Ok, I think that everyone who has confirmed with me has received their map now... Hortist, I just e-mailed yours and another message, too. I am getting excited about meeting everyone! This will be a fun time! If for some reason, you were unable to open the attachments (map/directions) please let me know...I did send them in .pdf format because I thought that would be the most universal format. If you get a chance, you might list what food you are bringing here so we have an assortment, but I am sure it will be fine. I have plenty of tables, but don't forget to bring a chair... E-mail me if you have any other questions and I will check it tomorrow afternoon... See you all Saturday!!

I read through this thread last night, but was unable to post to it. Rather than read through it again, I'll touch base on a few things that stood out in being a native of Kansas City. Welcome to Kansas City AprilK and to the rest of you that have migrated here, or plan to soon. The Brookside area is a lovely area with lots of beautiful well established gardens and fully mature trees that are loaded with robust color and foliage. As for the Kansas vs. Missouri thing, grins, I grew up in Kansas and moved to the Missouri side in my early 20's. I moved back to Kansas only for a short while back in the 90's, 8 months to be precise, and I could not WAIT to buy a home again north of the river on the Missouri side. I've been in Clay County now for over half of my life and love it. Both states have their pros and cons, and much of it is more about the neighborhoods you select than it is what state you live in. There are "some" differences in politics and it shows in some of the ways laws are governed; especially Family Law. Also, a thing to keep in mind whenever seeking to move here, you should consult with your insurance agencies to get quotes on both homeowners insurance and auto rates; the amounts you pay might make the difference you spend in a mortgage or rent payment. Plus, the insurance companies are privy to high and low crime areas; it's a great way to weed out some of the less safe districts. The higher the crime rate, the higher the insurance premiums. One final note on location; if you are considering living on one side of the state line while working across the border, you will pay taxes to both states. Ok, all that said for the "transplants" (pun intended), now for some garden talk. I noticed multiple references to Peonies and wanted to mention a personal negative experience I had with them. I suggest that you do not plant them near the foundation of your home unless you enjoy ants. Peonies are a magnet for ants and if not tended to properly; they will invade your home. The previous home I purchased had a beautiful peony garden across the front of the home's foundation; very mature and robust. Once I got in the home, there was a constant issue in having to deal with sugar ants trying to invade my home. Finally, once I learned that the peonies were the root cause of the ants being along the foundation of the home; I moved them away from the home's base and planted them along the outside property lines where they drew the ants away from the home; doing so resolved the problem. While I love peonies; the flowers are short term on many species. Right now, with it being the end of summer and heading into autumn; we are beginning a new planting season here in Kansas City. The autumn is a great time for planting bulbs that require a hard freeze to bloom the following season. Irises, tulips, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, etc... Again, many of these flowers have a short lived flowering life and provide the best show of colors when planted according to bloom span noted on planting guides; early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid.. etc.... You will want to layer bloom cycles to where you have a constant show of color. Just be careful not to over-crowd your garden and divide your plants, once well established, to keep them from choking each other out. Many of the above mentioned are full sun to part sun plants, and while they will still grow in the shade, they are less likely to bloom. Hyacinths do well in the shade, as well as Lily of the Valley. Beware though, the Lily of the Valley plant can be invasive given the right conditions and is also known to be deadly to children if ingested; not sure if it is the same for pets, but most likely would be so. For shade gardens, my favorites are ferns and hostas. When I plant my ferns, I loosen the clay soil by digging the hole double the size of the plant and filling in around the roots with cypress mulch or peat humus before adding dirt back in to fill. I've had the best luck with ferns I plant along the foundation of my home in a well shaded area; North side, and east side. I have not had as much luck in planting the ferns around trees; they seem to lose out in a battle against the tree roots. Hostas seem to do much better for me around the trees in lightly filtered sun locations; but primarily shady gardens. As I have 18 trees in my yard with this newer place I acquired a few years ago, I'm getting ready to try my hand with coral bells, columbine and some other shady hummingbird magnets. My full sun location in my yard is limited to about 10 feet wide by about 30 feet long. The area borders my driveway and my mailbox, which makes me think twice about filling the area with bee balms and other plants that will draw bees as well as butterflies and hummers. Lawrence, KS has pretty much the same planting specs as the Missouri side does. Sorry for the long winded post, but I love gardens, and hope you all find Kansas City a very welcoming community.

Thanks for all of the advice! My living room here in Columbus is already a palm house so I have no problem bringing it indoors to give it TLC. I was going to just take it into the garage to pot it, not leave it there as there are no windows and I'd feel guilty leaving it out there. It will have to stay potted for a year in KC as we'll be leasing an apartment for a year and begin house hunting 6 months after arrival in KC. I'll try to take pics of the excavation and final potting. I'm really worried because I moved from Oklahoma in 2007 begining of winter and dug a trachy up and brought it with me to Ohio and it died in the spring of 2008. I had to dig it up in winter (though Tulsa winters are mild) and pot it to bring it to Ohio. I bought that one in Paris, Texas so I thought he was pretty hardy. Poor guy. I'll keep this updated with results. Thanks again everyone!

Kansas City tends to have soil pH that's fairly neutral. I don't know - are there broadleaf evergreens that are happy with that? I tend to think of Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Ilex, and Pieris as all liking acid soil, and having not ever gardened on neutral soil I don't know how any of them would do. Suz9601, putting "arborvitae dwarf" into a web search will get you a list of shorter forms of arborvitae. Then do research from reputable sources as to growth rate and size. A couple of sources I use are the American conifer society database and the Missouri Botanical Garden.