Sorry if I came off as so negative with my advice, certainly you have gained a wealth of personal experience that has now elevated you from a "newbie" gardenener to one more experienced with the trials and tribulations of invasive weeds, and poor winter drainage. A bit more about using Roundup in case you didn't know: 1. Works best when bermuda grass has not been cut back, but is full and lots of surface foliage 2. Apply when bermuda grass is in active growth(usually once it has hit 75F temps for a couple of weeks 3. Roundup works best when you have consistent warm weather so that it actively gets translocated to the roots 4. When bermuda grass is invading from the neighbors gardens, you need to do regular weed patrol to keep on top of runners that spring up from under the fence, probably at least every couple of weeks About the annual bluegrass: 1. If you are planting out small seedlings that can't effectively compete with weeds, try cutting an 18 square of weed fabric and pinning down at the edges around any new seedlings, this is what is typically done with revegeatation seedlings/trees planted out in grasslands, they need help creating a clear zone so that they can get large enough to compete with the weeds/grasses 2. Mulching deeply to keep bare soil from being exposed greatly helps with inhibiting weed seeds that need light to germinate, such as the annual blue grass 3. If you are trying to reseed poppies and other wildflowers, you can keep smaller areas weedfree and scatter saved seed, but will need to be vigilant about weeding seedlings of weeds as they come up Watering new plantings; 1. Standing with the hose and giving things a splash of water just isn't enough with valley heat and small seedlings with their limited roots 2. Better to give things a really good soak twice a day if starting seedlings when the weather is still hot, and use mulch to minimize soil evaporation 3. You might consider creating temporary shade structures using bamboo stakes and shade cloth if you can't resist starting seedlings outside the ideal fall planting window 4. Ideal time to plant out small sized native species is in the fall, once it starts to cool off enough in your area that you won't be getting any more 75F and above days, this makes a huge difference in heat and water stress for small plants Drainage issues 1. You are absolutely right that if you didn't know how poorly drained your intended garden was going to be, you wouldn't have known that it would be a problem. 2. You now know that it may be worth investigating first before you start planting; ie, look to see if there are rain gutters or downspouts off the roof, where they drain, if there is enough slope to the ground that water can drain away, etc. It may also be helpful to ask the neighbors, landlord, former tenants, when you have a chance to do so, if there are any drainage problems with the site Weeds; 1. You now have the experience to be a better judge of whether your intended garden area is surrounded by weeds, and if so, you now also know that it is always a good idea to try and get rid of the stored seed bank before you start planting 2. Getting rid of entrenched weeds may mean using Roundup at the right time of year to effectively kill them(and use the full strength applications and repeat usage after clearing away killed weeds, watering for at least a couple of weeks to initiate new growth, wait until weed regrowth is at least a couple of inches and spray again. You may need to do this 3 or 4 times over 3 to 4 months to get rid of all the weeds. 3. It may be useful to cultivate/disturb the soil several times to expose weed seeds to light, hoe them off or spray with herbicide, and repeat several times if you suspect you have a real weed problem. This could even mean that you don't plant your garden until 3 to 4 months of weed treatment. Dogs and new plants 1. it may be preaching to the choir, but small plants and dogs who aren't trained to be careful around small plants, or don't get enough walks/excercise to keep from being bored when left alone all day, are not a good mix with new plantings, especially at small vulnerable sizes. It only makes sense to give the plants some protection from dogs if you can't mitigate their behavior, dogs will do what dogs want to do without work on your part. Maybe I have just been lucky with the dogs I have owned, but I started training them very young to be careful around the garden, and not destroy young or old plants. I also had the time to take them on long walks every day, and burn off all that excess energy, which is important when you have a labrador retriever. Now if I could just train the raccoons not to damage plants in my garden.. You have gotten some valuable experience in gardening by the "trial by fire" method, but it can also be useful to ask questions when you aren't clear on the methods, take classes, and keep reading up. Obviously there isn't just one way to garden, and I certainly don't claim to know all the answers, but over 40 years of gardening, over 30 years of them professionally, mean that I do have a very good handle on how to handle weeds, drainage, soil amendmending, etc to fit within the budgets and efforts of my clients, and can tailor solutions that will work within different circumstances. It is always about tradeoffs, and I am not against using weedcloth as a first line of defense to be set underneath deep mulch when I can't eliminate the weeds in the first place, it has been my only workable method to minimize bermuda grass and Oxalis pes-capri infestations when I didn't have the time or budgets necessary to really control them before new landscape plantings.

I would have my patio done off the kitchen flanked by an arbor and trellis at the outer corners that would be covered with coral honeysuckle. Along the patio edge between the honeysuckle I would have lots of salvia and great blue lobelia. at one edge I would have a sunken pond surrounded by cannas and copper iris. along the sunny side of the fence would be more salvias, monarda agastache and annual vines. In the shady part I would have hosta bleeding hearts, Native columbine (for spring blooms) and jewelweed for late summer Along the driveway in the sunny part of the yard I would have a hedge of red flowering current and at the back dwarf red buckeye for early spring flowers. I would also position shepherd hooks dow the fenceline for hanging baskets of cuphea, fuscia and impatiens. In the front which is very shady I would have manettia growing up an arbor flanked by baskets of fuschia on either side of the arbor and native columbine interspersed with red impatiens. On the east side of the house I would have red morning glories gorwing up a tellis with tall garden phlox and salvia on either side. The west side of the house would be all salvias and agastaches Some of these things have already been implemented and some are still in the planning stage. As soon as I get a dead maple removed out back my red buckey is going in that spot and as soon as the patio gets started I can work on the beds for the salvias and vines that will surround it. I will also have large containers on the patio with whatever I can think to put in them. I would also like to be able to hang baskets of fushias around the perimeter of the patio area...I better buy a couple more shepherds hoods. Penny

Thanks for the great offers and emails! I was adopted by a neighbor just across KC who gave me a tour, many-many-many garden boosters. I could not keep up with them all! you should have seen me following around with masking tape trying to remember the directions and marking everything! I hope that my garden is full and fun so that i can pass on the generosity. The best part? When i thanked her - she reminded me that gardeners cannot accept thanks for something nature made! I'll pass my thanks on by sharing cut flowers with friends next year when they are blooming. Thanks again for your offers but i would be greedy to accept any. Consider putting a note out to adopt a new/novice gardener - it meant the world to me!

If you have some space I'd consider Jerusalem Artichoke. This is a very confusingly named native sunflower that I have heard was grown by native americans, and actually spread around the eastern half of the continent by humans. The roots are the edible part of the plant. one great thing about this plant is that it is in spectacular bloom with hundreds of 3 inch sunflowers in september when school is returning to session. it is a large plant, at least 6 feet tall and spreading to form a large clump, but durable and easy to grow. I have no idea why it is called jerusalem artichoke - not from jerusalem, not anything like an artichoke. The yellow plant next to the aster is a goldenrod, probably solidago canadensis. This is a great plant for attracting butterflies in the fall and is very easy to grow, durable (kids won't easily kill it), and spread to for a clump. The mystery plant with orange flowers is jewelweed - impatiens capensis. Jewelweed is considered a treatment for poison ivy - you break the stems and spread the juice on the poison ivy rash. jewelweed is an annual plant that should return from seed in the spring - look for seedlings in april and may. It does best in a moist area.