You can't go wrong with petunia, verbena, calibrachoa, lobelia, bidens. There are so many colors available; just mix and match to create your favorite combo. In such a small basket I feel it is not as critical to have height as it is to have a bit of a mounding, but mostly a trailing habit. Most hanging baskets are hung up at or above eye level so that is why I think this look is most important. Most likely you not looking down from the top of the basket. Hope this helps. http://www.pwcertified.com/photolib/MediumJPG/PWCLGCombo17.jpg Here is a link that might be useful: proven winner combo to be featured in Country Garden Living Summer 2007

I also bought "Plant Combinations" from Fine Gardening. I loved it so much, I gave a good friend a copy, too. I've just planted the following combinations, so we'll have to wait and see how they turn out, but I love it when I put the photos together: Group 1 -- magenta (main color): Penstemon Garnet Coreopsis 'Heavens Gate' Rose Campion Agastache 'Red Fortune' Hypericum 'Albury Purple' Group 2 -- butterfly garden (right side): Rudbeckia fulgida v. sulvantii 'Goldstrum' Aster frikartii 'Moench' Echinacea purpurea Big Sky 'Sunset' Veronica 'Royal Candles' Hypericum x hidcote Group 3 -- butterfly garden (left side): Crocosmia 'Lucifer' Agastache 'Blue Fortune' Asclepias 'Hello Yellow' Ascelepias tuberosa Middle of the butterfly garden: Bronze fennel Miscanthus sinensis v. condensatus 'Cosmopolitan' Vitex

My favorite Aloe in my collection is A. plicatilis. My A. pillansii, A. marlothii, A. candelabrum, A. speciosa, A. excelsa, A. dichotoma, A. ramosissima, and A. barberae are all right there in the hierarchy. Luckily I have a lot of room so can grow them to mature sizes. I need to put my A. 'Hercules' in the ground as well as a variegated A. ferox and a few others. The recent rains have transformed dirt into foot tall weeds recently. The rains have also plumped up some sorry dried out Aloes to healthy turgidity again so I can't complain.

My house is 8 months old. I have a list of projects I am planning to DIY like we are going to be changing out the builder installed mulch and shrubs with red cedar mulch and new plants. That is something I can do and not mess up. After living here for 8 months the houses personality is starting to take shape. I know it sounds funny to say it has personality but my master bath and bedroom tell me it is not happy being agreeable grey and would prefer to be Iced Blue Silver so my son told me as his Christmas present to me he would get me paint and paint my bathroom and bedroom. When I placed the furniture in my bedroom I thought I had the perfect set up but after being here awhile and once the room is painted I have in visioned my bedroom furniture in a different configuration and can see the whole design layout with new paint color and drapes in my head. I hope it all looks as I think it will or my son will have to move my furniture back to the original spots. I am going to finally tackle drapes/rods and decoration my living room and dining room. When I moved here I wanted to live here a bit before decorating rather than rush out and do it right away. My house looks bare right now because I have nothing on the walls and only wood blinds on the windows. I know I have my furniture placed where it will stay so ready to hit the stores for some color and pretty things to put out. Projects I feel better left to the professionals and heck someone has to keep them in business so it might as well be me. :) I know my limits. Granite in my kitchen and bathrooms. I bought the house without it because I knew I'd want to change things as I got more comfortable in the house. My livingroom, kitchen and dining room are all open to each other and I want to match the granite to the decor I am going to use in all 3 rooms to tie them together. I have a 5'x4' tiled entry way at my front door that leads down to the kitchen dining room area. They carpeted all the way from where the tile ends. My garage door entry is right across from the kitchen and that area is carpeted but the kitchen is tiled. It looks silly and dirt is starting to build up near the garage door entry even though I have a rug there. So I want to have the carpet ripped up in that hall area and have tile installed from the kitchen all the way to the front door entry so it is easier to keep clean. I want to have a 15'x20' sun room put on the back of my house. If I tried to do this myself it would probably lean and leak.