Thanks! I just read that slugs actually like to hang out under the crevices in concrete....not exactly my goal, but I guess every material has its downside. At least it should last forever, and I can always put out something as slug bait if needed.

@MikeInBatonRouge I once made a raised bed using some plastic wood. I made a bed of cinder blocks and put the plastic wood on top. This gave me about 18" for soil. Here is a picture of a friend who made a bed using rebar stakes and then chicken wire over the rebar. She then put concrete on top (using gloves). She put a lot of this around her house and planted fruit trees. You could make the walls any height. It was an amazing set-up

Autumn is best is they are bare root, but if they are potted any time as long as you can water the first summer.

@Fernapple anytime it is, then, as I have only seen them sold here in potted format.

Oh, I will! ?

I find I can satisfy my murderous urges by squishing or cutting in half bad bugs in the garden! Have you ever poured table salt on a slug? Woohoo! ?

Why did you do that to the crape myrtle? I've threaten to shoot, dismember and feed to the dogs people that just suggested doing that to mine.

@glennlab because it was nearly 30 feet high and bloomed out, barely any color, and, crucially, was blocking my direct eastern morning sun exposure needed for my roses, which are my top gardening priority. Second priority for me is to grow a satsuma tree, which I have wanted for many years. The crape myrtle was not in the plans. It is lucky I let it at all. I chopped it to 9 feet and will let it top out at about 15, but that is the limit.
I promise never to chop YOUR crape myrtle! ?

@MikeInBatonRouge You're better off removing it if you want it to stay at 15 ft, I've had to remove several. To get good blooms, you should never trim anything bigger than a pencil. There are 100s of varieties but to get the best out of them you need to pretty much leave them alone. I would take it out if I were you. With your plans, it doesn't fit and the sooner you remove it the easier it will be to make your dream happen.

@glennlab thanks for that. I may still do that. My father in law, a retired landscape architect, said the same thing. I have to figure what to use for a structure for my rose to climb.

@MikeInBatonRouge buy a 4 x 8 or 2x 8 latticework between 2 4x4s, the hardest thing you ever do in landscaping your own property is to take something out, even when you don't like it. Don't waste years of not being happy with it before you take it out. I've made that mistake before and if you wait until you "have " to take it out. I just took out a plum and mulberry and getting ready to take out a nectarine. When you take out the crape myrtle, know that you are going to get volunteers coming up from the root ball. As long as you are not planning on food crops over the roots for 3 years, there are easy ways to get rid of them without digging. Hit me up if that is in your future.