I read on the other site that you want to down play the lattice. That can be done with evergreen foundation bushes. Osmanthus gets tall quickly, stays green (2 types-one with holly like leaves and one with oval leaves) and has a wonderful scent. As it grows it can be trimmed out at the bottom like a tree. It will grow in your area. Then you can play with the area in the front of the foundation bed with smaller shrubs and flowers. Please don't plant Bradford pear trees--they are weak wood and large branches split off easily in ice and wind storms--then they look awful. Dogwoods, maples, cherries and some evergreen trees would all look great. Idea Share's tree is somewhat the shape of a Japanese Maple and could be incorporated in your foundation planting. There are great landscaping books at the public library and big hardware box stores that show specimen plants--roses, flowering shrubs etc. And give landscaping plans that you can adjust to your wants and needs. Start studying and researching!

You should be able to find edamame seeds in packages for a dollar or two at most any garden center. Many of the major seed companies have included them on their racks the past couple of years. Specifically, I've seen them on the racks put out by Lake Valley Seed Co., Thompson & Morgan, Ferry Morse, Botanical Interests, and I am pretty sure the larger Burpee racks will have them. Try looking at local garden centers with better seed racks and also at big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes. If not, there are all kind of mail order companies that selll them in various sizes. I'd try Kitizawa Seed Company in California, Evergreen YH Seeds also in CA, or perhaps Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine or Stokes Seeds in New York state, Territorial Seed Company in the PNW (Oregon or Washington, can't remember) All should sell them. Barley - in small quantities I'd buy it from a local organic market which sells it for sprouting, or from someone like Johnny's, Territorial, or SproutPeople in San Francisco. On the barley, probably the minimum you can buy is about a pound. Which will probably run you something like $12 with shipping. Which is why I'd try to buy local first. And yes, you could definitely grow a little of both in pots -- pick something a decent size, like at least 14-16 inches across. Use a really good quality soilless potting mix. Full sun for both crops. Edamame take about 70/80 days to produce a crop. They all ripen at once. You can freeze the excess after blanching them in boiling water or the microwave. I don't know anything about barley tea, so I don't know if you are looking for foliage, seeds, the straw. Anyway, from planting to harvest of barley grain is probably about a 90 day process, give or take. Will depend on lots of factors, weather, etc. If you make the tea from the green foliage, that could be ready in like a week or two (like wheatgrass for juicing).

Around here, I'd say raised beds are the way to go when growing veggies. I've also seen brambles planted in raised "mounds" forming hedgerows like you mentioned, but above ground. Obviously, this is done to avoid the need to dig down into the clay (which is reason enough), but also provides the plants with the well drained soils they need. Sometimes that clay acts like a preverbial clay pot without a drainhole. Good luck!! Shannon

Wow, you are all making my day, I feel like I got the bargain of the century with my cabs. Seriously thought they were high but now am feeling really good about them. nymommy, I would seriously look in to local cabinet maker as well. There is nothing that beats being to go and see, talk, feel, touch etc. your cabs as they are being made. With that said, many of the cabinet company's make beautiful cabinetry. Get all the pictures, and ideas you have and take them to someone local as well. You may indeed be surprised by cost. I love Crown Point and took pictures of them to cabinet maker just so he knew what I was looking for. Here is what I got, we are in Oregon. We went with paint grade poplar, full inset, shaker style with beadboard, soft close, furniture style toe kicks, true divided light on 3 different buffets, pull-out drawers, many other bells& whistles. My price included all the built-ins for the rest of the house. We are building a 6,000 sq. ft. home. Cabinetry in 5 baths, built-in beds and desks, window seats in 5 of the bedrooms, dining room buffet, 2 breakfast room buffets, built-in seating for breakfast room, huge floor to ceiling bookshelves in great room, family room, master suite, with cabs on bottom of open shelves. wet bar upstairs, inglenook window seats, laundry room, mudroom, linen closets. We had 415 lineal feet of cabinetry installed. They are beautiful, we paid 50,000. for everything not including paint which was about 12, 000.00 more. I think it would have been considerably more going non-local. He did a superb job and I was able to go there anytime when he was having an "issue" as this was the biggest job he had ever done. I would recommend looking into local anytime. If I could figure out the pictures I would get some on here.