Well, what's done is done. We did the best we could.... I was pretty upset yesterday. More than anything I felt a breach of trust from the nursery. I mean how can they do that to their loyal customer base? They should be ashamed. Seriously. We never did get even half the soil out of the plants. We let them soak for hours in the bathtub. I thought of adding a tiny drop of dishwashing liquid, but I didn't... So I handed dh the carpet knife and I said here, do it, I can't watch. He said what do you want me to do with this, and I said make 1 inch deep cuts from top to bottom all around. Basically, he thinks we just killed the shrubs... I was able to spread a small amount of roots out. The bottom roots were the easiest. The very tippy top roots were completely cemented and tangled. There was very little I could do... I figure in a few days the shrubs will wither and die. :( I still feel like calling the nursery and asking her how they could do this to their customers, but maybe rootbound pots are the industry "standard" these days.... The real adventure began though after dh got the plants out of the bathtub and brought them outside. Dh let out the plug and came downstairs and we never thought about the bathtub until later. It was plugged. And I mean PLUGGED! Dh had to snake out the drain. He pulled out roots and plant media that was stuck. He had to go into town to get Liquid Plumbr. After the tub was unclogged, he filled the tub with water, then took the unopened bottle of bleach tablets I had just bought that morning for laundry, and he dumped the whole bottle in! I'm going to confess that I did add a tiny bit of Lime to the soil, and I did mix in a bag of garden soil I got from the nursery. It got lost in all our native soil, but it made me feel like we gave a tiny "boost" to the soil. In the end, I decided to add those amendments since I want to make the soil as generous to the Lilacs as I can, especially after what they just experienced yesterday... This post was edited by ilovemytrees on Thu, May 29, 14 at 9:27

Brenda, it is nice when even family members are enablers, eh? LOL!! I actually keep telling my husband "There's this garden in Western NY that someday we have to go visit!" I would love to see your beautiful garden some day. The different areas you have planted and the variety is amazing. I've been lusting for some more photos from you. Would love to see what you have on file for your veggie garden from last year if you have any time to post some. Goodness! I finally cracked open the catalog for my local nursery who I really like to support. She's a true plantswoman who I so enjoy chatting with, etc. I just sent an email over to her with my "list" (is was a long one) of plants to put aside for me for pickup when they open. It's a terrible habit I have of giving her a list each year for pickup. But my birthday is always right around when she opens, so it's a birthday present, right?!?! LOL!

Thanks ronbre, for all your thoughts, there are some good ones in there! I love my house, but there are some things that were not well thought out by us, but that was because we were living in a FEMA trailer and wanted out of it in a hurry, so we found this houseplan and built it pretty much as is from the plan. The back door and the breakfast nook and the fireplace could have used some tweaking in where they were placed, but we were in such a hurry we didn't catch that. Weren't even in the house 2 years, when we got hit by another hurricane, and flooded with 3 ft of water, so again, we were in a hurry to get it fixed and get back "home" rather than living somewhere temporarily. I have always wanted a fireplace with a mantel to decorate, and so I think it needs to be a focal point, but obviously the big tv is also a focal point. My recliners are both actually a chestnut colored leather, one is just darker than the other, as we didn't decide we wanted two when we purchased the first one, therefore they are obviously from different dye lots. =( Again, my mistake, that's what I get for being in a hurry! But I definitely want to add more seating in this room, not just move around the chairs that I have now. I need a conversation area and so that is why I am thinking two club style chairs for either side of the entertainment center or adding a loveseat. Then I could make the reading nook like you are talking about by the window!!! The ceilings are great to look at and to have "mood lighting"(DH calls it nude lighting in the bedroom...ha) but it also makes me think things have to be centered off of the ceiling, like the entertainment center or our bed for example. You answered one question about the art with the red in it. I figured it was too big for that wall, but just wanted to see what others thought. It would only have about an inch clearance around it. I am also looking for some kind of chest or demilune table for that little wall. Trying to make that DH landing spot for keys, wallet etc, instead of the bar in the kitchen. The nightstands in the bedroom are the same height, the lamp on the left is a little shorter than the one on the right, I just thought they probably shouldn't be taller than the headboard of the bed. It's not real easy to reach the lamp to turn it off from bed. I need a console/buffet, more seating, coffee table, end table, lamps, rug, artwork, drapes. Accessories, I'll worry about later. I just want to get my big pieces set first. I have "hurricane fatigue" and just want this done and pray that we will have a quiet season this year, so we can actually relax and actually enjoy our home.

Thank you premier, caroleoh,wbfarms, Les and skypathway. WB, you are more than welcome to copy it. I'm not the first to dress up an inexpensive piece of furniture. Besides my Mom taught me that when someone copies something you've done (like when my sil did everything in her home just like we did in ours)it's a form of flattery. She'd say she wouldn't copy it if she didn't love what we did. LES, I really like the idea of bamboo or leaf pulls, but I promised hubby other than the paint I would only use what we have laying around. You see he doesn't like painted furniture. AT ALL! I like it but would never paint a piece of real wood furniture unless it was already painted when I got it. So I best keep my promise. Maybe once I'm finished and it grows on him I'll replace the current ones with bamboo or leaf. Probably a leaf if I can find one locally that's simple like in the film. It really will need a more substantial pull after all the trim is added and I think a pretty silver leaf would work great.