Thanks so much for all the help. I guess the area isn't really flooded most of the time. Neither tree will be located in the swale directly (that's a violation of the swale law or some such thing). There may be a couple days in which it stays particularly soggy and mushy with some visible surface water, but mored puddled than pond like. Most of the time it's just very damp. There can be some afternoons between July and September in which it almost qualifies as dry on the surface when it's really hot here. However, all yards drain to through mine, and with two water happy neighbors, there is always some moisture. I also have new neighbors since November, and I've no idea what their water habits will be. I did just lose a red maple sapling (Arbor Day twig - free with order) from that area. It broke in half this winter, and it's dead, dead, dead. I had considered putting the birch some place else, and recently decided to put it where the Maple was now that I realize just how moist that area stays, and that the other location does not get nearly the same water and drains much better. I expect I will go ahead with the Birch in site B, closer to the house and deck because I love the graceful look and interesting bark. The dappled shade it provides will be perfect, and the quick growth is appreciated. I'd rather put the slower growing, and potentially larger(? maybe denser is more accurate) cypress towards the rear of our property, more as a background tree. Thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback so quickly. I'm diligent in my research, but still lack confidence. Especially since the red maple worked out so poorly.

bencelest, Nice picture; you can definitely see where one tree begins and the other ends. mckh, I am glad you asked since I just saw your other post and it looks like you may have some rootstock sucker growth on one tree, though I can't say for sure. I have read that you want to remove rootstock growth since it takes away vigor from the grafted portion that you want to grow. I don't think it will make any fruit you get from the grafted portion inedible (though it may not be the best since it has to compete for nutrients, water, etc), but the rootstock may produce it's own fruit, which I'd guess is mostly not so tasty. My parents had a tree when I was a kid that got taken over by rootstock--nasty fruit. I can only describe what I have seen here in CA, but the average citrus graft line looks like a little knob on your tree's trunk anywhere from 2 inches or so to a foot or so off the ground (usually 6-8 in); it often looks like a change of angle in the growth and sometimes there is a change in texture of the bark that the above picture dmeonstrates so clearly. I usually see a diagonal line in the bark, but I'd guess all of this differs depending on techniques used...Sometimes the graft line is hard to see, but usually not. If you look up Four Winds Growers, they have some pictures posted on their web site of what a graft line looks like too--you'll have to look around a bit on their website, but it's there somewhere. HTH.

Hi Dayna and welcome! I'm pretty sure roses want more sun than that location. Whenever I've had hybrid teas near a wall, they've been tall and bare, even though the blooms were pretty. So I decided not to mess with them anymore. Also, I would plant them way away from the pool cage - like where your lawn begins on the other side of your liriope - so the screens can be easily accessed for maintenance and the roses can, too. It looks like the sun position would be better out there. How about trying several in containers for a couple of seasons to see how they do? I have two Natchitoches noisette plants that I started from cuttings someone on the Rose Forum gave me. When they got bigger, I put them in indigo-blue pots. They are blooming in nice sprays of palest pink right now and I love the color combo. Here's another couple of roses I potted up in pots I painted - these seem to do better in the shade of the house than HT roses, but I'm not sure what they are. Now, 8 months later, these plants are big and bushy with attention-getting blooms: You might be interested in one of my favorite blogs - http://sherryocala.blogspot.com/ I've really learned a lot. Also, check out the Roses Forum, if you haven't already. They're very smart over there! Susie

We did custom cabinets built in a shop, but they were finished on site. I was the builder on my home, so I was there a lot during the cabinet finishing process. I must have went through an entire roll of tape on them, but they turned out great and I haven't had any problems. We went with SW Dover White. You just need to make sure you look at them closely (especially where the doors meet the cabinet box), and mark them up if you can. Of course, it also depends on how good the painting crew is.