Thanks for the feedback! I think I may be thinking too much about this. After all, I can always rip a shrub out and replace, right? Obviously, Im new to all of this. My gardening experience is limited to an 18- by 18-foot cottagey-style mixed bed that is in its third summer. Yes, I was looking at the "shrubs for sun" selection. I will have to check the exact timing, but I would guess that the eastern portion gets sun from sunrise to about 1 p.m. and the northern side from sunrise to about 10 a.m. Also, the sun is intense here because weÂre at 6,000 feet or so. Perhaps I should look more into the shade-tolerant choices though. I will keep in mind the tendency to grow away from the house. Although it makes perfect sense, I hadnÂt thought about it much before. I am mostly OK with mostly sticks in winter. I am willing to forego winter interest for spring and summer flowering in the case of the hydrangeas and weigela. I was hoping that viburnum might offer some fall interest and possibly berries for early winter. I just donÂt care that much for evergreens I guess. Ideally IÂd love a layered look with evergreens at the back of a bed, but I donÂt think weÂve got the space for that. Plus, there's no unsightly foundation that I need to cover up. I love the look of dogwood in the winter, so IÂm willing to have a plain old green blob the rest of the year. I was hoping that perhaps I could get three to four seasons of interest: Virburnum and weigela for spring flowers, hydrangea and roses for summer flowers, color-changing leaves and hydrangea blooms for winter, red dogwood twigs and boxwood for winter. Berries in winter or fall would be a plus to the viburnums. I decided I disike the thorns of barberries as well. I dislike holly for the same unfriendliness. Hmmm. I never thought about the foliage not being varied. I LOVE Japanese maples. I tried to plant one two years ago and it did not last. IÂm not sure if it was due to my inexperience or not. However, we do get pretty nasty winds that IÂve heard can be difficult on them, especially in the winter. I guess my desire for the Black Lace Elderberry is because it is as close as I thought I could get to a Japanese maple. Finally, I guess I was focused on dwarf varieties because 1. IÂm terribly afraid of planting anything that will outgrow the space and require tons of work. Also terrified that anything I plant could hurt the house. 2. I guess I thought if I used smaller shrubs, I could use more of them and get a more layered effect. I really know very little about foundation planting design, so I may be way off base. As a little more background, the house is a two-story stucco house, about 2,000 square feet. The eastern-facing portion of the bed is about 14 feet or so long and 5 feet deep. ItÂs also mostly stuck between the house and a paver patio. The northern-facing space is also about 14 feet long and varies in width from 4 feet to 7 1/5 feet. IÂll try to get a photo or two on here. Maybe that would help. IÂd like to try to photoshop things in to see what they look like, but I havenÂt gotten around to it. Are there any good websites out there that discuss foundation planting styles? Thanks! And sorry again for being so long-winded. I'm really interested in design and gardening though, so I'm having fun learning!

Thanks tj. Acer palmatum 'Sharp's Pygmy' at 12 o'clock, Pinus aristata 'Blue Bear' back and to the right, Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Stormy' middle right, Abies concolor 'Charming Chub' lower right, Picea abies 'Brno' bottom center, Pinus edulis 'Trinidad' middle left, Abies balsamea 'Tyler Blue' behind left which started off fast but has slowed down to 2"-3" of growth per year the last few years. A few will likely be replaced with true minis as they get too big. I have another area to the left of this where I tried to use more minis. It should look decent by next year and I'll post a pic then. Dan

The specs only say it's a composite sink. So that likely means it's polyester/acrylic, the most delicate of composites. Never in a kitchen. But it should hold up fine in a bathroom. Use only liquid non-abrasive cleaners and an acrylic cleaner, such as Gel Gloss, every few months, same as for an acrylic tub.

flopsycat1 is correct IPE is very very hard wood. It was my job to make the plugs for the wrap around porch to cover the screw holes (over 2000 of them). I would get about 50 of them before the bit was so dull it was smoking, and I’d have to change it out. IPE won’t burn, won’t even float. We installed it in 2003 and finally sanded and oiled in 2017. We figure we can go another year before we sand and oil again. It is a covered porch but in the winter the storms blow the rain all over the IPE, day after day. We live in western Washington state and have very wet winters. My husband had a love affair with IPE.