Emerogork2, professional looking plan. If I understand correctly, the intent was to have different sections of the gardening blooming at different times. This seems unusual in, at least a small, mixed perennial garden. Some large perennial gardens like Sissinghurst or Merlin's Hollow are divided into "rooms", functionally different gardens. So the "spring garden" or "alpine garden" is in full bloom in spring and the "Michaelmas daisy garden", in fall. However, I take the usual plan for a smaller mixed perennial garden to be a large diversity of different perennials in each bed. That diversity should include perennials that bloom at different times in the growing season. The large diversity requires deep flower beds. This post was edited by SunnyBorders on Sat, Dec 6, 14 at 18:15

Undeniably, clematis is quite lovely and refined; however, we all must remember the task at hand. Our nannerbelle is faced with the daunting task of screening out the trailer trash who, like a band of Gypsies, have descended upon the adjoining postage stamp of land. Lovely, delicate, refined vines may simply not serve the purpose. An industrial strength vine is what's needed. And esh ga, I must add yet another couple of virtues to my earlier praise of _Wisteria sinensis_. One is that Chinese wisteria will flower sporadically throughout the summer and early fall--a faint, though much appreciated, echo of its grand spring performance. And two-- nannerbelle will certainly appreciate this--the seed pods of Chinese wisteria explode with loud popping sounds in the late fall when hit by a hard frost. Pop! Pop! Pop! they go--sending those annoying little urchins from next door a-skedaddlin.' _Wisteria sinensis_: truly a vine for all seasons. While the Chinese wisteria is taking all those years to lay its abundant floral offerings at nannerbelle's feet, the Castor Oil Plant (_Ricinus communis_) could well be used as a quick, exotic, summer screen. It grows fast and furiously, and if planted in mid-April, will be a towering giant by the end of August. Huge leaves shaped like star-fish, maroon stems and petioles, other-worldly flowers followed by mace-like seedpods create a sheer vision of tropical loveliness. The problem, however, with _Ricinus communis_ is like the problem with _Nerium oleander_: they're both exceedingly poisonous. The seeds of the Castor Oil Plant contain the deadly poison ricin. But hey, didn't your parents teach you not to eat the horticulture? Besides, Mother Nature tends to protect the innocent. The seeds will be so high up in the top of the Castor Oil Plant that an innocent child should not be able to reach them unless that babe is airborne. Some people call the Castor Oil Plant the Mole Plant. Years ago, gardeners planted the Mole Plant, or Castor Oil Plant, around the perimeter of their vegetable gardens with the belief that the Mole Plant warded off moles, voles, and other root-devouring, subterranean varmints. [In the Antebellum Era, Floride Bonneau (Calhoon) Calhoun had a similar idea at Fort Hill, Floride and John Caldwell Calhoun's plantation home, now the centerpiece of the Clemson University campus. She had a mortal fear of malarial mosquitoes, which were largely confined to her native Low Country home in the swamps of South Carolina. This terror led her to plant Eastern Red Cedars around the perimeter of her Up Country South Carolina home, with the belief that the fragrance of the cedars warded off mosquito infestations.] One of the many good things about _Ricinus communis_ is that a gardener doesn't have to cultivate the ground in order to grow a splendid specimen. Just gently push the seed into the ground, and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. Stand back and enjoy. But, remember, not to ingest the seeds, unless you have a sincere death wish. Ricin is that infamous poison that was used at the height of the Cold War by the KGB. You will probably recall the international headlines of the murder of a British spy on a London street sometime in the late 1960's. A KGB agent pricked the British spy with a ricin-encrusted stilletto concealed in the tip of an umbrella, dispatching the spy to his Eternal Reward. I just ordered three packets of _Ricinis communis_ seeds from a seed vendor in Florida--one packet will contain seeds of the solid-green leafed form; the second will contain seeds of the maroon-leafed form form; and the third will contain seeds of 'Carmencita,' a named cultivar of _Ricinus communis_. I can't wait for them to arrive.

You mention that you cannot use tall supports. Perhaps the following easy method which I have been trialing with success might be worth considering. For each tomato plant purchase 2 ten foot lengths of 1/2" PVC pipe available at plumbing section of box stores. Now form two hoops next to each other with these, spaced 8" apart, planting ends firmly in ground. Position one tomato plant at bottom of a hoop so that it will grow toward the sun. As it grows weave the new growth between and around the two hoops, securing branches with single-wrap velcro as needed. The velcro is also available at box stores. Beneath the hoops you will still have some growing space for crops such as herbs and lettuce. The whole set-up is sturdy and attractive. I take the time to quickly paint each pipe with dark green acrylic paint so the white piping does not stand out in color. Easy to take apart and store. The pipes will last for many, many years. Sorry, I do not post pictures on GW, but hopefully you can follow my directions.

i lost my senior great dane girl 5 weeks ago to bone cancer. it was sudden and shocking and i still look for her. my remaining dane girl and eden were joined at the hip, pip took the loss very hard and had been grieving so much, it broke my heart. i contacted pip's breeder and one of her former co-owners and asked that they keep an eye out for any adults that any breeder friends might be considering a new home for (retired show dogs, etc.). the co-owner gave me the contact information for one of her people who had a dane boy she had been looking for just the right home for and the rest is history. meet "flighty foto my way", call name "frank". frank will be 4 years old on 5/31. he is a very sweet boy and he and pippin hit it off immediately at our meet 'n' greet friday. they do zoomies numerous times a day, sleep curled up together and are just a perfect pair. pippin is so much happier and that makes me happier. even though i miss eden terribly, i am beginning to heal now that pip is feeling better. frank is a bit on the thin side because he lived the last 4 weeks with a female dane who was going through a heat cycle and when that's going on, intact males ignore food, do a lot of pacing and fretting and routinely lose weight. he's eating like a horse so i'm confident he will gain and be back to his normal weight soon. i'm giving him a few weeks to settle in and then i'll make an appointment to have him neutered.