Congrats! Is that a parsnip or a white carrot? Root veggies are so good roasted in the oven!

PJ, Thanks for the Australian tour and I would consider moving there if I were a little younger:) I agree winter protection makes a BIG difference in palm survival, especailly for the smaller less established palms. Sorry to hear you lost some. Frost cloth is not enough during a bad winter. Its good for temps dipping below freezing and frost, but not icy winds in the teens and 20s. Some of your palms looked like they'd be ez to cover with winter protetction. Keep us updated.

I took pictures of Mrs. B.R. Cant at ARE in Brenham that were a blanket of flowers 12 ft tall, but darn, that was before I had a digital camera. They were in front of the old house with the porch all the way around it and were up to the roof. They have since removed them. When mine was outgrowing it's spot I took a deep breath, cut it back, dug as much root as I could up and planted it at my Mom's house where my dad had his veggie garden before he passed away. It took up almost his whole garden area. She always had a vase of fresh cut roses from them. Now my sister lives there and doesn't water or fertilize much if at all, but it's still alive though not as big.

You are getting there :-)) You will have an entirely different perspective once you get the black pots elevated. And you can always add more color with flowering plants. What happened to the white/cream colored containers? You could mix them in with the black ones to make more of a statement. The pots in the middle photo (mostly blue tones) are still too lined up. btw, the groupings do not need to be equal in impact or quantity :-)