So many interesting websites, to get inspired by, these days. I loved the Oudolf site as well. I wish I had room to put in a truly huge mass planting, and still be the plant collector I find myself to be. Maybe some day I`ll be able to do that. In the meantime, it is wonderful to live vicariously through others and their gardens. I agree, Gottagarden`s gardens are inspiring. The red garden she posted in 06 has always been a favourite of mine. I wish I had the space. Hmmm, I say that a lot. :) I just bought hot Papaya Echinacea and love it. I`m sure she`d approve. :) Gottagarden`s picasa site Yeona Here is a link that might be useful: Gottagarden`s red garden

(Since I just had a computer glitch and lost everything I wrote, let's see how much of the dream I can remember.) Ingrid, I was going to ask you "how big is this dream garden of mine?", but then I reread your post and saw that yours is your present garden, so I guess my dream garden has to fit in the space I have. When I gave you my choices, I didn't give you a plan, so here it is. Since my garden is in my small front yard, up close to and in front of my house, I can't very well have dozens of towering Tea rose bushes hiding the building. That would be silly and has been my dilemma from the beginning. So I need a "Special Small Garden in Two Parts" exemption to allow me to have a 4th rose. The dream garden plan would still be a circle in a circle, and in the center circle would be, of course, LeVesuve in all her big, bosomy pinkness. In place of the arbor at the top of the circle would be two Maman Cochets, the regal matriarchs of the garden. And in the rest of the outer circle planted en masse would be the 3rd rose in the front - Enchantress, a gorgeous magenta pink smaller Tea rose (supposed to be anyway). They would sweep up and around from the entrance at the curb to meet the Maman Cochets, bowing at their feet with arms raised in adoration. In the back garden I would need a climber because of all the oak trees I have that would want to participate in the dream. And that climber would be LeVesuve. (Oh, did that sound like a 5th rose? Nah.) The rest of the garden would be a maze of hedges of Anna Olivier and Maman Cochet, all neatly and softly clipped with no hard edges. I'm not sure if they would be mixed or all one color on each side of the path. In my dream garden Tea roses don't mind some trimming for beauty's sake. Hopefully, DH won't be too nauseated by this pastel pink and yellow dream. And then I would want more Enchantresses close to the house so we could see out the windows, right? In my dream garden there would be no north side of the house, and the west side would be just as good as the east side since there would be no BS in my garden and the setting sun is just as gentle as the morning sun. And there would be clay in the soil that would retain moisture and nutrients so all the rose bushes would have lots of beautiful green leaves to go with the flowers. In my dream garden the oak trees would not shade the roses - just the people. And no dream garden would be a true dream if the choice of roses could not be changed with the season. Now, as to the next rotation of dream roses... Sherry

