From your condo, what plants are you trying to protect from Japanese beetles? On a small scale, I should think knocking any beetles you find into a can of detergent water might be a more efficient way to deal with these unwanted insects. My experience with four o'clocks is they are fairly large plants and not all that attractive except in the evening and early morning. I've never seen them chewed on by any bug, beetle or larval worm. I only grew them to get morning sun as a backdrop to caladiums and hosta.

I sure hope it was fun!

Thanks for the input bumblebeez -Fontana and Toxaway both seem to have more of the "lake culture" that I have fallen in love with back east -I have a hard time putting it into words, but it is made up of 100+ year old cottages, families who have been coming to the same lake for generations, old canoes, ice-cream stands, lake roads that insist on a speed limit under 20 lest you bust a tire, etc.... I was wondering about that very thing where Lake Norman was concerned. It seemed very 'new' and more about impressive homes than charming cottages. But we've been interested in Charlotte for awhile, so I was hoping it was more charming than I was finding. We stopped in western NC on a roadtrip to the Outerbanks a few years ago, and really loved it. So would you say Fontana has more of the lake culture than Toxaway?

What kind of grass do you have? If it's tall fescue, be ready to see it go dormant and lose a portion of it every summer, especially if it faces the sun. You will have to overseed every year. There is no amount of water you can apply that will prevent it for going brown in 90+ degree weather. Be especially mindful about weed control, with the grass dormant in the summer and no therefore no competition , crabgrass can completely wipe it out. Apply pre-emergent in the spring and follow up with post-emergent as needed. Check the NCSU website for maintenance calendars and other advice, they are a great resource.