Thyme2.....you are right, I guess that is why I was having a hard time coming up with something...lol. I was just looking at Skimmia the other day and trying to figure a place to add one, but this particular location it would not work. They are a very pretty shrub in the shade. dibbit...Nandina is probably not hardy here in z6a. I never see it for sale in a local nursery. The shade would probably be too much for the conifers, having already tried to find a conifer for another location that would grow in shade, it is not easy. Small azaleas is an idea I had not thought of. They grow nice and slow too and if there was enough light, they might even bloom which is a nice plus. Are there 'non invasive barberries'? I happen to like barberries but have stayed away from them thinking they were all on the invasive list. I especially like the yellow ones. Ilex crenata ...I hadn't remembered those. I just found a webpage of cultivars that are minature and dwarf, and if I can find a few of those, they could work and would be evergreen. I am not quite sure how much sun/light they will get, they will be near the drip line of a Maple tree, on it's East side. I will have to observe it next spring as doing so now would not be of much value, since the light is so different this time of year. I know at one time we had a Father Hugo rose growing there that did develop some bloom, so maybe there would be enough light for the azaleas to bloom. Yes, Hostas would be a last resort choice for me. This location is in the front of the house, so having something neat and evergreen would fit the bill much better. Great ideas...thank you very much for the help! Here is a link that might be useful: Cultivars of Ilex crenata

I put in a large DL bed in one go a number of years ago. I looked for a good mix of Early, mid and late season bloomers. You are warm enough to even look for repeat bloomers. Purples and Pinks are a little difficult to photograph to their true color so look in more then one site to compare the color of a favorite to see if it looks like the color you want "most times" I also looked on "Tinkers" data base as those photos come from gardeners not sellers. Many purples will look plum or reddish purple. If you want a blue purple look for the word blue in the written description of the variety. If you get a chance to go to a local DL farm in person, do research ahead of your trip. See if you can get the farms list ahead of time and look up the ones you are interested in on Tinkers. http://www.daylilydb.com/ When you visit a DL farm the color you see that day may not be exactly what you get in your garden. The time of day, the temperature, the conditions on the farm effect the color. I live near a DL farm " Cottage Gardens Daylilies" in Medina NY. I bought a number of DLs on a cool day after an early morning rain. They looked true purple to me that day. When grown in my garden they were Maroon, burgundy, wine colors , not the blue purple I saw that day. This is not to make things more complicated for you, just my experience shared. That is one of the good things about doing a big bed, there is room for all shades of color. Good luck and have fun!

