Hi Kathyjb, Your orange flower pictured is a cosmos, which is an annual. If the other blooms in the pic, have similar foliage as the orange, then you have Cosmos Bright Lights, an annual mix. They are great for reseeding themselves for the next year. I have even had them reseed in the same year. When the earliest plants are pretty well spent late in the season, there are often new ones that reseeded that will then bloom clear up until frost here. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Bright Lights.

I worry about the weeds and am thinking about putting cardboard down and then mulch on top. You go with that idea but expect to replace it a year or two down the road. It's worked for me for the most part but it isn't the be-all and end-all of gardening--there are some weeds that will grow right up through the cardboard and mulch (ask me how I know this to be true). Still, it's been effective more than it hasn't in several of my garden beds. I understand putting the taller ones in back and making sure that everything is spaced properly. Don't lose sight of the truth that whatever you're going for is right for you but may not be right for another gardener (or what you're planting). I like the look of space between my perennials because that's the look that pleases my eye. What pleases your eye is what pleases your eye & you get to decide that on your own but the plants themselves will ultimately determine the look of your garden. Generally speaking, garden designs adhere to certain standard designs or patterns but they're not guidelines that are carved in stone. I took a huge, rectangular garden that existed before I moved here, divided it in half diagonally, stuck a granite garden bench in the center, curved the edges and laid a granite patio in front of the bench. Not the look the bed had prior to me having my way with it but to my eye it looks a lot more appealing than it did before. Did I buy a garden design book? Yep--bought several and while they gave me ideas, none of the formal gardens worked for my property. I ended up with what worked for me so I'll suggest you sit down with a drawing pad & sketch what you see in your mind. I don't regret doing that and am vastly satisfied with what I've achieved. Don't forget you'll have failures along with the successes. It's been the lesson I've had the most difficulty learning but the successes have mitigated the failures. There's SO much enjoyment when things return reliably year after year I'm reassured the plants I've worked to set in the ground truly are perennials and those that have disappeared are few and far between.

Now we're gettin' somewhere.

Maybe you have a natural talent for decorating. If you don't need to remove your imprint on a house to sell it, that's really great. There are "period" houses that look better decorated. There was a discussion on this forum several months ago about whether to neutralize the decorating of an old Victorian style house. The consensus was that the people who would be interested in a Victorian would expect it to look a certain way inside and neutralizing would be counter-productive. And similarly, people expect a certain style of decorating in a cabin. However, getting $10,000 over the asking price in a hot market was probably more about the hot market than the interior decorations.