Your property looks well-loved and cared-for, as well as peaceful, except for your uninvited "guests". I'm in NJ, too - southern Monmouth County. I'm glad to see some of these recent posts, though. The dangers of the boulders (and lawsuits) are very real, and it is important to identify any easements the municipality, or any other entity, may have. Our property line is 10 feet from the paved road (no curbs or sidewalks). And with that straightaway, you probably get some pretty fast-moving cars at times, too. A sense of place is also an important point. Annie, from the photos, I'm thinking maybe you're in southern NJ? While some parts of our state are very rocky, a lot of others are flat and sandy and boulders just look contrived and out of place, IMHO, no matter how carefully one chooses and sets them. I tend to agree with deviant-deziner on the split rail fence. Once they age to a silver gray they blend very nicely with their surroundings, and you can soften the look with a mixed border of shrubs, small trees, perennials and bulbs if you like. Choose the right plantings and it will be fairly low-maintenance, provide year 'round interest, and habitat for wildlife (I'm thinking birds and beneficial insects ... do you have deer? Looks like prime real estate for them. If so, you'd need to choose plants they won't munch on.) Ah, the summer sport of mailbox batting. I'd never heard of that until we moved to the shore area and I thought it was a shore thing mostly perpetrated by ... um ... non-residents. Folks here have come up with a variety of bat-proof solutions: mailboxes enclosed in brick or stone columns, attached to I-beams, wrapped in heavy rope (the nautical theme can work here). You can get pretty creative.

Oh can I relate to your last statement, Marian. I have no dillusions of life in the nursery biz being easy and I'm not afraid of hard work or failure. Everything worth having takes risk, hard work and a lot of faith... but the idea of getting out of my air-conditioned, artificial light, not a second of privacy cubicle farm, making $Ms for corp. exec's who only cut my benefits & pay while raising their own, to be out digging in the dirt with the sun on my back is my idea of heaven on earth! Good luck with your gardens. I know a farm can be a lifelong art project- I used to have some acreage and never left it alone for a season w/o putting a new bed in somewhere. It can be a long labor of love. Hopefully you are able to pass the legacy on to someone who will carry on the efforts so you can smile at it from heaven. Thank you for your well wishes on my dreams. I've wanted to run my own business for better than 25 yrs but trying to settle on one thing and having the confidence for business management held me back. I have chosen the garden industry because a)every personality/career test I've ever taken says I should be in high-tech or plants b)I've managed to keep my interest in gardening for my entire life c)I've started a business within the safety of a corporation so I know I can do it on my own now d)I've researched the industry enough to know that it is possible to double my income as a small biz owner if I use my business knowledge wisely- not everyone can do that but it is possible. Ellen, is the Lily chatroom you are talking about affiliated with the AHS e:mail robin? I just asked to sign up for the robin.

I would possibly change the second sentence to read: "The love and devotion you are showing her now is a blessing to you both, that will live in your hearts forever. She is grateful and blessed to have such a loving daughter." When I lost my mother, Dad gave me her Christmas cactus because she loved that plant. My thumb is so black that artificial flowers don't survive near me--yet that cactus is still thriving (3+ years later), and blooms frequently. Every time it blooms, it is as though Mom is sending me a special love message. I like flowers, but it makes me sad to see them die; a nice plant (maybe even with a few real flowers in it) might be a more lasting expression of gratitude and love.

Thanks for the responses--they are really appreciated. I am not doing the pot filler. There is molding that is going to go up--not sure about the specifics of it. We got these moldings that are about 3" wide for each side of the cabinet and filler. I think it is supposed to look like raised panels. We did receive some extra molding today though--maybe he could incorporate something with that. We do have some of that light molding that is supposed to go under the cabinets--it is not installed yet. As I look at the pictures--I wonder how that will work on the valance--is it not meant to go under the valance? Pillog--great idea about incorporating the shape of the valance into the design. Would I need to pick out curved tiles to do that or will they just cut the tiles to make the curve?