Hi Jen, I've just finished a house that I designed as a "forever home" for my severely disabled daughter. My Hannah (age 8) also has major cognitive delays, but in addition she has constant seizures and cognitive visual impairment, all of which I took into account in designing this house. First, I found very little information out there, except for basic stuff about how to do an ADA bathroom. Folks on here suggested I find an architect who had experience, but I didn't have any luck with that, and besides, our kids' needs are so individualized, that an architect would really have had to have an extremely broad background in designed for special needs that the market really hasn't come that far yet. Here are some of the things I did: 1. While Hannah can walk now, I planned for a "just in case" future. I've got blocking in all the walls where I might in the future need hand rails, including the hallway. 2. While there can never be an instance when Hannah could wash her hands or take a shower without adult help, I still made sure that all the showers have high temperature stops so if she would turn one on, she couldn't get scalded. I also got a high temperature stop faucet for her bathroom vanity. 3. I had electric put into the wall near the toilet in her bathroom in case we can get to the phase where she could use a washlet. We're time-training her on the toilet, and having to use a special seat right now that doesn't allow me to install any sort of washlet, but I can see it in the future. 4. The area where I live is prone to power surges and blackouts. I put in a small alternative power system that permanently operates at least one outlet in every room, plus the computer and a couple of the television systems (along with the frig, kitchen lights and washer). Hannah likes to listen/watch videos, and I wanted to make sure that if the power went out, I had lights and operating DVD/TVs. I live in Hawaii, so I put in a small photovoltaic system, but depending on where you live, you might just hook up a generator. 5. I put in an intercom system that allows any room in the house to be monitored from all the other rooms. 6. I made sure my driveway allows turn arounds from any direction, in case we need an ambulance in. I also am putting in a solar house number beacon on my mailbox for the same reason, and have lined the driveway with solar lights. 7. With Hannah's vision issues, I have installed a dark colored floor, 6 inch high white base molding, and color coded the walls in different parts of the house. I consulted with her vision specialists about colors for her classroom (Hannah gets all her services at the house since she's classified as "medically fragile".) I did her bathroom in white tile, using dark green tile to draw a line where the floor meets the walls, and then around the room right above the handrails (which are in blue). (Hannah can see blue, green, yellow, and high contrasts, but she can't distinguish between red and blue). The vanity is white tile with a dark green sink. 8. I installed deck mount soap dispensers everywhere, and used the Never MT so that I don't have to worry about running out of soap anywhere. Hannah's PT and OT have already taught her how to use the soap dispenser in her bathroom. The faucet in her bathroom has a single lever as well, so that she can be taught to use it. 9. I installed lever door hardware everywhere. I'm having some second thoughts about the emergency open system I installed on the front door, though -- it's the kind where you push down the lever on the inside and it will automatically unlock the dead bolt. Probably not a good idea. 10. I really, really wanted a fireplace, but not unless I could completely "Hannah proof" it. I'm hoping I did. I got a gas fireplace, and then special ordered a screen that attaches to the opening but comes out six inches or so. There are no pointy edges for her to cut herself on, and she can't fall into it and touch the hot glass. Then I brought out the legs of the fireplace further than the edge of the screen, and they are white against the dark floor and tile surround, so that hopefully the color contrast will keep her away from the screen to begin with. 11. Since this is a "forever home" for Hannah I tried to make it low maintenance. I used ipe for the decking and intend to let it go gray. The windows are hurricane/burglar proof. I've got mini split ductless AC in her bedroom, school room and day room. I also designed in an area that could easily be converted to a live in suite for caregiving help. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but feel free to email me privately if you'd like. I don't have the climbing and cabinet issues (at least not yet), so haven't had to deal with them. HTH, Summer

Thank you so much for all your comments. They are incredibly helpful. Live wire oak, your thoughts on warm and cool tones and especially re-examining my mission statement were very thought-provoking. As some of you may remember, I set out to create a kitchen that was "vintage with a hint of industrialism." I really like the idea that two seemingly incongruous styles can co-exist peacefully in a single kitchen. Thus, I have the white painted inset cabs and the soapstone and marble tops for the vintage ,and the industrial lighting, stainless steel pro-type appliances and commercial style faucets for the industrial. So far, I think it works. I think the checkerboard floor would add to the vintage feel, as well as a warm tone that I think the room needs. But does it clash with the rest of the room, which clearly has cool tones with all the white , marble, and stainless steel (though I'm hoping the soapstone will read as warm), or does it provide an unexpected but welcome contrast? I thought about an ebony stained wood floor originally (even with issues about showing dirt!) but decided that wouldn't read warm enough, although maybe as LWO suggests, it would compliment the cabinets and counters better than the two toned brown stained floor. I should note, however, that we will have other wood-stained elements in the room: the table, which you see below: the chairs, and the free-standing hutch or hoosier (these will all be on the eating side of the peninsula which never shows up in my design pictures because there is no built in cabinetry going in this part of the room. It is , however, most definitely all one room, and completely separate from any other room in the house.) Positano, thank you for finding that Peacock picture. That is the one I was thinking of that made me wonder if I need the island stained wood. But then I worry that it gets me back into that reverse-matchy thing (dark on light, light on dark) that I wasn't crazy about. I hope I am making sense with all of this. Any and all additional thoughts would be most appreciated!