Obviously, you love ornamental grasses, but if you put them on an east or north-east exposure, they may not love you. Start with one or two; don't go too nuts -- they might not get enough sun, so you don't want to be experimenting with a big investment. Improve your soil and whatever you get, you need to water regularly (at least 20 minutes of gentle watering every three or four days unless it rains) so you won't have bad spider mite infestations and so azaleas can thrive in what should be perfect light conditions for them. Don't plant shrubs right up against a tree trunk, of course -- they need room for their roots to grow and get water. Hollies and yews should be easy-care, so if they are not doing well for you, examine the soil and your watering schedule. I would put some lovely small ornamental trees -- one, two or three -- near the front door. Try amelanchiers (serviceberry trees) or a cercis. You will get a bit of uplifting height with those slender trunks; the foliage on those is mostly airy and up top. Flank those with Japanese maples -- simple, green viridis -- or part-shade shrubs with lacy foliage... perhaps that newer cultivar of sambucus -- what is it called, 'Black Lace'? 'Black Beauty'? Something like that. Anchor with (evergreen) rhododendrons and/or azaleas, perhaps some mountain laurel (kalmia) or very late-flowering camellia. Tuck a few hydrangeas behind the lower evergreen shrubs. Perhaps also a viburnum or three, but only if it can get some sun. Perennials: hellebores, hostas, epimediums, bergenia, brunnera. Bulbs: ipheion, chionodoxa. Groundcovers: lamium, asarum europaeum. Annuals: impatiens, of course.

Update on blackberry winter survival (three weeks later)… Uncovered Plants - Black Satin (no winter damage). These were low to ground so maybe some snow protection. - Triple crown (some winter damage) - approx. 20% die back). Seem to have handled the winter fine but some dieback, primarily on the thinner canes). - Ouachita (some winter damage) - approx. 10% die back). Almost no dieback…surprising because I thought they would be less hardy than other erect varieties. - Kiowa (significant winter damage - approx. 75% die back). At first I thought these had overwintered well, but two of the four plants didn’t leaf out and the other two were significantly damaged. This variety has had some health problems over the last two years with (2 of 6 previously dying). Since this year’s crop was a loss and I have had problems with this variety in the past, I decided to replace them with a newer, thornless variety: Von Blackberry. - Prime Ark 45 (significant winter damage - approx. 50% die back). Honestly, some of the dieback may be from the primocane fruiting sections from last fall, but what is left seems to be growing well now. I think I’ll make these a primocane only crop after this season. - Wild Treasure Trailing. In ground planting - left uncovered and plant died back to ground. Potted planting (covered) lost most of its cane length. Given space and effort, not sure this variety is worth keeping. - All raspberries were uncovered and nearly all had no noticeable winter damage. I even had a blackhawk black raspberry and two double gold raspberry plants in pots just sitting in the open and both plants are growing really well and blooming. - I did have two canes on the Cascade Delight raspberry that died during the winter but I believe that was partly due to exposed roots from some soil erosion in their raised bed. Covered Plants. - Black Diamond. I decided to give it a reprieve and let it grow again this year but spray it for cane borers. I had to remove all of last year’s growth due to cane borers but this year it has three times as much growth (e.g. canes) and looks healthy. There’s already a 8” of growth this season and that’s a lot for this variety in my climate. - Siskiyou. No winter damage. Both plants look good and have been putting on amazing growth (well, at least amazing compared to my previous attempts). These second year plants each have 5 or more canes and the cane diameter has doubled since last year. The primocanes are already about ½ inch thick (e.g. diameter) and about 12” in length so far. Yeah! Last year’s growth is getting ready to bloom. - Kotata. No winter damage and the plants are growing new canes. I have 2-3 new canes per each plant and there’s about 6-8” of growth so far. Less vigorous growth from these plantings. - Thorny Boysenberry. The non-potted plants suffered the trifecta of cold weather, cane borers, and voles, so I have maybe 10% of the canes from last year but they are getting ready to bloom. I have had problems with leaf spot on these but I gave them a good lime-sulfur spray treatment this spring, so hopefully this will help. New growth has been outstanding with the cane diameter doubling, much like the Siskiyou blackberries, and there are 8-10 canes per planting with 12-18” of growth already. I’m going to do a better job of protecting these in the winter this year. - Marionberry. I lost about 50% of the cane length from the overwintering period but have learned more about what not to do while preparing them for winter. Plants seem fine but not as vigorous as Siskiyou or Boysen but more vigorous than Kotata. - Loganberry. I lost about 75% of the canes on these from cane borers and the cold. These may be the least cold hardy of the trailing berries that I own. The primocanes are growing vigorously though.

Oh, you girls are making me hungry. I went to the grocery store tonight so we had rotiserie chicken from there. Good excuse to save the container for winter sowing, lol. Tomorrow I will make beef stroganoff with wine and mushroom sauce to make up the last couple of nights, lol. I can cook really good but its not as much fun to cook for just the 2 of us and I have gained a lot of weight from my hubby trying to make me eat all the time. His favorite is rice. If he doesn't have it at least once a day he thinks the world is ending. On weekends he eats it breakfast lunch and dinner. I actually miss potatoes, lol. I bought me a couple to bake for myself and load them with butter sour cream, cheese and bacon bits. Look out arteries, lol. Can you overnight me some of those sticky buns, lol. Make a great midnight snack.

The last time I let carrots and celery go until Thanksgiving the ground was frozen solid. Overwintering is one thing but to harvest in 6b w/o a heated greenhouse during the winter is another. Hey give it a go - if we/you have a mild winter you might get something. I vote for garden planning and prep during the winter. Dream of spring ;-) Read, read, read. Read up on winter sowing. Oh and make seed tapes etc.