Vap, you will love Thomas Affleck! I just found some photos from 2012 - not my best ones, but will go thru my camera later and post as I find some. I have gotten lazy now - its a 3 hour drive, and if I want some ARE roses, I will wait til they have free shipping, but like last nite - I wanted to get a few before their prices changed Feb. 1 so I ordered Sweet Pea, Beverly, F.J. Lindheimer and Nacogcoches [I live 30 minutes from there - and remember seeing this rose and a huge pink growing under that big shed at this old run down motel. I would stop alot and try to identify these roses. I think the big pink was Queen Elizabeth. The yellow, which turned into Nacogdoches, I couldnt figure out unless it was Sunbright, a rose that stays dark yellow].

What a lovely house, one of my favorite styles!! My comments will be general since I know little about plants in CA (though if I lived in a warm enough area, I would plant a lemon for ornamental value and cooking.) I agree with others that books, websites with photos, and even just driving around to look at others' gardens for inspiration will help you decide what you like. Below I have linked a site with lots of photos. You can just rummage through the landscape and exterior categories or you could add search terms. I didn't get much for 'norman' or 'norman revival,' but 'half-timbered' got some that were similar to your house in style and 'tudor' or the decade your house was built might be other possibilities. I would rethink having a foundation planting here. I think the house is stunning and doesn't seem to have a foundation that needs covering, so I would plant away from the house instead of right along the house. If you are married to the idea of a foundation planting or if you have a front walkway from the drive to the front door that defines a planting bed, I'd make the planting relatively low so it isn't blocking/distracting from/interfering with enjoyment of your house from a distance, but could be enjoyed close up. Many houses which aren't so nice, need a foundation planting to cover up an unattractive foundation or distract from unappealing architecture, but I'd show off your home. I find the current planting distracting. I would put your gardens out farther from the house, perhaps a wide band (8-10' pehaps) along the drive and then another under your tree of part shade plants. I'm concerned about the boxwoods' placement along the walkway. Different types of boxwoods reach differing sizes, but yours are close enough to the sidewalk that with a bit of growth they will be brushing folks' ankles as they walk up the front walk. I'd move them so that at there permanent size they will be a foot or more from the edge of the sidewalk so those walking up the front walk won't feel crowded, and you might need to plant them a bit closer to each other if you want them to grow together. Then cut or bury an edging an equal distance from the boxwoods on the side away from the walk and remove all the grass under and around them, mulch to prevent weeds and plant a low-growing plant to fill in between the boxwoods while they grow, such as thyme which won't bother the boxwoods. One of the hardest things for me as a gardener is to plant shrubs with their ultimate size in mind. It will feel a bit silly for now moving the boxwood back from the walk, but you will be glad you did in a few years unless they are a very very dwarf type. Also, I would plan on keeping them low so the front walk doesn't end up feeling like an alley in a few years. One more suggestion on the boxwoods; plant another couple of the same type of boxwood somewhere else on your property so the if something happens to one of your plants you will have a plant to transplant to fill in the gap rather than having to find the same variety a few years down the line and then plant a young plant that will take time to fill in. Or alternatively, rethink the boxwoods entirely in planning your garden. I have seen them used as a frame around or a backing to a cottage type planting. Deborah Silver, a Detroit area designer, frequently uses them, and often they are either framing or backing flowering plants. Here's a page with some examples, but you can search her blogs for 'boxwood' to get some other ideas. http://www.deborahsilver.com/blog/celebrating-the-long-view/ About allergies,which I have lived with and gardened with for many years . . . There are a couple of types of allergies: skin contact and pollen or other airborn particles. The types of plants that put a lot of pollen into the air are wind pollinated rather than bird/insect pollinated. Plants with attractively colored and shaped or scented flowers are insect/bird pollinated, and their pollen is too heavy to be blown around, so if you stick to plants with attractive flowers, your gardens shouldn't be a problem with pollen allergies. However, wind-blown pollen can travel for miles, so you can't avoid it from outside your