Well, I read your post and then got engrossed in the subject of living walls. I think you might find it helpful to look at your library for books about this subject, plus green roofs. It isn't a new concept, since traditional Scandinavian structures had living roofs etc. And today, Germany is one of the leaders in mitigating the environment by planting living walls and green roofs. They can do it because their building codes allow it. One book that I have is titled LIVING SYSTEMS: INNOVATIVE MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. It lists a lot of plants they've used in climates I'd consider as cold as NYC. They use a lot of cable, and turnbuckles to keep the cables taut, and then they have a lot of vines which can be planted either in the ground surrounding buildings, or in planting containers. They particularly use a lot of vines. I'd even hazard to say that your balcony would be one place that KUDZU would work nicely, since it can grow a foot a day. I've noticed that Plant Delights Nursery in N.C. sells some variegated kudzu, but it is against the law to plant it in places like Atlanta. If you are looking for a shade maker, then kudzu is for you. When I was driving through Palacios Texas several years back, hotter than blazes and no shade anywhere, I saw this little trailer nestled beneath a pergola that was covered entirely with kudzu. And that was the best use of the plant I ever saw. There was enough room for a small patio and a hammock beneath that dense shade. Of course, in NYC it would succumb to the really frigid temps, which might be a good thing. But it would also give you some time and protection to get other vines growing up cables on your fire escape. One thing which comes to mind is the climbing hydrangea which is cold hardy and can (in the ground anyway) reach tremendous heights. Less ambitious but probably hardy would be some clematis. I'd also get some annual vines like morning glory or hyacinth bean (edible too), and the wisteria may survive the climate as well. Heaven knows it is an aggressive plant which gets so massive a trunk that I've seen it squeeze the life out of trees. A native of China and Japan, where I think the winter could be as cold as NYC. It would be doable in big containers with protection. Look for this book: PLANTING GREEN ROOFS AND LIVING WALLS by Nigel Dunnett and Noel Kingsbury. I was intending to put a living roof on my old derelict garage but was persuaded otherwise. Fascinating topic though. Hope this gives you some ideas.

I'd say in Olga's case it's magic AND hard work. Hard work alone doesn't seem to account for how fantastic her roses look. I'll never forget that photo of her Abraham Darby bush she posted a few years back. If I tell myself it's partly magic, then I can feel better about the fact that I will never get an Abraham Darby that looks as good as hers! ;-) That said, there's no doubt Olga really knows what she's doing! --Ron

Hello, Tricia. It is definitely hard to tell as we can only guess at what you saw and experienced when living with these plant daily. So I will guess.... 1. Stems that "look" dry as sand can actually be alive. The exterior woody shell which we see is hard and protects from the elements, just like in trees. But the interior where the sap resides could be green. Dormant too. Why do you not experiment next year? Prune off a stem and see if you see green or is it dry dead inside. If dead, prune two inches below that cut and continue until you either find green or hit the bottom. Here in the south, stems that do not leaf out by mid-to-end of May can be considered dead (mid-to-end of June if located the northern parts of the country). 2. Bloomage may be "later than normal" under such conditions but not thaaat late (September?). Foe example: Leafout happens here in April and about 4-6 weeks later (varies a lot) then I start seeing the bloomage. Things should work similarly for you. How about you monitor this interesting question and post updates as you notice changes. 3. I have not seen such a list. But Hydrangea Macrophylla Maculata can be grown in Zone 6 and, if it is hardy to zone 6 then you can assume the wood can withstand temps as cold as -10 to 0F. Maybe less if they warm up the next day. Hydrangea macrophylla 'Variegata' is a Zone 6er and Hydrangea Macrophylla Light O Day is a Zone 5er. Or so the nurseries say. While the wood may withstand these cold temps, I am not sure about the flower buds. Hydrangea macrophylla suffers from early or late freezes since the flower buds have a weak dormancy. Surprise warm weather in winter or early spring causes the buds to emerge from dormancy, grow and become susceptible to freeze damage; see Hayseedman's famous post on overwintering hydrangeas for more info. 4. Late June but feel free to do the pruning I suggested in Question #1 in late spring if you are curious. Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering Hydrangeas by Hayseedman

Cleveland select pear - Noooo o o o o . . . For many reasons it really isn't a great tree. It's invasive in native woodlands in much of the country (something you said wanted to avoid), the blossoms smell dreadful, and the wood is prone to winter damage. Here are some pears near me after a wet autumn snow. I had a few broken lilac branches, but none of my trees other than some of the scrappier white pines had broken branches, and I saw no other trees that were severely enough damaged to need to be removed as these needed to be. If you search these trees on the tree forum you will only get a very few positives vs. many many negative comments. The dogwoods I mentioned in the post yesterday would be much better choices. My Kousa dogwoods have color that rivals the pear and mine has been healthy until last winter's -22 (at least) killed the buds, though it is still working on leafing out now. That shouldn't be an issue for you. If you do go for the crabapple, do a web search to be sure it is a disease resistant variety. As far as the holly - I much prefer holly over yew. I can't grow it here without winter damage, but at least some varieties are hardy in your area. Be sure you get an appropriate boy holly to pollenate your females to get berries. China Boy is supposed to be appropriate for China Doll, but I couldn't find specific hardiness info on China Doll. I think the combination of holly and Hydrangea will be handsome, with the Hydrangea providing summer bloom and the holly providing winter green along with berries for the first part of the winter (before the birds eat them.) I don't know what you mean by barn stone, so I can't answer that part. Where ever you plant the hedges, be sure they are set back far enough so you can see oncoming traffic as you pull out of your driveway.