Suzanne, the morphing from fisherman to Guggenheim Fellow has been quite a trip. He told me one day I had been his role model, morphing from stay-at-home mom to starting college at 40 and making it to college professor. Nothing could ever make me feel better about my own life than that. I'm sure plenty of people have had things like this happen to them. You watch one person do something you did not think possible and you become more confident yourself and perhaps move ahead into exciting transitions yourself. Now that the ride is over, I realize that I was pretty scared about riding a bike alone such a long distance. Yet I think the bike was a lot safer than walking, especially because Paul is a small man, barely 5'2", and dark. At least there is chance at a faster getaway. I was afraid when he was in the Southern states he's be taken for an illegal! He says the problems were in the cities--Lafayette wins the prize for bike-bashing drivers. As for Jesse White Crow walking, that's pretty amazing. I'll Google him because I'd like to know why he's making this trek. I do think it's dangerous because one man alone can be fair game to even two more people. And if he is a man of color, it's certainly much more difficult.

mollie - some of my clematises were damaged by this past winter too. I've actually lost a Sweet Autumn completely - I thought those things were impossible to kill! My C. montana was killed to the ground but is coming back from the roots. Since that one is only marginally hardy here, I do expect that one to suffer after bad winters. The rest seem to have done OK. thyme - the heptacodium is certainly a favorite of ours too because of it being such a butterfly magnet in September. It's an odd-looking tree here though since it grows against the big old cedar. If you look at the picture from the road, you can see that the tree looks like half a tree! The north side is missing - it can't grow on that side because of the cedar. But, if you look at it through the iron arbour, it fills the back, right side of the bed and looks like a normal tree! That is our main view of it so the odd half-a-tree side view doesn't bother us much. PLUS when the monarch butterflies arrive on migration in the fall, they like to roost in the cedar at night and come out in the morning to feed on the heptacodium flowers. So it works for them too.... I bought the tree as a relatively small shrub 10 or more years ago and pruned off all but one stem. Other than pruning off any winterkilled tips, and any branches hanging too low over the side path, we don't prune it now. This spring I bought a 'Blue Moon' native wisteria for a friend who wanted a wisteria. It had a flowerbud when I bought it. I held onto the plant until the flower bloomed so I could check the scent. Some of the natives have a reputation of being 'stinky', but I can confirm that 'Blue Moon' is pleasant.... If I had room for another wisteria I'd be tempted to try that one to see how it compares in growth - but we really don't need another one! I suspect my 'Paprika' rose now includes some seedlings that are likely crosses with the pink Angel roses at the other end of the bed! The color of the Paprika flowers is highly variable so I suspect there's mixing going on. I also have a 'Peachy Cream' Oso Easy rose between the pink Angels and the Paprika. The Peachy Cream is a much weaker plant though and barely made it through this past winter. The ninebark does make a great foil for brighter plants. There are red and rusty orange daylilies near it too that also look great with it. kato, mxk3, a2zmom - rodgersias do have lovely flowers but the ones in the porch bed show them off the best - because the flowers arch over the driveway, they don't get lost against other plants as they do elsewhere in the garden. That bed faces east so gets full sun from sunrise to about noon and then is in full shade from the house for the rest of the day. I didn't have a lot of hope that they'd do well there - the soil is unamended clay with generous amounts of builders rubble and foundation drainage gravel mixed in; it is also under the roof overhang so it can get pretty dry under there when we forget to water.... There's only about 12" of space between the base of the porch and the edge of the driveway. Not exactly ideal growing conditions for any plant let alone a rodgersia :-) I've always felt that rodgersias are more adaptable than their 'idea' growing conditions would lead one to believe. These ones are the proof of it! I'm not usually good at leaving holes in the beds for adding plants later - something usually finds its way into them... - but I do want some of those Mammoth mums and it looks like I need to be patient. I think I know who the wholesale supplier of the mums is for garden center that ordered them for me, so I may call them directly to see if I can talk them in to selling me some early if I go pick them up. north53 - looking at your zone... what interesting very cold-hardy stuff do you grow? It looks like U of Sask. is producing some very interesting hardy stuff - where do you look for hardy material? Rouge - Persicaria polymorpha is certainly an interesting plant, one I use in both the front and back gardens. The flowering decreases as the shade increases but I still like them and find them useful. Here is the one in not-too-dense shade in the patio area this morning: The Fringetree on the left of it is just starting to bloom and the Cornus kousa 'Milky Way' on the right will be blooming soon. And this P. polymorpha is in fairly dense shade under the edge of the pine canopy so will only produce a few flowers but I like its shrubby green bulk there:

Copy/paste of original post: Ok. If you look at my pictures, you will see my problem. I am in terrible need of landscaping around my new home. I know there are tons of problems, but my main concern is a privacy hedge. I am located in zone 6 or 7 (borderline). There are many deer that constantly roam my yard, which is, by the way, about a one acre lot. My first and most important project is a privacy screen. I really want an evergreen screen to run along side the creek, which is about 350 feet. Now the hard part. Here are things i have to consider. 1. deer, pests, diseases 2. cost must be low 3. really want it to grow fast, at least the first 150 feet that is near my house. the rest could grow slower. I can even use a mix of slow, med, and fast growers, i just want some screening now.... 4. I kill plants. not on purpose, but they always seem to die. 5. There are power lines that could interfere with tall trees two sets, estimated at 30 feet. 6. At one point, the space between my house and the creek is only 22-23 feet. This is the same area where the power lines are. I could put a shorter variety here, but would still like it to be taller than me. 7. Good hedges = good neighbors. I really really thick, thick, possibly multilayer and staggered. I would love to be able to use my back yard, but at this point, i really can't until I have some screening. 8. I am probably going to plant seedlings from arborday.com or my states nursery. I also have a home depot that I could purchase plants from. 9. I would like the plants to at least live as long as I do, preferably longer. 10. I do not mind having a mix of different types of trees, but I would have no idea which ones to place beside each other. 11. This area is full sun, but i have no idea on the type of soil. I know there is some asphalt chips sprinkled in the front (contractor used for fill dirt). Regulary dirt is about 5 inches or so down. I know that no one plant will probably fit my needs, but after all my research, i feel more confused than ever. Here is what i have been researching, perhaps in a mixed screen. I just do not know how to place them for a nice 5-6 yr down the road outcome. Green giants, leyland cypress, willow, nellie stevens holly, different pine types - white, austrian, scotch, red, spruces,arizona cypress, white and douglas firs, cryptomeria, and even thought about blending in some deciduous like maples, empress tree, willow hybrid, and dogwood. I have more on my list, but i thought i would toss these out for some opinions. In the pictures, when you are looking at the front of the house, the creek is on the left. I would love some suggestions. I really am clueless about planting things. Just in case anyone has an idea for the road side hill (which is about 5 feet high, quite steep in some places)let me know.. I wanted some ground cover that spread fast so that we wouldnt have to use the weed eater for hours every week in the summer. I was considering juniper or ivy but im not sure on their spread rate. Also, if you notice anything that you think would look good in another part of the yard, let me know that as well. In my backyard, close to my porch, (not on creek side) I have a septic system. I understand I have to be careful what i plant there. Any way thank you for reading! I welcome any comment to point me in the right direction

Uggg. Why are you letting her vent all over you anyway? I would just work out the logistics with her and let her vent to her friends. Sounds selfish, yeah you miss your husband and his child misses him too. You grown up thing. Avoid needless exchange with this energy vampire.