Donna, I have never overwintered the smaller brownish cordylines, just buy new each year. I have overwintered for years a large maroon/burgandy one, looks like a red corn plant. I treat it as a houseplant. I have a south facing door wall with an additional long low east facing window on the side wall in my kitchen eating area where I overwinter most tropicals. I also use my garage. I have some deep metal shelving on the inside wall where I put large pots, after cutting plants back (or letting them dieback) in the fall. The plants in the garage I water only a couple of times a winter (or none). The ones inside the house also get very little watering, just enough to keep them from drying out completely, since they are mostly semi-dormant, just sitting there. Some plants like clivia miniata get put in a dark corner of the kitchen or hidden behind other plants & need no watering at all from late fall until about April. The cordyline actually grows some indoors so it gets a bit more water. BTW, I grow the salvia B&B and the elephant ears in separate pots, because the ears need lots of water & the salvias don't. I just place the pots next to each other. Thanks also for the compliments on the pictures - just remember pictures allow you to show just the pretty stuff - not the failures or the messes! LOL Janice, Most of my pots are plastic or fiberglass or tufa. I own some big ceramic pots that I use inside for some of the overwintering plants, but I seldom bring them outside - too easy to break them, they are also heavy, & they won't overwinter outside in zone 5. I also put lots of my outdoor pots on wheeled trays. The really big ones are too heavy for trays and have to be dragged around on a dolly. I also use some old stacked patio stones to stagger the heights of some of my patio pots. Most all this stuff was collected over a period of time & I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive decent looking sturdy pots - the bigger the better. Keep in mind also that once things get going, you just can't see much of the pot anyway. As to what I plant in pots - just about everything. I have two large Alberta Spruces, started small & moved up over the years until they are now in 20+ inch pots & outgrowing those. I also have 2 Green Velvet boxwoods in pots that have been that way for the last 4 years. I have a bunch of mini evergreens & deciduous shrubs in low tufa containers. I have one planter with Hens & Chicks that stays outside all winter. I have also (not so much anymore) raised numerous deciduous shrubs in pots, including roses & wiegelas, and a nice collection of mini hostas & a few daylilies, along with cuttings and new starts of various perennials. Some of these need winter protection outside from hay, leaves or bubblewrap. Most eventually (usually sooner than later) go out into the yard. Many of my pots have tender perennials or tropicals in them, that go into the garage or the kitchen for winter. I generally only overwinter things like elephant ears, hibiscus, fuschias, brugmansias for only 3 or 4 years. By that time they are tired & so am I, & the plants are usually just too big and heavy even with lots of cutting back. I've not had much luck with lifting and storing dahlias or other tubers, so I often just keep them going (barely) in the kitchen or the woody stuff in the garage. I also direct seed some easy plants like zinnias, coresopsis, calendula, & poppies into small pots for fillers here and there. I often start larger things like canna tubers or castor bean inside the house in late March and then plant them into my outdoor pots. I also like to do leaf lettuces of all sorts and a few other veggies in patio pots. Most of the stuff though is bought either locally (I have several good nurseries near me where I always seem to find something new to try) or through some place like Select Seeds. SS sells plants as well as seeds and has a nice selection of plants with scent. I love their scented geraniums & that's where I got my original jasmine nicotianas. I never disturb my pots until I can see the nics coming up! I also usually buy a tropical vine or two (or three) from them as well. I have several 3 foot tall black metal tuteurs that I use in large pots for the vines & to give height to my plantins. Upside down hanging tomatoes (bought locally) do well in pots hanging from the Arbor! Oh, I forgot to mention that I have a collection of odd houseplants, mostly euphorbias & cactus, with a few bulbous palms & aralias, plus some large leafed things, that go outside for the summer starting in late May until late August-early September. (I've been known to frost/freeze a few of these over the years). The only thing I leave inside are my orchids & the occasional violet. I love taking them all out - it's bringing them in that's a pain - try moving a five foot cactus sometime! Anyway, have fun with your container growing - I am hereby enabling you to try anything in a pot. I sure have. :~)).

'Green Giants' are a hybrid form of arborvitae noted for fast growth. They are rapidly becoming a viable substitute for Leyland cypress, which tends to be short-lived and plagued with a variety of problems. GG's are not all that fastigiate, having a growth habit that more resembles a Leyland than a typical arborvitae - expected size at maturity could be as much as 50-60 feet with a spread of 10-15'. Form is conical (like a Christmas tree) rather than columnar or fastigiate. 10 y.o. specimens at my nursery are pushing 20' tall with a 8' spread. Once established, annual growth is reputed to be 3-5', which the nursery trees (planted) seem to be achieving easily. The parent of this plant is Thuja plicata, or western red cedar and this tree will easily hit 60-80' in its lifetime with a spread that can get as wide as 35' or more, depending on trunk structure. While you can hedge them at a desired height, this will take a great deal of maintenance to maintain. Hedging is the only reason to be cutting back the leader(s) or the topmost growth. If you want height, leave the top alone and gently shear back the side shoots/foliage. This will accomplish a similar result as with the shearing of Christmas trees - a somewhat narrower form but with dense side branching and an appearance of fullness. Young GG's do present a lanky, sparse appearance, much like young Leylands do. Maturity will help them to fill in and become more "tree-like".

Poor you, you need help! Try posting your question on the Lawncare forum: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/lawns/

Overseeding bare patches in the lawn is standard practice but try to use a seed that will match your existing lawn grass. Fertilizer will often do a better job of lawn recovery and it will maintain the lawns health. Here is a link that might be useful: Fresh Turf