I cut the fronts off the bags and parts of the bottom (though mostly I couldn't get to the bottom without upsetting everything). The soil was evenly moist all the way through, so I think that answers the drainage question. But there were two places which looked a bit root-bound. Which means they are probably root-bound in the places I can't see as well. It's not super bad, but that might be part of the problem. Kind of a bummer. I didn't have root issues when I grew them in a container this size before (which is why I thought it would work), but I forgot to take into account that they were not planted so closely (I think they were more like 4 inches apart in that container). I hope opening up the bags helps. =P

I see that you are going without much response to this post. I think the difficulty may be that for the usual windbreak, trees like Norway spruce, white pine, and maybe green giants are used. But you want to use smaller trees, which limits your options, and then there is the difficulty of matching growth rates of different kinds of trees so the faster growing trees don't overwhelm the others if you plant them close enough for a wind break. And if you choose slower or smaller growing conifers, then you have the problem of not having a good windbreak for many, many years. So advice is hard to give. Maybe what you really want is a nice grouping of ornamental trees that will have a secondary effect of cutting down on the wind from that quarter. If that is the case, then you should not worry too much about spacing--just give each tree the room it needs to grow to its eventual size. Pick a mixture of trees that have the effect you want. If you don't want the large trees such as Norway spruce, and white pine, what you should do is go through some basic books that describe all the various conifers and their growth potential. Of course there are some smaller cultivars, especially of Norway spruce that might be good for your spot. Maybe cruenta, with its red new shoots in the spring? For spruces, an obvious choice would be blue spruce. There are cultivars that have different sizes and colors. For fir you could have Korean--the species rather than any cultivar would give you a modest zised tree that is very pretty. Nordmann fir might get too big--I don't really know what your limits are. Most larch might get too big, such as European, Japanese, and Dunkeld, but they sure are beautiful with their autumn color. There are various pines that might be good, but I am not the best person to make suggestions. There are Thujas, cypresses, junipers, smaller cultivars of bald cypress, and all kinds of other things you could include. If you are not too far from Washington D.C. you could go to the National Arboretum and look at the Gotelli Collection as well as other areas to see some possibilities. But you might want to include some larger trees for one or two spots. One white pine, one Norway spruce (maybe the "pendula major" if you can find it would give you a nice weeping specimen, and for larch I would go with the hybrid Dunkeld for your zone. Some Japanese maples, which are small to dwarf sized trees, have interesting foliage textures as well as good fall color, so some of these might be good for a border. Maybe an inquiry to the Maples Forum here would give you some ideas. For a shrub maybe a burning bush or two would be good if you are not tired of seeing them everywhere. Of course there are lots and lots of shrubs that might give interesting color, bloom, fragrance, etc. After you select what you want, I would just plant them so each has enough room to grow to something like maturity without crowding out other trees. You won't get much of a wind break for a long time, however. Maybe you could plant a row of Norway spruce as a back drop and a faster windbreak. If you want to do that, get trees 2 or 3 feet tall and plant them six feet apart in a double or maybe triple row staggered (you could even do four or more rows planted like this--you have room and the eventual result should be better). Then as they grow thin out the weaker ones as they become crowded by the faster growing, dewnser, more beautiful ones. If you can afford it, get larger ones and plant them a little further apart, maybe 8 feet or so. Because Norway spruce show so much variation from tree to tree, it is a good idea to plant a lot of extra trees and thin them out later when you see which are really the nicest ones. Well, I hope some of this helps a little. Have fun designing your "corner." --Spruce

the best i can come up with.. is surround what is expected to be a large/giant ... with smaller hosta ... and then move the smaller out ... when the giant gets giant ... giants ... can take up to 7 to 10 years to come to maturity.. none of this 3 year.. sleep, weep, leap ... what would be the point of moving a big one every few years.. retarding its quest toward maturity ... otherwise... no garden is ever static.. you are not delusional enough to think .. that like a lawn ornament.. once placed ... it will be there forever ... if you can work out proper spacing at inception... you will be ahead of 100% of us .. who know.. we will have to eventually move all our mistakes... you can not be that ODPC to think you will outsmart the rest of us.. who have been at it for a decade or two longer than you ... insert in ground.. and move the mistakes in fall or next year ... besides.. you are growing under maples ... you will either be digging them up every few years to get maple roots out of them.. or moving them other places.. so whats permanent placement worries all about??? ken

I'd try and focus the seating around the fireplace and leave a path between the kitchen and french doors, to get to whatever is out there. Then I'd put a desk or bookshelves and a chair in the corner under the bar, for perusing my cookbooks, going online while someone was watching TV, doing homework, paying bills, household management, etc. I would try and keep whatever I was trying to do in there out of the path between the kitchen and doorway. That way the spaces will feel more focused, intimate and cozy. On the other hand, if that set-up works for you, then I honestly don't think it is that bad. Just keep on the lookout for art pieces you like and you can gradually deck it out more. Curtains would add an additional layer of cozy. An area rug with a nice pattern in front of the fireplace would "tie the room together." I got a nice wool oriental rug on sale and put it over my living room carpet that was the same color as yours, added an instant feeling of being more than a "pass through" room, which it tended to be also, due to the layout of my house, you had to walk through the middle of the living room to get to the rest of the house. The only downside of putting an area rug over carpet is they tend to shift, but perhaps there are strategies for solving that problem.