You didn't indicate how much sun/shade you get or what exposure you have , which is important for the survival of the plant material. From looking at your current plan it appears that the bed is hugging the foundation too closely. A wider shot of your house and landscape would be better for making suggestions. Looking at the photo I would say to make a sweeping curved bed to around the right side of your house, which seems bare, and plant the Acer Palmatum 'Bloodgood ' there as your focal point. Ultimately the Bloodgood will get about 25 to 30 feet high and wide so you don't want it too close to your house. The Acer Palmatum 'Green Cascade ' doesn't make a statement there at all. It looks out of place. It's difficult to see how many evergreens you have but I'm assuming probably more than enough. So once you get your ornamental tree located in the proper spot all you need to do is add some beautiful, colorful perennials such as ornamental grasses, sedum, blackeyed susan, rose shrubs, etc. to fill in . Here is a link that might be useful: Sweethomeandgardenchicago.blogspot.com

Posted by Teresa "---And a bit of advice to the previous winner Madonna - who may still be in a pizzelle coma. Go out and buy a lottery ticket. Email me for the story behind this advice. ---" I am not superstitious, but ------ sometime extraordinary good did happen to Teresa, right after she got her Pizzelles. Likewise, right after I got my Pizzelles, I got some very good new about one thing in my life, in addition, I went and bought a Lotto ticket, and guess what, I won $7.00! ($6.00, actually, I paid $1.00 for the ticket). Enjoy your Pizzelles and be ready for good things to happen to you. dcarch

Wow! They look gorgeous. So light and lemony. I love lemon. If you've never sent anything to Canada before I would dearly love to be your first guinea pig. I'll let you know how they arrived so that you feel safe in knowing that anything else you want to ship outside of the US would be safe and sound. I just want to help; you never know; between the US and Canadian Postal services and customs......things may not arrive like they should.....

Posted by annie1992 " coconut, I've also used many old appliances from the forties or older, with no ill effects. Well, there is that slight twitch, but no one notices much, LOL------" Old appliances are very durable and are generally safe to use. However, over 30,000 homes are burnt down and 300 people killed each year from electrical problems. 1. Vintage electric cooking devices most likely are not properly grounded or double insulated. 2. Old wiring may use cloth and paper for insulation, which can age, crack and fray. 3. The bi-metal thermostat may be worn and fused together, causing over heating. 4. At some point in the past, aluminum had been used for wiring, which can cause fire. Aluminum wiring has been outlawed. 5. There is a very good chance that some insulation inside may be asbestos, which also has been outlawed. dcarch