Well I guess I'm contributing to the hijack - sorry scraplolly! I used to live in a house with a driveway just like dtownjbrown and I hated it. So I was kind of interested in contributing to his story. You could think about mixing some evergreens in there. Microbiota, dwarf chamaecyapris, pencil holly, rug or pencil junipers, etc. But they are kind of dull in a row... Another way to go about this is to plant annuals for a few years to see what responds to the lighting. I would think you could grow coleus, petunias, maybe even an indeterminate tomato - cherry tomatoes, the italian plum tomatoes. I grow them in less than optimal sun in containers. My favorite is San Marzano - good for salsa. This year I'm growing calladiums in full sun planters so go try some new things - you never know what will work. Sometimes the repeated annual amendment helps also. Your soil looks good in the picture but who knows how old it is? You say it drains quickly- its possible that somewhere along the way somebody re-waterproofed and improved the drainage down deeper. When we had our back wall re-waterproofed they dug down 11 ft and then filled the space with limestone to about 2 ft from the top - then backfilled my topsoil on top of that. The space right up against my house is very dry as a result. A good resource for you would be the Botanical Gardens in the area - just do a search. Another good resource is the Plant Search function at MOBOT - Missouri Botanical Gardens. For ex. I just searched on Full sun to part shade, Dry to medium, 6-12 inches spread, Zone 3 for scraplolly and got a list of plants back - http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Results.asp I don't know if you want anything to hang out over the line of the bed into your driveway but I'd think about that as you select plants.(daylilies)Whacking the flower heads every time you drive in has a tendency to look kind of ugly. The above was in case you don't like my idea: Given the narrow space and lighting my personal recommendation would be to plant a unifying ground cover like pachysandra which is evergreen, make space intermittently to have a few clumps of daffodils/tulips and alliums in spring and then have a nice white lattice structure just covered in green ivy to cover the wall. I would have parts of the lattice go up 6-8 ft and parts down at the level your siding begins. - sort of like the silhouette of a town. I would use horizontal and vertical crossbars rather than the cheaper looking diamond shaped criss cross pattern. You need to fasten it so that it is out from the siding about 1.5-2 inches for long term home care. You don't want ivy putting tendrils into your siding or cement. Where you live you might succeed with Boston Ivy which is very colorful in the fall. An alternate might be grapes or hydrangea petiolaris which I doubt would be watered at all after established. I could see having round blue ceramic planters filled with colorful coleus and impatiens set right down into the pachysandra with the wall of green ivy behind them. To give more space you could have cutouts in the latticework to center the planter in the space. You could have a small water fountain on the wall among the vines - or frame it with the lattice. Another planter idea is pruned boxwood with annuals/trailing vines around them for summer - and you can do something with them for the holidays. You should be able to have Korean, Vardar Valley, Green Mountain, etc live in a container if you keep pruned. The Blue Girl holly also does well in low light/bright sun but you'd really have to stay on the pruning to keep a holly in bounds. I would also try some unobtrusive stick in the ground solar lights to create a soft glow after dark along the drive or you can wire lighting in. I get container combination ideas every yr from the White Flower Farms catalog - gorgeous stuff altho this yr they were too in love with bronze and orange combos. Shrubs that I have kept pruned for yrs to 12 to 18" wide are taxus, boxwood and believe it or not - euonymous - burning bush. I have a 3 ft deep bed along my house and its underplanted with pachysandra and the burning bush are at least 20 yrs old - you just have to keep up with the pruning to keep them to the size you want.

"...you will probably also need strapping or connector plates." Strapping nd connetor plates help hold the studs to the bottom plate, the top plate to the studs, and the rafters or trusses to the top plates. Nails in tension (withdrawal) have very little strength, nominally zero in many places. High speed winds do not just produce side loads but also produce lifting forces. Wind striking the side of a house turns up and down, the upward winds then produce a lifting force on any roof overhang, just wind swirling over a roof and dropping can produce lift on the roof structure similar to the lift on an airplane wing. If you think about typical house construction it relies on a few fasteners to hold position and weight to keep things down. Racking forces are accounted for, and downwards loads, but not lifting forces. By adding straps and connectors nails are loaded in shear instead of tension. The structure has more resistance to uplifting forces.

Thank you very much for the help everyone (and pictures Olychic)! I canâÂÂt get this CL table out of my head. However, IâÂÂm torn (was torn on the size) but am also torn on if the covered w/two walls patio at sons house will end up looking too feminine with this table. There is another table that is similar but a bit manlier with a beautiful marble top in black/gray/white w/a bit of warm amber. Problem is itâÂÂs over an hour and a half away in a dodgy area. This is what I have so far (itâÂÂs all crammed into a bedroom right now). Also two of these chairsâ¦yet to be upholstered in white vinyl. IâÂÂm also seeking a room divider for one corner to make it all look more like a real room and to protect the black chairs on that side from the elements. The coffee table will be in a well-protected area. Not that IâÂÂm over worried about the elements because there is a pretty good overhang beyond. I will probably paint the divider (missed the one on cl) either Boulder (inside wall) or Squirrel (outside wall) itâÂÂs a gray with a tic of green that you mostly canâÂÂt detect. Or, Dolphin fin which is on the same chit. I want the room eclectic with a bit of vintage vibe but am having trouble with the coffee table pick. Ideas are welcome.

No pictures because I haven't found the lamps I really want at a price I can live with yet... But I do know what my requirements are. Most lamps are really designed for decoration, not reading. The fabric type shades block a lot of light with darker fabric being worse than lighter fabrics. At a minimum you need 100 watt bulb, but 150 is better. My night stand is too small for a desk lamp so I need a floor lamp; I need the space for my book of the moment. The lamp needs to be adjustable height so I get just the right lighting. A pivot arm is good for the same purpose. If your bedroom is modern/transitional you should have no problem as there are lots of options. My bedroom is traditional and I have a modern/functional lamp for reading: it's almost 'Gumby' in number of ways I can adjust it. It's not a bad looking lamp, it just belongs in another space. But as I'm more concerned with reading than taking tours through my bedroom, it works for now. I included a link to a similar lamp to mine, but mine is much more powerful in light output. The adjustable design is perfect for reading lamps though with the light going onto your book, not the ceiling. Here is a link that might be useful: Adjustable lamp