yard. There are a few plants the cause contact dermatitis somewhat commonly and some that cause rashes only for specific people. Examples of the first type: Euphorbias and gas plant (Dictamnus alba) many folks find cause rashes if they brush against or get sap on their skin. Some plants that cause problems for me though not for most people include tomato plants (which are fuzzy, though I don't know if that is the root of the problem) and grass. I don't know if you know what plants in particular to which you are allergic, but for me, I avoid direct contact with known triggers (DH mows the lawn when I am away and he closes up the house before starting, and he turns the compost since I know I'm allergic to all grasses and the molds that live in my compost) but I have no problem with having a grass lawn or compost spread on the beds as long as they aren't getting stirred up. I wear long sleeves to tie up tomato plants and don't plant ornamental grass in my planting beds to avoid skin contact, but I really can't avoid tree pollen from maples, pines, oaks, etc, so on bad pollen days I don't spend much time outside. I remove ragweed, plantain and other weeds that I know have high pollen output and create problems for me before they bloom. I don't know what your budget is, but often contacting a landscape designer to give you some general ideas which you then can actually plant may be helpful. Here is a link that might be useful: [houzz home design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/exterior-home-ideas-phbr0-bp~t_736)

Oh Mel...are sure you want to get me started????? It's going to be LONG LONG LONG. It would distract you from your woes .... this house is a doozy and you'll think you're rolling in clover in comparison. (A lot of this story may sound pretty sad but it really isn't - we've gotten past most of the sad bits and we're determined to get the job done and live happily ever after) A little background on how the house got in such a state of disrepair. My parents bought the house in '63, in Carmel by the Sea, a pseudo rancher at the cutting edge of contemporary design. Not my forte but lots of folks would find it pretty cool. Just after I went off to college my parents moved to the middle east where my dad was Chief of Surgery in a hospital in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert for over 5 years - I spent an unbelievable 4 months out there but that's another story. While there they rented out the house which turned out to be a huge mistake. Upon their return the house was pretty trashed but my mom had just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and my dad spent every minute taking care of her rather than making repairs. My parents were in there 40's when they had my brother and me, so mother was in her early 60's when diagnosed but she had suffered a serious head injury in her 30's, so the Alzheimer's was not familial but due to the head injury - not uncommon. Mom took 11 years to die, and after that my dad wouldn't let any of us touch anything because it was the way my mother had had things. Really, it was very sweet on his part but it sure didn't help the house any. When ever one of us tried to do anything he quipped "it can wait until I'm dead". Well, you can guess the next part. Actually, daddy died at the ripe old age of 85 and the way he wanted. It was just after my husband and I had spent a week with him that he decided it was time to go - so he went, by sheer will power on his part as far as we can determine, in his favorite chair with a good book in hand. After my mom's slow and horrible demise I have to credit my dad for passing as he did. He had been a trauma surgeon for over 35 years and would have loathed having tubes in every orifice and/or being on life support. Still doesn't make it any easier but I understand. So then the house went into probate - dad still had my mom's name on the latest greatest will and the attorney's wouldn't let us touch a thing until recently. It will be two years in June since daddy died. Not only has that contributed to the problems but my brother, who is chronically ill with inoperable brain tumors (not malignant but needs regular chemo and radiation to keep them small) and now has Parkinson's (I KNOW - it sounds worse than any soap opera I know of but he still manages to work as an assistant golf pro) lived in the house keeping an eye on dad and continues to do so with a 160 lb Great Dane named Titus. Cleaning is NOT by brother's forte, so the house is not only falling apart - it's filthy. Okay, now comes the commute, destruction, and process of reviving a house that should sell for close to a million. Have you heard of anything so OBSCENE??? The one good thing is after paying of the mortgages (dad quit work to take care of mom) and splitting the profits, my brother plans to move east and buy a house - cash upfront - and will put the rest in a trust. If we see this thing