A limiting factor may be water - is the normal rainfall distribution through the growing season sufficient to support the plants you want? If not, make sure you plant them within easy reach to water by hose! The most common plants at ground level in a spruce or fir forest are often mosses. Club mosses are particularly attractive (and we used to use one kind to make wreaths at Christmas!) I would not use mulch because that would likely smother the plants that naturally grow there. Removing the small trees would definitely help with opening the look, making access easier, and allowing rainfall to reach the ground more evenly. You might want to leave a few fallen logs to act as 'nurse' logs for plantings, removing any clutter of smaller sticks etc. I'd be inclined to then watch and see what - if anything - grows under there naturally to guide you in determining what will have the best chance of surviving under the trees. The margins (along the driveway etc.) are the easy place to start planting ornamentals such as the Rhodos, hydrangeas etc. I grew up in an area of the east coast of Canada where the forest trees are predominately spruce and fir with hardwoods mixed in. The forest floor had lots of interesting vegetation that would be a shame to bury under mulch. Rhododendron canadense (a short, deciduous shrub) grew wild in open areas of the woods so, in the right conditions of light and moisture, I'd expect that Rhododenrons and Azaleas should do well. Is there a park or garden nearby with the same sort of conditions so you can see what is normal for the local ecology?

I was just about to ask a similar question when Dee's post showed up. My BIL is considering a Craigslist purchase of a slightly used HE3t and its pedestal. This is a "divorce sale." However, the wife (who is selling the machine) and her movers had no clue about the need for reinstalling the shipping bolts. It was moved into her new home without them. I told BIL this was a no-no for the machine's suspension. So how could he tell that something got farkled in the FL from the move? Plug it in and run it through the spin? The machine is not hooked up to water. BIL is a mechanic extrodinaire, but FLs are a new beast for him. Is the suspension a reasonable repair to undertake with the technical manual and parts that run less than $200? Is there anything else that likely could have gotten messed up in the un-bolted move and he should check for? Help us, Obi Wans of the Laundry Room!

Being a servicer for several brands including Bosch I'm not aware they had a BIG problem with mold. It seems that the units with the built in water heaters like the Bosch have the least problems with mold. Mold is not something that can grow on glass rubber or steel. It needs protiens, like those found in body cells, oils, detergents and softeners in order to grow. There has been many posts on this forum on the causes of mold so I don't think I need to open that can of worms here. I doubt that the "new" model you saw actually had mold in it. You may have seen manufacturing residue and I'm told that every Bosch washer goes through a full wet test at the end of their assembly line so I would guess you may have seen residue from the testing.

poorowner ~ When I did live in Murrieta, California I had two sibling kitties and decided that I was tired of the litter box being in the kitchen/family room area. The way the house was laid out there was no chance of having the box in the very small bathroom. I thought that I would try teaching them to go outside and had success with it. First I moved the litter box closer to the sliding glass door and left it there for a week. Then I placed the litter box just outside the sliding glass doors where they could see it. Every few hours I would let the cats outside and they started meowing by the door when they needed to go outside. The next week I moved the box to the farther end of the patio near the yard and then, a week after that, I removed the box all together. I must tell you that it was great not having to deal with having a litter box. Now that it is years later and we live in the midwest the litter box stays in the basement and the cats (2 different ones than in SoCal) eat down there as well. There was no place on the first floor that I could put the litter box that is wouldn't be in the way. Good luck with the change and, if you give it time, should work out well. Robyn