Pam wrote:

While it all comes down ultimately to a matter of personal taste,
landscape
design principles generally approach the planting of the entry to
one's
residence (front garden) to have a more uniformly year round
appearance, thus
the emphasis on evergreen plant material. I agree that, particularly
in colder
climates than the maritime Northwest, deciduous shrubs offer more
seasonal
color and interest than do the evergreen, few of which are both hardy
AND
flower in colder zones. However, few of us that live in very temperate
climates realize how long and cold and snowy northern winters can be
and how
much more satisfying it is to look out on a winter garden that has
some
interest other than a collection of bare sticks and naked branches.


I'd agree.

My sister moved from the Puget Sound, WA area to the Baltimore, MD area.
She was disappointed when she realized that the landscaping for their
new home was nearly devoid of evergreens, and all she had in the winter
were sticks.

We had grown-up in Wisconsin, and while our memories get more and more
selective as the years go on, our memories from growing up was that
everyone had some evergreens in front of their houses. Pictures we have
seem to confirm this was the de facto rule in Wisconsin.


I remember a story about somebody who lived on the Wisconsin-Illinois
state line. For years and years, everyone thought his property was in
Wisconsin. Then one year, when doing a survey, they found his property
was actually in Illinois. When he was asked what he thought about
suddenly becoming a resident of Illinois he said, "At least I won't have
to live through another one of those damn Wisconsin winters!"

(Okay, okay. I didn't say it actually happened. I just said I remember a
story.)

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.