Karen...I really like that idea. It seems pretty easy to put together too. I love the colors and you can pretty much make it as small or as large as you'd like, by the size of the log you choose. I can see that idea for Christmas too, by changing out the leaves for greens. Also, seems like a nice project to do with kids. It would be a nice gift for them to make. I know I would enjoy receiving it. Just wanted to mention, I'm sorry I mixed your name up with Luvs, on the thread with the Fall Tree. I realized after I posted, that I put the wrong name... just Chalk it up to a moment of 'Brain Fog' !! lol jane

Thanks so much. Funny you ask about baskets. I am a Longaberger consultant but a lot of the baskets you see Are Linda Searcy Baskets - they are handcrafted and not as sturdy as Longaberger but I LOVE THEM. The ones on my kitchen table and dining room table are by her as well as the huge one on my red armoire in the family room. They are pretty pricey - more so than Longaberger but REALLY unique. I love Longaberger in the kitchen and as a "Work basket" - I have A LOT in my kitchen but for decor, I prefer the Linda Searcy Baskets...Thanks for noticing!!!!

Thanks for the great ideas. I thought about candy but also thought "Halloween". I wondered about the little battery powered string lights but don't know how long those stay lit. For the food tableI have three large metal fall pieces that are a gourd and a pumpkin in green and a pumpkin in orange. They are very nice and I was able to get them really really cheap at a floral design shop that was closing. You have given me alot to think about. Im not sure of the size of the pumpkins but Im sure you have all seen them as they are very common. I would estimate them to be about 10-11 inches tall and kinda fat. How's that for a description.

Thanks for the further suggestions. There is a lot more sun on the right end. Lilies do well. I think delphiniums would be fine there. On the shady left, I just had to cut down an overhanging branch due to the trunk cracking in a heavy snow, that may make the left end more sunny than it has been before. Hopefully my gold hostas will not get fried. I’m thinking about a monkshood in the shadier end too. I think the path idea, though it appeals to me, will be dependent on whether I can get at least 2 of the bushes behind it dug out. Though I love the way it looks, I can’t keep frosted Brunnera alive. I was slowly getting some to expand in the backyard, but the lack of snow cover seems to have done them in too. They would be up by now if they were alive. A plain green one in another bed is up. One silvery plant that came to mind is pulmonaria. That does well in one bed around a tree (same location where the silver Brunnera croaked). I have one I got in trade (so don’t know that name) that is almost all silver, with just a fine green edge, rather than spotted. Since I have not done much planting around the gate location recently, I don’t know how the drainage compares to the adjacent hosta bed at the left, which is at the base of a very slight slope. Since I have a lot of gold and purple, the easy route would be to just use Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola’, since I already know I can grow that. Though where I have it now gets a lot of sun, conditions for both areas would be comparable. At least for now, I can’t extend the stepping stones. It will be a while before I can kneel well. It was a marathon of kneeling to prepare the base, paver base, etc., and lay the stones 2 years ago. The gate color I’m keeping. I matched the original paint, which a friend told me was a very traditional shade for garden fence in France where this came from. I have an outdoor metal/wood bench on the patio which I will paint to match. It also goes well with my house trim.