My regret is not writing my own book, though Mel would probably do better anyway. When I was a teenager I was growing in the usual family bed but wanted some extra room for squash. I dug out a 4X4 in ground bed and filled it with peat and manure a foot deep. I had to weed the other bed daily. Did I weed my new bed? Never needed it. My family before me allowed the original bed to become infested with weeds. I then always added growing space in 4x4 sections in separate in ground beds because anything more meant walking on soil and then weeds in the rows. When I picked up Mel's book I noticed he was doing an improved version of what I already discovered. I had no trouble converting. So I have been doing some of this for 20 years on and off when I did not live in apartments or in school etc. I only noticed SFG when my sunny space was limited and looked into compact methods. I should mention that by doing it compactly that paying attention to sun exposure is important. Tall plants need to go to the north and that was something I noticed the first year.

Well, maybe, but this is one of my favorite lemon cake recipes, from "Joy of Baking" and it has 1/4 cup of lemon juice in addition to lemon zest AND lemon extract but has TWO teaspoons of baking powder instead of the one in the above recipe. Very lemon-y but not fluffy... Lemon Cake 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Zest of 1 large lemon 2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice Icing: 1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the pan. For the icing, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice. (You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thin enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake. If not the right consistency add more lemon juice or powdered sugar, accordingly.) Frost the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Let the icing set before covering. This cake will keep for several days in an airtight container. Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake. Annie

Main design issue I see is the rhododendron isn't big enough to balance the other, much bigger shrub at the left corner. (If the pointed conifer were near the right corner of the house it would do that but it is unfortunately just too far away to have that effect). And it's not possible now to catch up to the shrub to the left with a replacement planting where the rhododendron is malingering. So I would take the shrub to the left down (start it over) or out entirely. And I certainly wouldn't add a second, big green blob to that left side - as appears to be happening in the above representation - and throw the planting in front of the house even more out of balance than it is already.

Hi :) I am still here. After some drawn-out negotiations that didn't go very far, we decided it wasn't a good fit. House ended up needing a lot of work in addition to the roof - sewer leaking, termite damage, attic insulation needs replacement, tree removal, etc.