"I think my back hurts.." Hey Pete, if you only *think* your back hurts just keep on composting the way you are and soon you will *know* it hurts! LOL You are doing very well and I'm sure a lot of us would love to see pics of your compost operation. Keep going and you might end up with a system like Lloyd's! If you can get wood shavings they work well mixed with compost as a mulch. I use it regularly and the shavings disappear within a few months. Actual coarse chips from lumber mills are OK for paths but take ages to break down in my experience. Fresh wood chips from tree services are faster. So it all depends on what a person means by the term wood chips. Cardboard is useful placed between plants under mulch as weed/moisture control. Easier to work with than newspaper IMO. Paul, I never realized you live on Cape Breton Island. We have fond memories of towing a travel trailer all around the Cabot Trail back in the 70's. No one had told us that was ill-advised because of the grades. Of course we were from BC and didn't think the mountains were all that high! We also learned during that trip summer was over in the middle of August and we "enjoyed" a lovely storm coming off the Atlantic while we camped on the far side. Great memories!

one CAUTION ... foundation plantings should mean.. plantings to hide the foundation ... THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE PLANTED ON OR NEAR THE FOUNDATION .... plant them as far away from your house foundation as possible ... i grew up in a pasture that was turned into suburbia in the late 50' ... by the 90's all the cute little bushes planted within 3 feet of the 'foundation' ... were taller than the houses ... those who had foresight.. removed them sooner ... other still remain .. and they make the whole neighborhood look like carp ... make big beds.. and place stock appropriately .. i know they will be tiny.. and sparse for a few years.. but in 10 years.. you wont be tearing them all out ... good luck ken as an example.... there is a tiny bed on the foundation ... then the sidewalk.. and the bigger plants exterior to the sidewalk ... another view ... i may regret that i left the rhodie there.. but it was the only ornamental on the 5 acres when i moved in .. and i was sure it would die... lol ... and i doubt the azelia will ever outgrow the spot in zone 5 ... the bed is 5 to 6 feet wide and another .... think outside the box..

"are you dismissing the simple reason that they do it to piss us off or because they just dont like us". A few more observations... I surmise that we drop the ball. When greed takes over, by that I mean... gotta have that one, we buy and plant them with little regard given to their ability to thrive in a given area. Sometimes they do well in the little micro climate afforded them but most of the time that is the exception rather then the norm. Buying 1st-2nd year grafts seems to enhance a plants ability to survive. They acclimate better and you don't deal with a severally root bound plant. Buying older established root bound potted conifers gets you that instant gratification look but its ability to survive diminishes greatly. I have bought them both ways and the younger plants are the way to go if you don't have the time to prepare a root bound conifer for planting. In spite of all of what I said they still die anyway. I wish I would have kept a log book. I would guess in the 100's as long as I have been collecting. There you go Dax...your just getting started with all your new grafts. Time is with you to put together some stats on why, when and how for each twig you stuck in the ground. How about B&B conifers??? A whole new topic. Why do they die for no reason? Different issues come into play here. Probably deserves its own thread so I won't go there. Dave

Welcome to New England. Another vote for taking inventory for a year before making major changes. Getting someone to ID plants, or taking photos and posting them on the Name that Plant forum will be a good start. (If you do post there, let us know so we can jump in!) Many plants can be ID'd in early spring as they sprout, and woody plants can often be ID'd from winter photos including close-ups of twigs and buds. Also, you can take photos now (before leaves) from your top floor windows or roof to get an overview of layout or measure and make sketches. What plants you have now may influence what choices you make in your ongoing yard and garden plans. For instance hemlocks and pines are both evergreen, but there's an insect, the wooly adelgid, that infests and may kill hemlocks, so which of those trees you have will strongly affect how you decide to manage that part of your yard. (Do you want to deal with pest control if hemlocks are what you have?) Another factor that is much bigger here in New England than in CA is the seasonal changes in light levels. Sun angle, day length, and tree leaves all strongly affect the light levels at different times of year, so what may seem shaded now may get sun in the summer when the sun is higher above the horizon, and places that seem bright now may be shadier once leaves emerge. Photos or sketches will help you keep track of this as well. As others have mentioned, container planting is a great way to get your feet wet. In addition to your zinc planters, you can keep an eye out for other containers - wicker laundry baskets, old buckets or containers from various inexpensive stores or sales, and have containers for sun and shade to move around the yard and dress things up for this year. You can do your veggies and herbs in large containers as well if you'd like until you know where your sunniest areas are. I add a bit of the "water crystals" to my containers and mulch the surface lightly with compost so they don't have to be watered as often. A few things you can do during this year in addition to container planting and taking inventory would include soil improvement of both lawn and garden areas, mulching if needed, getting soil tests done, and starting a compost pile for yard debris. A light mulch (2-3 inches) of organic material like shredded bark or compost on all existing garden beds will cut down on watering and begin improving soil. You may find that your town has a composting program for yard debris where you can pick up compost for free and then use it for mulch or spread lightly on your lawn. I think there was a discussion here in the last year about where to get soil tests done, but if you can't find it, I'm sure another MA resident can help you out. You may be able to take a class at the Arnold Arboretum or one of your local nurseries on pruning, but at the very least get a good book out of the library and a good pair of by-pass pruners and remove dead branches in your shrubs and any branches that are rubbing against another - nothing too severe for now. Start watching sales fliers for yard basics like a lawn mower, a spade, and a leaf rake if you don't have that type of equipment, since often there are preseason sales that will save you money. Both now and once things warm up, you can keep a camera in the car to take photos of yards you like. Since we have so much winter, planning your yard for winter interest is important. If you have photos of layouts or affects you like, it will help you when it comes time to tackle your own yard. Also, you can take photos of particular plants in neighbors' yards or visit some local nurseries or garden destinations to make a list of plants you like. (Arnold Arboretum, Garden in the Woods of the New Eng. Wildflower Society, and Mt. Auburn Cemetary are just a few places in your general neck of the woods that have great gardens.) Good luck! You don't have to tackle you whole yard at once. You can spend this year getting a plan, and then gradually work on putting it in place over the next several seasons. Keep us posted. Here is a link that might be useful: Name that Plant! forum