Consider an edible landscape. Pomegranate grows fast once established and is rather drought tolerant (except the first year after transplanted). You can easily propagate more with Pomegranate cuttings. I've also seen a lovely living fence made of apple and pear trees. You don't need to buy the dwarf varieties. Just keep them well pruned. Grow A Little Fruit Tree.

Straw: Didn't see this thread since long and missed your comment. I think primarily it is the river soil that is the main reason for deep colour. It comes with lots of trace elements which are in the form of fine particles formed due to the crushing of mineral rich rock high up in the glaciers. I have observed that many of my plants, planted in plain river soil, do well for years. My potting mix contain mainly river soil (6 parts) and lots of humus material including home made compost (2 parts), leaf mould (1 part or a little more) and remaining is some chicken manure (may be 1/2 part out of 10), some cottonseed cake etc. I would conclude that it is mainly river soil along with home made compost that is rich in Potassium, Calcium and trace elements. best regards

With all my roses pruned, there is no activity nowadays. However, when I complained to my rose nursery that the roses this year were not healthy, he sent me another pack, most roses of his own choice, at 80% discount. I am dealing with this rose nursery since long and many a times he sents a few roses free of cost Penelope (Hybrid Musk, Pemberton 1924) Brandy, (HT, Herbert Swim 1981) Memorial Day (HT, Tom Carruth 2001) Elizabeth of Glamis (Floribunda, McGredy 1958) Black Caviar (Astrid Grafin Von Hardenberg, Shrub, Tantau 2001) Daftrausch (Senteur Royale, HT, Tantau 1986) Andre le Notre (Betty White, Meilland 2000) Niclole Carol Miller (Grandiflora, Meilland, 2005) Pink Peac, (HT, Meilland 1958) JFK, (HT, Eugene Boerner, 1965) Souvenir de Baden-Baden (Pink Enchantment, HT, Kordes 2000) Princess Alexandra of Kent An un-tagged rose I already have two bushes of Princess Alexandra but he sends me a third at his own. No problem. I am not paying . I am fascinated to have Penelope, Memorial Day, Black Caviar and Andre le Notre. Have heard good things about these roses. I spent whole friday afternoon planting these roses... On Saturday morning me and my sons went up Margalla Hills for hiking. Margalla Hills National Park starts less than a km from my house. Here is one of the biggest trees that I saw in many years.... growing on the foot hills of Margalla. Yes, this is one tree. It is certainly hundreds of years old and Banyan tree do spread like this over the centuries; each root that touches the ground becomes a tree. This was last week. This tree is not that old but it is located high up on the Margalla mountain. We reached this spot after 2 hours of hiking. And here are few photos of one of my favourite palms, growing in the wild in Margalla National Park. Phoenix rupicola is indeed makes a majestic bush when fully grown. Phoenix rupicola grows up in the Margalla mountains at medium ranges. Here is one majestic specimen, isn't it? Another specimen This one has been through a jungle fire. The trunk is old but the leaves on top are few. Look how majestic this one looks. I am quite certain that if I grow this plant in my house (which is just 2 hours walk and in aerial distance, around 5 km from this place where this plant is going naturally), it will perhaps never grow this well. This is what I try to discover during my hikes. In nature, what makes the plants grow so well. What is God's Recipe for this lush growth? I think Straw would be interested to know this.... So many Phoenix rupicola growing naturally near the top of the mountain. I am so lucky to have this place just two hours hike from my house (in distance, it would be around 5 km aerial distance). Since there are no rose pics to show.... I thought we can talk about Banyan tree and Rupicola Palms I guess All photos shown above have been taken by me during my hikes in Margalla mountains. best regards

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Thanks! Do the blooms stick around for a while? I have perennials that I have allowed to dry to in place and I wanted to cut them all back once the irises are about to bloom. I have them planted in bunches of 5 and 7 and want to have a period where everything else is cut back and iris are the main feature. This is an attempt to allow me to cut back my other year round perennials to the ground (grasses/echinacea) and fill in the gap between cutting back and new group with another flower. So if the blooms are short lived, then maybe I should cut the perennials back before the iris flower but if the blooms stick around then I'll wait for the first bloom, then cut. Also do they come back year after year for you?