This is so ironic... I thought I'd look on this site to see what would be good to plant for quick privacy. Our huge 40-foot old arborvitae split from all of the rain and wind last week. It had 3 limbs and split right at the bottom sending one limb onto our garage. We now have a perfect view into our neighbor's house. The single-leader advice is definitely worth following. Regarding the cypress suggestion, I planted about 35 leyland cypress 10 years ago (nursery going out of busines sale $3 each) and they're now over 30 feet tall. Amazing privacy. The only bad thing is they don't put down very deep roots relative to their height. We usually have to pick up one or two each winter and brace them back up when we have a particularly wet and windy winter. Even with this minor inconvenience, they're still well worth it and do a great job of screening out our neighbors' 2-story addition. I might try a tall, fast flowering shrub. Any advice on one for a dry, partial sun area?

What tomato varieties are you growing? I don't think you need to direct a rant at your garden organizer, but you might do a Search of each variety here and print them out. The height of each variety is given. Then show the information to the garden organizer and explain that if your supports are too short now, you'll have to add to them later, and the plants can be damaged by pounding in stakes later when they're taller and the root system is larger. The truth is that containerted is right -- the choice is to provide a sturdy support for indeterminate tomatoes from the beginning or have dinky supports that fall over with tomato plants broken and/or sprawled everywhere. The kicker? Ask the garden organizer what you should do and say you've thought a lot about ways to support them that are attractive, and maybe you two can choose the best plan. Four to five feet is enough height to let the plants grow and then cascade down the other side. Again, I don't think you need to be confrontational. Since she sounds like a "managerial type", she might give you the go-ahead for a better support system with enough information and if she has some say in what you do. God, I'm GLAD I don't have to put up with gardening ignoramuses telling me what I can and can't do! It's bad enough with so many differing opinions by people who are experienced gardeners!

For my final in my Yearbook class, my class has been assigned to do a ten page yearbook about ourselves. And so we can choose between putting it together by hand (scrap-booking, etc) or by using Adobe ID. I NEED your help. Finals are due in three weeks! Thank you. Sincerely, Keisha

No, I typed in a . so that this duplicate thread would drift down and off the page.