ROOTS AND PAVEMENT If trees are too close to pavement, or if compacted soil forces large roots to grow very near the soil surface, roots can eventually lift pavement. When roots encounter a paved area, the only entry is often a gap between the soil and pavement. Future problems can be prevented at the time of planting by using smaller plants, providing a minimum distance of 4 feet between the tree and the pavement, or using mechanical barriers to prevent roots from growing under the pavement. Remedies for lifted pavements around mature trees often involve either moving the pavement away from the tree or pruning off the problem roots. Barriers are often installed after the roots are cut to prevent re-growth of the roots and recurrence of the pavement lifting. Cutting off the problem roots often causes stress and instability. Trees without sufficient root support can be blown over more easily in a storm.

What a thought-provoking opportunity for comment that you present. Thank you. Grab a cup of coffee, as this will take a while to cover all they areas you refer to, and a few that you do not. Let's list a few of your requests (or hints), first: our first house (therefore moved from apartment or condo or someone else's house). Large pine trees (not pines). Lots of stones (probably a truckload). No playground in front yard, (but kids play across the street in community park). Not lawn lovers (perhaps not garden lovers either, as had not previously owned land.) Flagstone patio between two trees (single tree and a pair of twins) Interested in native plants (suited to Calgary and less maintenance). a. Suggest you contact local native plant enthusiasts, perhaps join them for a social weekend walk to see natives to be admired, make new friends, (and perhaps future customers for your occupation.) Alberta Native Plant Council, 52099, Garneau PO, Edmonton, AB T6G2T5. Check website for Native Plant Societies or American Horticultural Society for more info. They will also help you get your kids connected to the natural world. b. Corner lots are a challenge, aren't they. The former owner turned his back on the community to the south and west with that board fence. It does do a great job, however it sends a message that you have turned your back on half of your neighbors. Sometime in the future: Remove every other or every third or fourth board from the fence and replace it with a lath, or cut the removed board to 1/3 or 1/4 width and put it back. This will open the wall, without really opening it to view, but it will be more friendly. Then you can start adding vines and espaliered plants on the outside (street-side) of the fence to add personality to their view of your home, like a smile to the neighbors, saying "a new and friendly neighbor has arrived, won't you stop by to introduce yourself and have a cup of coffee on my new flagstone terrace in my shady garden?" You can also place that entire truckload of rocks along the outside of the fence, to keep from hitting the new plantings when mowing, and enhancing the native plantings. c. The trees must remain. They are a part of your home. Look around your neighborhood, not even a shade tree, and you have these beauties enhancing the entire area, and admired from afar. You do need to make a few adjustments to their density to fit your family. Firstly, remove a couple branches that obscure or limit your view of the kids in the park from your front rooms and from the deck above. Next remove the lower branches that interfere with movement around your "outside room" - they are your ceiling, so move them up, say 7-8', (2-1/2 meters or so). After you have moved the rocks to outside the fence, spade up or rototill the entire lawn area (within your property), and regrade it so the terrace area is more level. Perhaps removing about a foot of soil from near the stone planter wall and laying it just inside your property line to level it out, like that. d. Consider beginning your entry terrace at the driveway or front walk, extending over to about 4 or 5 ' from the twin trees. where a native shade garden will begin (very different and perhaps more interesting than the plants outside the fence). This may be backed on the northeast by some screen planting, or taller plants that will screen your terrace from the neighborhood beyond. The planting under the "twins" will sweep west and south along the property line to the driveway, enhancing the outdoor room from the street and park beyond. Move that dwarf evergreen from next to the mailbox into a plant bed, and jazz up the planting in the stone planter attached to the house, or convert it into part of your terrace sitting area, or add a sculpture to the stone wall for more personality. I might suggest a portable fountain from the garden center, but that is additional maintenance. And stop calling them pine trees! You can call them evergreen trees, without error, but they are probably spruce, and the "twins" are a different species from your proud "ceiling" tree (perhaps a blue spruce) above your outdoor room. As a final thought, you might invite your new acquaintances at the native plant society to have their next meeting at your house, where you will be the host, and they will all give you ideas on what native plants will do best and look gorgeous in the empty beds you prepared around your flagstone terrace, prior to inviting them to lunch. What fun! How about inviting me over, as well. Our youngest daughter lives in SW Edmonton, and I have never had the ambition to travel that far (from Virginia) to visit her and her family. I like my coffee black with sugar. cascio.offsite@gmail.com

Justin, I don't know what kind of pine trees we have. They are tall and straight, with an extremely rough bark and stiff pine needles. They bend and break easily when we have ice storms. The ones that manage to get huge and strong are able to handle the ice. I have over 40 azaleas and they have varying amounts of sun. I'm in zone 8, so full sun here can be a bit much. The azaleas I have in the shadiest spot do some weird things, but they still manage to grow and make a lot of flowers. I think they are trying to reach more sun, but they cannot. There may be some varieties of azaleas that can handle your zone, but I don't recall seeing any when we travel north. Bummer. They are so pretty and can get quite big.

Very little grows well under spruce. I'm dubious that hostas will succeed given the likely dryness. There isn't any reason to remove the needles. They don't harm plants and they provide a natural mulch. Are you able to show a picture of the situation? It might give an idea of possible solutions.