It looks to me like your bromeliads are some type of Guzmania hybrid. The red tinge is perfectly normal. Many bromeliads have compounds called anthocyanins which contribute red to the leaf color in varying degrees, depending on the species involved. If your original plant was heavily fertilized when you received it (very likely), that would contribute to the chlorophyll (green pigment) dominating the color scheme. I generally don't use packaged potting soil. It tends to stay too wet for me, though others on the forum may have had other experiences using it. If you have any orchid bark and/or perlite to mix in, that might be better for the plants in the long run. Paul

Remember when you planted them in your garden you shocked them and they will need at least 3 years to acclimate themselves. You could get a soil test to make sure the soil has the nutrients your plants need for optimum growth, and make sure they get at least 1" of water per week. Otherwise you'll just have to be patient. I purchased many perennials, shrubs & trees over the past 4 years for our 2 acre property and this is the first year many bloomed like they should.

Ok, what is it with these plants - more often than not, I see a nice photo of a beautiful evergreen and it takes my breath away! I'm liking the looks of Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'glauca pendula'. It doesn't look particularly blue in the photos I've seen. Any thoughts on how it will look next to this pyramidalis stuff? Gosh I would love to get rid of those (they don't take my breath away!). The textures seem like they could be too similar. Green arrow is probably a bit too narrow - but maybe it is just because I am seeing pictures of juvenile plants? I will definitely have some mini conifers in the area in front of the house. I have been known to leave the nursery with those cute little ones that fit great in a winter pot (but get quickly buried in a summer pot). Maybe someday my 6" dwarf hinoki nana lutea will be big enough to go in the garden... I saw a Picea Omorika "Riverside" a few weeks ago. It was a nice tree, but it looks like the spread is up to 15, which might be a bit much for me. A lady I was talking to at the nursery said she really likes the Vanderwolf Limber Pine. It was a very soft tree, 15-20 high x 8-10 wide the tag said. I've been looking for pictures of some of the cedrus deodar narrow forms - in particular, quiksilver was one I read about but haven't seen anywhere. What about cedrus atlantica's here in the PNW? Do they do ok? I see the weeping blue atlas cedar everywhere, but fastigiata looks interesting... So, I have to laugh about the "how to move a rhody" discussion. I have never been "gentle" to them when moving them. I stick that shovel in wherever I can get it through the roots and then lever them out and drag them across the yard by whatever means I can to a better spot. I started out moving them in the fall or spring, but have done a couple in the height of summer. I swear you can't kill those things here. One of them blew over in an ice/wind storm while I was out of town and was sideways for a couple weeks before being put back in the ground. It didn't even blink. I have to believe there are people in the PNW that consider them weeds they are so tough! And I love them for that!

I thought my house was funky, but yours is even quirkier. I would not fight the funk- I would go with it. Instead of trying to make it look traditional, which won't work with that roofline, how about going modern/Frank Gehryesque? (Not that I know what that is.) Here are some outside of the box ideas: 1. Change the front siding to match the sides and attic (?) area. 2. Change the garage door- maybe to a modern barn door look with two doors. 3. Replace the attic windows with a series of identical clerestory windows from side to side, about eight of them. Big wide trim around them. 4. On the second floor, continue the window pattern that's over the garage all the way over (probably mean adding three or four more). Wide trim around all. 5. Metal or galvanized tin roof. 6. New door: single light french. 7. Depends on what rooms are on the first floor, but I'd put another two single light french doors, sliders, to the right of the front door. 8. Pergola from end to end of the house to define the first floor, with a solid (galvanized tin?)roof over the entry door or maybe all the way across. With a patio outside in front of the single-light slider. 9. Paint: charcoal gray with black trim, or dark purply-brown with plum trim. Or warm tan with white trim. Or...? Landscaping: tall spiky things. Good luck. I have had a heck of a time working around the bizarre add-ons on my house. Each part of the house still has different siding. So I am in the same boat- except that I have only one story to contend with, which makes it a little less daunting. In any case, it will not be cheap.