Hi LIsa!! Thank you for the kind comments! I just love Plumeria.. some would say that i am addicted, i would agree!! ;-) These beauties can take years to bloom, so it takes time to treat them the best that we can especially when we are far from the southern areas like TX, FL, CA. I live in Virginia and it can be difficult to get them to bloom here as well. The best advice that i can give to you would be to use a fast draining mix ( I love the Gritty Mix), plenty of sunshine and warmth in the spring (bottom heat) and a good watering and fertilizing schedule. I like to use the Foliage Pro and Pro TeKt all summer. Some of my trees that i keep active during the winter, i will give FP at a reduced rate (1/4 strenght) and the dormant ones will receive water every month or so. During the growing season, i fertilize once a week as per the instructions on the bottle. They really like the all of the essential nutrients that are already in the FP, so i don;t have to add Ca and Mg to my solution like i did in the past. This makes it so much easier on me.. I like that!! Good luck and please post some pics.. i would love to see your trees with or without blooms!! Where do you live? Have a great night, Lisa!! Laura

Hello! Thanks for the additional comments -- it's nice to get some feedback. Over the weekend I had an opportunity to view several front yards that don't have grass, rather more of a xeriscape like I've been aiming for. They do have quite a few perennials, something I do not have down on the slope. The perennials are mainly in the foreground, and in nice groupings. I have a better idea of how I should use them in the fall, which is when I plan to do the rest of the planting/transplanting. Karin -- I agree, I want to keep the feel of the front, from the perspective of being in the yard, pretty close to how it is now. But I think I can improve the street views w/o affecting MY view too much :-) We can't really see what's down the slope from the house/yard, nor can we see the front of the birch tree area. But from the street I can see that the birch tree area is overgrown and weedy, and the slope is haphazard/incomplete. Taking photos has been the biggest help, when I saw them I though "Oh wow, that really DOES look bad". bahia -- yes I started that thread b/c I was curious how many people go ahead and put their plants in, even in dry hot summer, and who holds back. I'm definitely planning to hold back. If I find some plants to buy (which I have not, yet...) I will maybe put them into larger pots but keep them in an area of our yard that has afternoon shade (the rear side yard next to our garage/dryer vent/waste cans). We don't have drip irrigation on that slope, what I have is a soaker hose that is covered by mulch. It runs around the top area and works out really well (when I remember to connect the hose to it). Our front yard sprinkler system doesn't work, but maybe that is something my DH will look into. Here is an updated photo of that area in the very front of our house, where I was considering planting the mandarin and lime trees. I have taken out all the plants I wanted to keep; for now, I decided to make it VERY low maintenance since it was growing a bunch of weeds. ;-) We will make a decision in fall/winter. Hopefully it will be a relatively clean slate by then. The artemesia and the yarrow in the foreground will probably get new homes on the sloped side of our front yard. I've started waffling about whether or not we should make a patio w/interlocking pavers, or if I should go for a nice evergreen groundcover. I'm thinking a groundcover will be nicer in the hot sunny afternoon. I want to keep the path that goes around the right side, leading to the fence gate, so we may use interlocking pavers there, instead. It's been very helpful to chat about the yard and what to do with it. Thank you :-)

How deep is the planter? 35 feet is quite a distance. The most handsome treatments I've seen have a repeat pattern of complimentary foliages & color. In 35 feet 3 repeats would work well. And something draping over the edge at intervals would break up the length and add interest. Oriental lilies do better with some winter chill. Asiatics would be more likely to establish. Lollipop is excellent and better looking than its photos if creamy pink fits. Dwarf bougainvilleas (3 feet), Calla lilies accept full sun, the single bright ivy geranium I like best with daylilies - don't know name - took my starts from a public planting, Osteospermum also spill over (after spring bloom shear back), dwarf agapanthus, Geranium 'Rosanne' weaves into nearby plants, Gerbera daisies. I find my best combinations at the nursery by dragging pots around to see next to one another.

You know, that's a really compact clump of yucca- instead of fighting it, why not use it along with the cedar and other shrub as winter backbone? They do have nice fragrant white blooms in summer. If it were spread out or a huge clump, i'd fuss with it, but if you're wanting to make life simple... leave it be. I'd say it depends on the compost whether you till it in. If it seems like it has a good bit of earthy stuff for the plants to dig into, then no, but if it's more top dressing stuff, perhaps till in half and top with compost. The quality can vary year to year and by the time of year, depending on what they are shredding and composting. If you're in wake co, you will need to find a truck/hauler to haul it for you, but the compost itself is fairly cheap- like 30 a big truckload full. City runs 2 for 1 specials sometimes, too. Meaning pay for 1 load, get the second free that same day- but you'd still need to pay for hauling. You could do a lasagna type bed- layer on newspaper, ect, and build up with out messing with tilling at all. There's been a good bit posted about it, and there are at least 2 books. It really does work if you have a little patience/time. There is a thread for the swap on the exchanges forum. It should have the where what when info- tho i can tell you quickly it's may 8th, at white deer park in garner. Doesn't matter if you're a newb. We always have some. Just bring some good food and anything you have to spare that you think gardeners could use- pots, hoses, rocks, etc. Even shallow boxes would be appreciated as folks always need them to haul away their new found goodies.