"you have nothing to lose.. cut them." Apparently, I have nothing to lose whether they get cut out or not. I had a reliable and highly recommended tree surgeon stop by and since there is no damage showing up in the tree, especially the top tips, then there is no reason to take out the roots, or even disturb them. He mentioned that they used to make their "bread and butter" on these extractions but have come to realize that it is not necessary. I held back my horror and seriously doubted his intelligence on the topic and as a professional but then I received a reply from a popular "on-air garden advise" host who said the same thing "Leave it alone". Quelque dilemma!

I agree, indoor potted herbs is all dependent on your windows for available sunlight. Extra growing lamps should work, I've never done that though. rosemary jane, for drying out problems, if you haven't done this try getting large 3 gal? (about 12"diameter 12" tall) terra cotta pots or bigger. Even for small plants, I found that these were big enough to kinda retain moisture. I guess the smaller pots just can dry out faster. The terra cotta seems to be better at keeping water in too probably cause they heat up on all sides more than the terracotta ones. Look for a sale cause it can get pricy. The long narrow terra cotta planters also work well. Also use sphagnum peat moss (the pretty looking stuff) as a mulch--though any mulch would probably work--to help keep the water in. I did this in atlanta and had a lot of success with potted patio gardening.

Wow Claire...that before photo is amazing. You can really see where everything has changed. I can see that retaining wall so differently. The hoop and the pathway make such a difference. It looks like a different property! I guess that was before you put a shed in too? You get a lot of bloom on that rose bush. Very pretty. It is a pretty shade of red too. I really like your front yard. I like the large front window on your house and it looks like you have shaker shingles? One of my favorites...very Cape Cod too. Is that Miscanthus Morning light? What are the pink flowers? I have a rock border like that along a few beds in my back yard, because I really do like a casual rock edge. No it is not confusing. I can see the path and the hoop and now it all makes sense to where everything is placed. So why is your backyard so different? I have a large pile of broken pavers that I am going to use inside my borders for access and that will be one of my first projects in the spring, too. I will be moving a lot of plant material around then so it will be the right time to do it. LOL....that is funny about the cat. We don't have a cat so I was just guessing. I didn't realize catnip meant catnap..lol. I can see your photos perfectly and had no trouble viewing them at all. As for the stone company...I forgot you were on the cape. I probably won't be going down there for stone. [g] Thanks for sharing all your photos! Paige...I am always amazed when someone takes down a tree. I assume it had to come down. I say that because I have a large Norway Maple that I hate but I just don't have the courage to take it down. It is also a pretty expensive project from what I have heard. I would love more sun. Do you have any photos of your new beds? Anyone else have some of their projects done?

My hunch tends to be it's newer. Or else newly refinished and a new seat done. I love ladderback chairs and have an old one I got at auction. The wood shows wear at the base of each leg and the top of the front two legs. Also the tops of the front legs of mine have very small slits in the wood. Kind of like spokes in a wheel from the center of the leg outward. I couldn't sand that part out if I wanted to, it's small but runs too deep to sand. That part could be from storage in extreme temps or something, but it doesn't bother me, I like the character. Looking past the finish to the wood itself, does yours have any signs of age/wear/use that we can't see in the photo?