i like all of the japanese maples for their growth habit, spring foliage and fall colors. most of them are easy to place into the landscape where a smallish tree is needed. 'butterfly' is a beautiful variegated cultivar that needs afternoon shade (most of them appreciate a site providing that but some can take more sun). this is 'viridis'(a green laceleaf form) in spring and in fall one of my favorite natives is chionanthus virginicus( fringetree or grancy greybeard). i have posted this photo quite a few times on the forums because i am so fond of it. it's at peak bloom right now. the fragrance is fantastic -it wafts all over the yard on a warm evening. full sun will give you a better floral display though it can grow as an understory tree. have fun with your tree selection!

haha, that works too. Mark! If nothing else, it will protect the garden from the press - 'cause you know...Tony and the press get along so well. ;-) If you want to try your luck with them, send me an e-mail. LOL @ Jamie - Oh no you di'ent!!!!!

Some woods darken, some woods bleach. It depends on the exact extractive chemicals present in the wood. The finish also can limit UV penetration to the wood (but not eliminate it).

A bit of trivia - traditional landlines, also known as POTS (plain old telephone service), USED TO use exclusively analog technology end to end. Folks who are old enough will remember poor quality long distance phone calls. Since several decades ago, POTS calls have changed, they do most of their traveling though the telco systems over digital links, including the Internet. That's why a cross country call or even an international call can sound like someone next door, the signal doesn't degrade with distance. But the so-called "last mile" of POTS service is analog over copper wire. Digital signals (like DSL) traveling over analog circuits have distance limitations. Those who have cable-supplied phone service or other VOIP have an entire digital path on their end for voice calls. Internet service is digital. When DSL service was first "released", only customers located within 12,000- 15,000 feet (measured by the length of the wire) of a telco office could get it. That's because distance limit of digital signals over copper wire intended for analog phone calls and that the analog to digital conversion equipment was only housed in the central offices. The telcos had large build-out projects to string fiber lines out in hub and spoke configurations (with an office as the hub) to broaden the areas where DSL could be offered. In my area (telco formerly called Pacific Bell), there was a web page that listed their construction schedule and showed the dates for when particular neighborhood work would be done and where the sites were located. I remember when it was started for my area, I went to visit the guys at the local neighborhood drop as they added the needed equipment. PS - satellite internet is for areas where no other internet service is available. Most will not offer service to a customer having an alternative. Satellite service tends to be very limited (only a few GB per month), expensive and has high latency (delays) because of the distance the signal has to travel. TV service of all kinds is distributed by satellite. Whether the ultimate signal a user gets comes from a cable, from the phone company, or the obvious satellite providers, satellite transmission is used. If you pass by a regional office of a cable provider, for instance, you'll usually see large satellite dishes. I don't know all the details.