dirtygardener on the other one i used the Miracle Grow fertilizer for plants and roses. It seems to like it because out of nowhere it bloomed four roses at the exact same time. The reason i had bought those on clearance was because they were kind of ugly and had no blooms so no one bought them. They looked liked they were going to die, but alas, they really turned around after i cared for them for some weeks. Do you have any brand suggestions i should try out? These are the only two rose plants i have.

Southern California is not the easiest place to grow bigleaf hydrangeas. But it can be done. My sister lived in Laguna Beach for years and she had great hydrangeas but they were in pretty much all day dappled shade. Plenty of shade and plenty of water will prevent the browning of any flowers prematurely. One of the issues you will have to contend with is the lack of a proper period of dormancy. These are not evergreen shrubs and they need a down time to recharge themselves and the very mild or even warm winter temps you experience interfere with that. Lack of sufficient dormancy will affect flowering and eventually the health of the plant overall. You can induce a "forced" dormancy of sorts by removing any remaining foliage in late fall and not allowing the shrub to flower until after the spring equinox.

I agree, NZ flax - even the dwarf forms - will overwhelm that space in no time. And Mexican feather grass is an emerging invasive species in SoCal. I'd be looking a low growing succulents - aloes, agaves, aeoniums, chalk fingers, etc. - interspersed among river rocks. Maybe a couple of kangaroo paws for some height and additional color.

Kimberly - I am so silly - I meant to recommend Purezza, which is the hybrid banksia which Malcolm suggested above, but I forgot to put its name in my last post. HMF says it is "almost thornless". If you can find it on Fortuniana (which seems to be the rootstock everyone from FLA is advising you to use), I would go for it. I know for a fact that banksias can be pruned down to any size you like, as a grocery store near my house has the yellow ones (banksia lutea) planted in ten 3 ft by 2 ft raised beds (with cement sides) which they use as automobile stops for parking spaces in their parking lot, and they grow them on 2-3 ft high metal trellises, and keep them relentlessly pruned down to the height of the trellises. They bloom prolifically every Spring for a long time. That is why I think Purezza could certainly be kept short enough for your pillar. Malcolm, just saying, we don't get hardly any winter chill (meaning nights below freezing) at all here in some years, and my yellow banksia bloomed every Spring no matter what. However, FLA climate is of course WAY more humid than ours, so perhaps that has something to do with it, and Purezza is a better choice than the original yellow or white banksia. Kimberly, if you decide to try Purezza, remember that banksias are a VERY old type of rose, and you cannot expect any of them to grow to maturity in a few months. If you plant one, remember the rhyme for climbing roses: "First year sleeping", (growing roots underground - not much activity noticed above ground - this is NORMAL), "Second year creeping", (putting out short canes which sort of flop around), "Third year leaping" (climbing canes appear, which will need to be trained as horizontally as you can - many people wrap them around pillars. Good luck - and please let us know if you do decide to try one rose in your back yard. Your front yard design plans sound gorgeous - we would all like to see pics of both yards when you have platned the roses. Jackie