast - then you won't have to look at that boat. Gotta love people who park boats in their yard. We have neighbors with a boat the size of Rhode Island in their back yard. They got it cheap after Hurricane Katrina, took a flat bed truck and a crane to get it up here to the northeast, they put it in the yard, and there it has sat for the last several years - they worked on it for one summer and then just forgot about it, not even bothering to cover it in the winter...slowly it is turning into the world's largest birdhouse and the neighborhood's biggest eyesore...but what the heck. I digress... Anyway, hedges. Yes. And then something pretty and fast growing, centered in that space there. Like a Bradford Pear or a Wheeping Cherry. Plant pachysandra around it, or make a nice little flower bed with decorative rocks or whatever your husband wants. That's what I would do! Good luck!