my goals were/are \- this is working for me so far as I can tell, but everything's very new. ~~~ go with a cottage rose garden loose romantic style, while using plants that do well in my climate. \- I found plants that I like that are romantic but drought\-tolerant, so I think as I get better at gardening and the garden matures, that this goal will be reached. ~~~ chose plants that are mostly native or drought\-tolerant and if possible hummingbird friendly \- this has mostly worked out. I'm still doing the throw plants and see if they live method, but some things like agapanthus, penstemon and some other things have done really well and the hummingbirds love them. ~~~ herb pot area \- the basil has been a resounding success. I haven't actually used any of the other herbs, but I bought 2 more basil because we use it so much. The pots look cute by the back door, too. ~~~ have two seating areas, one as a rose arbor, the other, some type of simple bench under the sakura tree. \- I have the spot roughly laid out for the arbor, but I'm waiting on buying an arbor. Mostly due to me being scared to spend $200 on an arbor, which is rather silly considering the amount I spent on roses I don't really have room for. ;) \- I'm going to wait until the sakura tree gets bigger to put a bench near it, so... maybe 5 years or so. We'll see. ~~~ I want to have stuff that blooms year round. \- I'm so new I don't really know what plants I have will survive, so this will have to be something to ponder gradually. So far, I'm really loving the roses, nepeta, sakura and irises. We'll see how the other plants do. I could use more fall/winter flowers, but I'm still having problems with camellias. ~~~ eventually I'd like to have a pergola off the back of the house. ~~~ sometime soon\-ish, I want to have some stepping stones from the driveway into the back sideyard,... and have a mostly older HT bed there. (front yard) I think I can do this pretty soon. But I have to get the irrigation in first. I've already bought the HTs which will come this fall and next spring and sit in the pot ghetto till I'm satisfied. ~~~ My next main goal is just to evaluate the roses I have and try to learn better about how to water properly and not kill things. My crepe myrtle looks a bit upset and I think I killed one of my sansaquas... my almost dead camellia in the front is recovering, though. ~~~ gradually trying to improve my heavy clay soil

I looked at the old thread - I did get almost everything on my original list, except the heliotrope. I had listed out all my existing plants in the rear beds by color, and realized that I had more lilac/lavender than anything else, so maybe adding another wasn't such a good idea, lol. Also, I think I've mentioned that dd talked me into getting a bunch more annuals, mostly in hot colors. And since we have extras from her flower party, I should have a good start on filling up the new border along the fence line that we started yesterday. It will have some dahlias (from seed), asters, assorted sunflowers, zinnias (I forget the name, but magenta-ish), and nasturtiums. CMK - That sounds like a price per yard, not cu.ft! We have similar pricing around here - it gets pricey. Dh I think overestimated how much we need - I'm slowing working down our big mountain in the driveway. (Ok, with help from dh and the kids - but I'm pretty sure I've done more than the rest combined, lol.) So, yeah, we spent more on compost than on all of the plantings this year, which drives me bonkers. And yesterday, as dh and I were walking around the yard, we decided that we really want to do something with the shady side yard that is scattered bits of grass with lots of dirt in between. Not sure if we will get started on that this year - but if I have enough compost left over, maybe I'll start amending for a new shade bed. I'm threatening to do nothing but pachysandra so I don't have to deal with it (it's the side of the house I rarely go to, though I suppose if it were nicer I might not avoid it as much!) As far as major projects, we are pretty well on track. We also enlarged the front bed and added as much compost as we dared without raising the grade too high. I've amended all of the new veggie boxes, and started planting them with early crops. I also planted my fruit trees. We also had our first campfire of the season, with all the dropped limbs from over the winter, as well as the dried-out remains of our Christmas tree. (That flared up pretty high for a few minutes!) Now I just have to figure out what to do with all of this compost I still have - and finish re-organizing my main flower borders.

Deb, When I started a grassroots movement to build a community built playground all I had was the enthusiasm. But lots of it! I had absolutely no experience, no knowledge, and not a lot of support. But there were many people who thought I could never do it. But I kept going, kept learning, building support, never stopped. It took me WAY out of my comfort zone. I spoke to EVERY group in town, the village council and county commissioner recognized the sound of my voice. It was like a political compaign. Two years later, we, the committee of people who dedicated themselves as much as I did, had raised over $250,000, organized 3000 volunteers, fed those volunteers 14 meals over 7 days ... then we sat in our 20,000 sq.ft. playground and watched our kids play (and cried a little). Let's just say they never doubted me again! Anything is possible with enthusiasm! However, when I started I did set an unrealistic goal in regards to time. A person I respected suggested I spread out the time line and slow down. It's better to take your time and plan, build support, get your ducks in a row. So my other to points of advice are 1) Get in good with the school principal, maybe he/she can recommend a couple teachers to help you. If the principal asks the teachers you might get a better response, and more committment in the long. 2) It's not a bad thing if the plants don't go in this year. This can be your planning year. So maybe you make it a reality next fall, then you'll have all the kinks worked out, won't be putting pressure on the school to add one more project to their list. If you approach a business for a donation, it's in your favor if they have several months to make the donation when it fits into their budget. A business who donates now might also donate next year, you'd get more stuff. Or a business who can't afford to donate right now, might be able to if the they plan for it in a few months. Many businesses' end/start their fiscal years in October, so it's a good time to solicit donations as they are making budgets. I can think of dozens of reasons to give yourself this year to plan, with the goal of planting next year. I know you're excited now and that makes us like kids, we want it NOW! Believe me, I've been there, I'm the same way. So take it from me, slow down, make yourself a good timeline, with the help of other volunteers you enlist. It's better to make sure it happens right even if it takes longer than you dreamed. I would really love to see you make your dream a reality for the children. So if I can answer any questions or give moral support, you can always email me. I don't know a thing about the gardening side of it, but I can help with selling the idea! Stephanie

I just did my first request for withdrawal. It is supposed to be in my bank around the 16th. The fund is staying open so can still accept donations. The % taken out is I think around 5to8 %. Not bad at all. This is going to help us a lot! Thanks so much!