All the above is great advice. Here's a little more. The problem with pre drawn plans is they are for that evasive "average" garden. They can never take into account your specific site, light, water, soil and tastes. Here's a very simple process that may help you get started. Do know that the real pleasure is in the process, so don't be afraid to experiment, move around, and even start over. 1. Decide where the bed will go, and lay out the shape. Think big! For an island I like it to be 14 to 16 feet deep. 2. Using graph paper, with one square being equal to one square foot, draw out the bed. Make several copies. Note light conditions, moisture, etc. 3. Choose a color scheme for your bed. This will not only make for a more beautiful bed, but will also help you begin to sort out which of your favorite 300 you should use in this bed. (You can always build others for other colors later.) 4. Start choosing your plants by starting with the "bones". These are the plants (often, shrubs or small trees) that you see 12 months a year either because they are evergreen, have showy bark, or have great form and structure even when their foliage and flowers are gone. Choose only plants that will grow well in your area!!! Draw them onto your graph paper, allowing them their full mature size. Put the biggest ones toward the center of your bed. Remember they will be seen from every side in an island. This is a good time to draw in any hardscape features like a statue, pot, fountain etc. too. 5. Go to books, plant encyclopedias, seed and nursery catalogues and begin looking for plants you want. Think in terms of how many square feet each one will need. Give approximately 1/3 of the remaining footage in your bed to spring bloomers, 1/3 to summer bloomers, and 1/3 to fall bloomers. Remember that any plant will look better in a clump. Don't plant 300 plants, one of each. You'll get a more pleasing bed by planting 5 each of 60 (this is just an example, remember!:) The smaller the plant, the more of it you will need to make an impact. The larger the plant, the fewer of it you need to plant. As you choose your plants keep the following in mind: does it work with your color scheme? Does it thrive in your area? Sure, it has great flowers, but how does it look the rest of the year? Choose plants that have good looking foliage and form, as well as blooms. Choose contrasting shapes, forms, and textures: rounded, spiky, upright, fountains, vases, barrels, bold, fine, etc. Color is important, but it's not all there is. As you draw your choices onto your graph paper, picture them as they will relate to the other plants around them. Will they be hidden by something? Will a larger plant shade them, and if so will that be good or bad? How does the foliage look when paired against its neighbors? Are they in a place where they can get the amount of water and sun they need? I like to have my blooms for spring, summer, fall, etc. coming and going all over the garden throughout the season, so I spread them out and mix them in to other season's bloomers. This is another reason to consider the quality of a plant's foliage. Make room for annuals. They will keep the show going when the perennials are resting. I like to put annuals in the front edges especially. This is a very simplistic formula, but I think you will find it to be a helpful starting point for the design process. (Soil preparation, edging, etc. are equally important considerations.) By all means, read! There are so many great books out there. I spend every winter reading, learning, dreaming, and planning. It never fails to pay off.

Mona and Deborah nailed it. You still haven't told your husband about her behavior with boys, have you? I don't know what the "sensitivity" is about not telling him, but your daughter's behavior trumps that. I cannot stress enough that he MUST know now. I don't care if he screams at the top of his lungs, hits his fist through a wall or throws something, he'll calm down and think rationally once he gets over the shock. lol If she were my daughter, she'd be grounded for the summer. I too had raging hormones at 12, and they were totally out of control. Thankfully I didn't have sex but I sure did like to kiss boys! All it took was for my dad finding me and a boy together at 12 years old kissing him. It scared the pee out of me! lol. Oh, he was mad alright but I changed right then and there. Shannon, you're trying too hard to make your daughter happy right now. Nix all suggestive clothing. It's time she dressed and behave like a young LADY. Tell her she will be greatly respected behaving like a lady instead of an "easy" girl. I think it would be fine if GIRLfriends came over to visit, chaperoned, and if she goes to a GIRLfriends house chaperoned with parents you approve of. I wouldn't allow her to walk anywhere. Or go shopping alone either. Someone needs to have the "Come to Jesus" talk with her ASAP or it will be way too late.

We have the standard accessories that are provided with our 5' Galley sink (2 deck/cutting boards, two colanders, two mixing bowls, two platforms with round holes that can be used for colander or mixing bowl, one drying rack). All of them can be set level with the counter or turned 90 degrees and fits the lower rim that makes them about 3/4" below the counter level (all Galley accessories have this 90 degree feature which is unique and makes it more useful than some of the other brands.) Because you can put the drying rack or the cutting board/decks on the upper level, you can easily slide the wash basin or other bowl accessories underneath them on the lower ledge. In addition we purchased the wash and serve set and the full bottom grate for both our Galley sinks. We use the wash basin every day and it substitutes as an ice bucket when we entertain and turn our sink into a wet bar. Personally after using this setup, we do not feel we would ever need the drydock with our sinks because the full bottom grate provides another level of drying with the upper drying rack. The full bottom grate is a must for us and extremely useful for drying larger pots and pans, vegetables and provides a much larger drying surface than the drydock would. We would also highly recommend the wash and serve set. We did not purchase any other accessories and so far have found this set up to be perfect. We looked at other fixtures since the Galley Tap fixtures were more expensive than Kohler and some other brands, but are very happy that we chose the Galley Taps because the spigots are specially designed to center on the sink and the soap dispenser is long enough to put soap far enough away from the side of the sink to reach the wash basin easily. The hot/cold tap also extends nicely away from the side of the sink so that we are able to fill pitchers and teapots as well as single serving mugs and glasses easily. The Galley Taps were well worth the investment and look beautiful -- easy to keep clean and shiny. (We have two faucets in our 5' sink and one in our 4' sink in our vacation home.)

Hi stan1164, I will be happy to give you any information you need! I will be glad to share with you all my mistakes and what I've learned. The granite fabricator that I used is Jim Graeney. He is the grandson of John Barreta of Barreta Tile on Sutherland Ave and that is the family run business. He did my kitchen granite, bathroom vanity, and the tumbled marble backsplash. Baretta Tile is wonderful to deal with and I highly reccommend them. All the sales people there have been there for many many years and know what they are doing. My contractor recommended them (Fred Harvey) and he has been right on with all his recommendations. Stay away from Tile Sensations at all costs (my contractor said he has had problems with them on every job he's had). The lady (Jennifer) that manages it and owns it is a snake. I have lost over $1,000 there. The sales people are kids, they don't know anything about tiling and they lie. It is truly a buyer beware type of store. Back to granite, Jim does not have an account at Belstone granite which is in Oak Ridge. I haven't been there. He has a close association with Triton Stone. But they sold my granite out from under me and I didn't appreciate their style of business. There is a new place G & L Marble that just opened in Lenoir City. They are wonderful. They have Soapstone, granite, marble, etc. That is where I got my granite from after Triton sold my slabs and it is by far the most beautiful granite. Jim, the fabricator does have an account with them. G & L is very helpful. I think Ricky is the manager and Will is the person that helped me. I got my cabinets from Kitchen Sales (Erin was my sales person). We looked at American Kitchen (or American Standard on Kingston Pike)and Showplace cabinets but my KD didn't think they were made as well as Kitchen Cupboards cabinets (that I got at Kitchen Sales). My bathroom vanity is from Kraftmaid and my KD thinks they are the best made cabinets in the big box stores. What I did learn which I think has been on this forum, is that price varies and not to assume that Lowe's or Home Depot will have the cheapest cabinets or lowest price. Shop around, especially during these times the deals you can get are incredible. Clearly this was off topic and I apologize to the original poster. But I am delighted to share my experience and especially all those things I've learned the hard way. Glad to help! Karen