through to the end he'll have enough to be able to live comfortably and without much worry. So how bad is the house?? I've been restoring beat up abused disgustingly dirty old houses since college and this one takes the cake. What's been a bright spot in all the despair is the tradespeople. Not only have they come to our rescue but charged us less because they knew my husband and I are doing most of the work ourselves. One corner of the foundation had collapsed and sunk almost a foot and the repair estimates initially came in at 75K to 36K. That kind of money would have been a huge chunk of our budget (I'm still paying dad's mortgages) and we would have had to sell the house pretty much as is. We then found Dave Potter, bless the man's soul, who not only raised and rebuilt the foundation but put in french drains all around the house to prevent any further damage, all for under 9K - 3K less than his lowest estimate. Same for our termite/structural contractor - he's letting us do as much as we can and will sign off on our work if it's done to code. Guess I must have done something right in a previous life. And boy is there work! HUGE 4X6" floor joists that are swiss cheese, holes in vinyl (yuck!) flooring and the 1 1/4" subfloors, the cork flooring throughout has completely disintegrated despite being covered with carpet for 40+ years, a tub and half a bathroom that is that close to falling into the crawl space due to water damage, 1970's paint that needs to be primed and redone inside and out, termite damage to outer sheathing and ceiling beams, kitchen and both baths that need to be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up, and a once beautiful garden that is nothing but weeds, except for a few diehard troopers, and now needs to be completely regraded and replanted. To make things even more difficult ...there's just so much of it. How's that for frightening? Feeling better? It's not ALL bad for we are now making progress. I quickly taught myself how to install hardwood flooring, showed my husband, and the two of us working together are making good progress. We've been painting what seems like forever - big rooms and lots of them with 16' vaulted ceilings. The plumber is redoing all the piping and he too has been WONDERFUL. They will be hooking and unhooking things in phases without charging extra, and working around my brother's living in the house. We've one bathroom gutted and I may be able to start tiling as soon as this weekend. We completely destroyed the kitchen last weekend - unbelievably therapeutic despite the 20 mummified rats under the cabinets. I hate to admit it but I ran when I saw the first one and refused to participate until they were removed. But my husband's running commentary on rat removal would beat any Jay Leno monologue hands down! We try to laugh as much as possible,luckily I'm married to the funniest person I've ever met and he keeps me smiling - even through the tears. After a little more drywall removal we can start on the kitchen. Lowe's told me that since I'm acting as General Contractor they'll give us a break on all the cabinets and appliances, tile, etc. so that will help as well. We've been pulling weeds and trimming trees so even the yard, can't call it a garden yet, is looking better than it has in years. Even my brother, as ill as he is, is trying harder and things are a little cleaner. All in all it will be worth it in the end. I get to use some of my creative skills outside the usual constrictions of restoration which is really exciting, and both my brother and I will be more financially secure. I'm sure daddy's smiling about that one, he really thought he was leaving us nothing. Barbara

There are more than a handful of old books that are available free online via Google Books and other such sources. I think someone posted a link in an earlier thread that directed online users to quite a few old rose e-books... I'll try to relocate it. For my birthday, my husband is giving me used copies of 'In Search of Old Roses' (I know- how can I not have read this already?), and Ethelyn Keays' 'Old Roses', a book that Jeri has recommended, and that- from bits I've read online- I know is well-written and engaging. A book I already have- really, the only rose-related book I have- is the previously mentioned 'Noisette Roses: 19th Century Charleston's Gift to the World', and if you have any interest in Noisettes, it is a worthwhile read. Two other books I hope to obtain are 'Wild and Old Garden Roses' by Gordon Edwards and 'Tea Roses: Old Roses for Warm Gardens' by the Australian 'Tea Bag Ladies'. Much of its text is available online, but I want the physical book with pictures... Here is a link to a bookstore that sells old books about roses, and there may be something listed here that 'calls to you': http://www.oldroses.com A good source for used books in general is http://www.abebooks.com Let us know what you find to read! Virginia