Are runners in Nice planters out of the question? That would open the possibilities. I have several runners in planters on the deck and if a rhizome peeks over the top...I just redirect them back into the planter. Just a thought. Your zone 7 like me... but I think you summer heat is a bit more than ours. I'm sure one of the resident experts will chime in shortly. Blessings

As soon as I get a ladder over here (it might not go high enough) or a relative with the tractor with the front-end loader to boost me up there (or someone less inclined to vertigo), I will probably aim to measure the limb in key spots first, and mark it off with ribbon or something. I don't recall exactly what type of Oak it is now - there's several different types on the property, but knowing the type would I think help to discern the strength from whatever data is out there. I'm sure someone has tested this stuff! I can "easily" wait a year to actually suspend the swing after the limb has been drilled, bolts inserted, boo-boos treated, and testing/tightening as needed. I had the swing for at least a year before I got the idea to look for "just the right spot" WITH "just the right limb" - took me a year or more to find that (because I got hung up on "a perfect limb" that is on a great tree, but a completely lousy location to have a swing unless totally intended for aesthetics alone) and then more wandering around the spot to feel certain I had some idea of how I'd "work" the area/landscape it. There's underbrush and saplings to remove and I need to decide ahead of time if I should go ahead with a different type of fence to replace the field fence that is at the "back" of the area. (Eventually I want to replace the field fence on two sides with something sturdier and possibly more visually appealing, but that's like close to a thousand feet of fencing sooo....) It also gives me plenty of time to pressure-wash the swing, get it well dried, get it to soak up some Thompson's water-seal, possibly replace at least two known broken slats or just repair them with wood glue - who knows, maybe even paint it or "decorate" it - whatever. In summary, it won't kill me to wait a year or more longer. Now I just wish I had stepped up and asked about this earlier in the year - when I could have done the drilling before the "sap had started to flow". I wonder if TSC will have bolts long enough for this or if I'm going to have to go searching around one of these old-old tractor/hardware stores in the middle of nowhere. :)

This second one kinda reminds me of a begonia, but I am having a really hard time finding something that looks just the same. The first one is something from the mint family perhaps, rub a leaf softly between your fingers and see if there is a minty smell.

I like bungalows. Okay, that was neither here nor there . . . on to some constructive advice. - Everything I would've said, BirdLover6 already said: Light in the main living areas, etc. - L-Lass is always wonderful, and her flip-flop is perfect. I like the smaller flex-area being kind of a large entry. In this house, I can imagine a seating area and a little bit of privacy ('cause people aren't entering /leaving your house constantly), and it gives you your larger family room to the back of the house. - The island looked "odd" to me in the original floorplan, but it seems to fit in perfectly in the new plan. - The single thing that grabbed me right away in the first plan, however, was the under-sized dining area. L-Lass has fixed it. I'm not sure a bay-bump is right for this house; I might consider more of a square-bump . . . oh, and to stay true to character in a bungalow, go with an L-shaped banquette. But the location and size of the newly-placed dining area is dead-on. - I don't know anyone who doesn't need more storage. I'd do away with the half-bath (and its expense) and have a good-sized closet in the mudroom. I'd have the closet extend under those large stairs (the half-height storage would be good for holiday items that you don't access often). The secondary bathroom is in an ideal spot to be both private and convenient, and I don't see a need for a half bath. - OR this space would be an ideal pantry, something you don't have now. - With the half-bath gone, you could have your drop-zone in the mud room, and that would contain the clutter of bookbags and shoes in the mud room. - OR, with the expanded mud room, that drop-zone area could become a lovely glass-doored, floor-to-ceiling china cabinet. That would suit my needs quite well! Or it could be a china closet, with a closed door. - I'm not so crazy about the master bath. First, I hate the two piddly-sized vanities/sinks. I'd go with one comfortable-sized vanity and one simple sink, though this would require moving the bathroom door. - The big problem, though, is the two tiny closets. You have double sinks and double bathing areas . . . but nowhere to store anything. Triangle shaped closets like this will hold practically nothing. I'd give up the separate shower, move the tub-shower over to the window side . . . and carve out a nice-sized, rectangular walk-in closet where you now have one closet /the walk-in shower. You're not planning to be elderly in this house, so you'll have no trouble stepping into a tub-shower. While a separate shower is a nicety, adequate storage would be my priority. - Another master closet option: Bring the back corner of the master bedroom back so that the back corner of the house is square . . . and add a walk-in closet to the right of the master entryway.