Suntan answers:

Practically every farmer I know has a pile of stones somewhere. I knew one who paid for someone to come in with a big backhoe and dig a hole to bury the rockpile so that it wasn’t in his way when he worked the field.

Go ask, and you may find he’s glad to let you take them off your hands. Just be careful to either not damage his crops and fields, or wait until the crops are harvested. If you can drive to the rock pile, be careful that you don’t overload your truck or car or trailer. The weight of just a few rocks can add up quickly.

If you’re after a large rock, keep in mind that it can do a lot of damage to the box of a pickup if it starts moving around while you’re driving home. Brace it securely. DON”T put someone in the bed with it to hold it in place. There’s no way someone can restrain 500 or 1000 lbs of rock if it starts to move, and they could be severely hurt.

Suntan answers:

How about using a hard core killer on the trumpet vine to get rid of it. That will work on the vine. As far as keeping weeds out, use newspaper wetted down to keep in place and then a light covering of mulch over that. As far as bushes, try something like a lilac bush that will add color as well as you can trim into a low tree rather than a bush as it grows. Any bush will really do for now but go for some of the flowering ones. We have a mock orange bush that is overgrown but puts out the most fragrant flowers around the end of june. You can also do something like a Bleeding heart plant that grows back every year but when they get more established they get bigger but die back every fall unlike a bush. Think of the bushes as you get them that you will be able to take care of them since you are starting from new. Also most bushes are not going to grow that much per year until they are older as well so by the time they are established you should have the time to trim them. Try planting some cheap rose bushes as well, that will brighten up your yard also. A nice groundcover is the ajuga plant or bugleweed. It can take some walking on and you don’t have to mow it. Pots are great and can be kept light to be able to move by using the foam peanuts in the bottom under the soil. Use a good soil mix like Miracle grow to help keep moisture in and feed the plants in the pots. Keep your yard small for now so that it doesn’t get hard and then when the kids get older you can take on a new garden option each year. I know as I have kids 10, 9 and 6 and started trying to do too much when the kids were too young. Hope this helps you!!

Suntan answers:

Lots of stonework, garden “rooms” with different purposes, habitat for birds and insects, and xeriscaping – native plants that don’t suck down a lot of exttra water.