Hi Aloha, Ok, I've checked some things out and here are some possibilities! Iris sibirica, Siberian iris Iris missouriensis (water plant) Iris louisiana (water plant) Iris pseudoacorus (water plant) Iris versicolor (water plant) Iris ensata (a/k/a I. kaempferi) - Japanese Iris - Some varieties can have flowers up to 12" across! Physostegia - obedient plant Monarda - bee balm - invasive and VERY susceptible to mildew! Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed - butterfly weed - spreads! Hibiscus moscheutos - 'Disco Belle' is about 4' - others taller! Mint - You don't really want to do that, do you?!! Liatris spicata - gayfeather - blazing star - bottlebrush flower Myosotis palustris, water Forget-me-not Valeriana officinalis - but IMO the flowers on this one STINK! Galium odoratum - invasive - foliage smells like "fresh mown hay!" Ajuga Primula vialii - I love this one, don't have one yet! Primula bullesiana Primula cockburniana Primula japonica And even the regular Primula (P. vulgaris) would be ok if it's not actually standing water. Primula are generally shade plants, but would be fine in the sun if kept wet enough. And that's why I was asking about the moisture in winter! There are some "shade" perennials that should do fine in the sun as long as they're kept wet enough--and for most of them that would mean not letting them dry out too much over winter too! Trollius, a favorite of mine, should be ok with ENOUGH moisture Bergenia cordifolia - shade plant should do fine in sun with enough moisture--but it's evergreen so it would definitely need to be kept WET in winter too - leaves turn pretty red to orange in fall with the right temps! Astilbe should do fine in sun IF enough water--and would definitely need to be kept wet in winter too, at least if you ever want it to bloom. Very few people out here ever get it to bloom, and that appears to be mostly because it's not kept wet enough, in summer OR winter! Keep it swimming and it should love you! And here's the real kicker!!! How about some daylilies! Yep! They can apparently be grown in very wet soil! I knew that when I was at Paulino's, but I never actually recommended them to anybody for wet areas--it just seems too counterintuitive!!! But I have to say, especially this summer, when I keep mine wet they seem to perk up and really love it! One--this one at least!--sure would expect the tuberous roots to rot if kept wet, but apparently they don't! There are also several grasses that can be grown in wet conditions. Most of them are prohibitively invasive but there are a couple "nice" ones you might want to consider. Miscanthus - different varieties in heights from about 3" to 6" or more. I love Miscanthus but don't have space for one, but 5' wide would be just about right! Panicum virgatum - switch grass - can even be grown in boggy conditions! I have P.v. 'Heavy Metal', and I love it. Steely blue foliage with "wispy" seed heads. My only problem is that it's set against the fence which makes the seed heads blend in too much to be able to see them much! There's Chasmanthium, northern sea oats, too, but I've not grown that one and don't know if it spreads a lot or not! One caveat! A lot of the water loving plants spread a lot--or are downright invasive! I've marked a couple of them above, but I'm not sure about some of them--and some of them that behave themselves with "normal" garden watering, might decide to live high on the hog if they get as much water as they want, like the Physostegia possibly. And many of the things that are sold as hardy water plants will do just fine in wet soil without standing water--and some do well in normal garden conditions--but, again, many of the "water plants" are VERY invasive! I can list some more things if you really want, I've left out some of the very worst of the thugs, and some of the less common things. Not sure I want to list some of them even if you ask for them! I think you might know where I live---and I don't want to have to put bars on my windows and sleep with a gun under my pillow!!! ;-) I don't do bushes, so maybe somebody else can help you with info about the weigela! When I was checking a few things out, I ran into the site below, and it has some great info. I think there are a few things on there that don't do COLD tho, so check them out well if it's something you're looking at! (Cannas like water, but need to be stored inside over winter!) AND-stay away from the Lythrum and the Lysimachia in that list! Or--if you decide to get them---remember!!! I told you NOT TO! And the Houttuynia too!!! Also ran into this when I was checking out one of the Iris! Copy & paste! It has some great Iris info, and if you go to the bottom you can click on Japanese Iris and/or Siberian Iris to see some of the GREAT possibilities! http://www.ensata.com/HTML/PlantPages/species_&_bog.htm Gotta go! Let me know if I can answer any questions about any of these---perennials, not the bushes! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Plants for wet and boggy soils! - pdf

We have chosen Allure tiles with the grout line as part of the product. I did notice on display some vinyl tiles where actual grout for vinyl tiles can be used. We looked at a sample and decided not to bother with spacers, grout, etc. We chose a tile for our kitchen with the longest warranty, which does make a difference on endurance. We have used a similar Armstrong product in another house in our kitchen and received many compliments. This tile has held up under all kinds of activity - we have three young grand kids and three pets. We never had any problems with the tile in the other house other than we had to put some wood pieces under the feet of the appliances since vinyl does dent with pressure - and so does hardwood, after a period of time. Easy to install and we love it. We opted out of hardwood or ceramic in our kitchen until the pets are down to one and the grand kids are older. Home Depot told us today that they are coming out with yet another new product that locks in place. It was a special order until the product comes in two weeks from now. As far as cleaning this Vinyl, I just use a swifter to clean it and go over it with a microfiber cloth attached to the swifter for drying.