I think it would be a good idea for you to find out what your own realtor is thinking about your curb appeal--not so you can just go and do whatever she says, but because at present it's her comments to which you are trying to respond. See if she is primarily on the "clean and neat" road; often "we" don't see things as untidy that an agent will. I had to see my dad's house, and though he had let things go a bit, he also had created a lush, beautiful (to me) landscape; but I could see that it would look a bit wild to someone else, so we did much more pruning back than I would ever have done for the yard had someone in our family been living there and enjoying it--including doing some pruning that might not be in the plant's best interests long term, but looked sell-worthy at the time. I'm fine with door paint and flower pots, though I have the same peeved reaction as bahia to the endless articles in current paper about how many things we homeowners oughta do so the agent doesn't have to work too hard to sell our homes. It's true in a way, especially with regard to time on the market vs. will sell eventually and especially at right price. I've had agents tell me, oh, you should put down new tile floor in the kitche, or what about some granite, and of course never care a whit that to me the very act of tying to fit in time and decision-hassle of picking out granite or tile for someone else, let alone myself, is worse than a root canal and I'd rather just tear up U.S. paper money in fairly large denominations (meaning compromise with the buyer) . But agents deal with volume and turnover, much more even than the selling price, and aren't as concerned about how much $$ and work you might be putting into your home right before selling at what might be the same price as if nothing had been done. Anyway, find out what's on your agent's mind--hopefully not advice to plant new trees and shrubs or take on any major re-design. You'll find that "curb appeal" advice and plans for selling are much different than same for the homeowner's own pleasure, not because design and appeal is so vastly different, but because a homeowner is trying to do some things specific to his own tastes and needs, and can justify costs for his own use and enjoyment as well as can wait for things like plantings to reach maturity, whereas it is much harder to know which if any of those things will click with a prospective buyer, out of all the many things that could potentially improve any home.

Some other factors to consider when thinking about hedges would include how much or little water you want to provide, whether it also has to be deer resistant, whether you are dealing with full sun or shade, and are you high enough up in Kensington that you need to worry about freeze tolerance? It can be significantly colder at the highest parts of Kensington that it isn't quite a Sunset zone 16 in a bad winter, with lows down to 20F a real possibility. I work on lots of gardens in the Berkeley/Oakland/Kensington hills areas, and it may be most useful to see what is working well in your neighborhood, and what appeals to you. You may also need to factor in that neighbors may get riled up if you block their distant views, just as you would if someone blocked your views. It may pay to take a more measured approach to creating privacy without planting a future monster. Personally I find many reasons to consider using clumping bamboos for hedging purposes; with the main reason being they don't need pruning to control size if you select the appropriate species for the height desired, they tend to stay narrow yet can grow tall, and pruning is easier when it simply involved removing old culms rather than ladders and pole saws. On the other hand, most bamboo species prefer a good amount of summer irrigation and are constantly shedding leaves and culm sheaths. The Sunset Western Garden Book Encyclopedia has a good section on screening shrubs, listing the various pros and cons. I would also seriously consider that the fastest growing hedges also tend to be the ones that require the most pruning to control size.

eliza -- 1. go to photobucket, get a free account 2. upload your photos 3. choose the images you want to post by checking the little box 4. go to bottom of page and click GENERATE HTML (it will take you to another page with 4 boxes to choose from) 5. click the 2nd box, it will say copy after you click 6. go to your post and type what you want then hit paste and picture HTML should appear 7. hit preview message and you should see your type and pics goodluck, keep trying if you don't get it the 1st time.

Sounds good. Here's a thought. Pick up 2 (or 3). After you've eaten one, wrap the others and stash in the very back of your freezer. They heat up really well, and you'll be prepared for your next croissant emergency!