"paghat" wrote in message
news
"Shelly" wrote:

Have you sought out a native shrubs specialist in your area? I have quite
a big collection of flowering evergreen shrubs, but the impact has been
greatly improved by interspersing native deciduous shrubs. /

You know I haven't, which is made that much worse by the fact that my sister
and her boyfriend are native plant specialists in the area, and would be
more than happy to help me. In fact, they will be helping me turn a
devil-of-a-hill in my back yard into a native oak opening this spring. Very
exciting, not just because it means I won't have to mow that gosh-darned
hill every weekend any more!

I guess I was just jumping the gun and trying to sneak in a few more
non-natives before they take over! You are right, though. A lot of
natives are lovely, and I shouldn't have discounted them so readily.

Thanks for the suggestions!