Those are good choices. I do have a few comments. I don't have Golden Gate but my sister does. To my eye it looks more similar to Sunny Delight or Sun Power. It is upright and wavy. It is a very beautiful plant. King Tut was a standout for me this year. I've had it since 2009 but aparently it's been in the wrong spot. I now know it needs sun to color. It was in a place with morning sun and always stayed kind of blaa and greenish. I moved it to a west facing hot spot. It was the plant that knocked me out. It seemed to glow from within. It is domed shaped vs Golden Gate's upright look. Unfortunately I will have to move it again next year. It loved the sun but later in the summer bleached to almost white so location is probably the key to this one's best location. You asked about placement. That is an individual choice. I think what looks good to you will work. There are places I have reverses of the same plant to show off similarity and contrast. Abiqua Recluse with Paradigm and Academy Blushing Recluse for instance. I also have Satisfaction next to Summer Serenade. When I moved King Tut this year I put a duplicate of Grand Prize in its place in the shadier garden. Grand Prize grows so well and in the shade keeps the yellow border. I realized what a difference the smaller plant made in that garden. King Tut was the same basic size as most of the hostas around it. The smaller Grand Prize showed everybody up much better. I'm now conscious of keeping from having a 'sea' of similar sized hostas where they all blend together. Again, it's just a matter of personal preference. Go with what pleases you.

I love the Keys, I have been going down there since we worked as bartender hoppers one spring back in 76', well at least 20 years ago I did. I hadn't been down through there for about 15 years and took a road trip from our place in Charlotte Harbor about 5 years and was very disappointed. Back in the early 90's as soon as you went below Key Largo it was like getting off the airplane on the islands. No chain restaurants, really not commercialized at all. It was actually hard to believe we were in North America. Since then McDonald's and everything that goes with it. Sad to see. I wish everyone that visits for the first time could have experienced the Conch Republic how it was meant to be enjoyed. The place Jimmy sang about doesn't resemble the place you are going to visit. Don't get me wrong it is still beautiful just different now. If you don't enjoy seafood save yourselves the trip. You must get off the beaten path. Key West is the tourist trap. Be prepared to pay for it as well. Look at prices online. A small room for $300.00 a night downtown is normal. We stay in Little Deer Key for an efficiency and one bed, pool, for $275.00 a night 5 years ago, it is actually a fishing camp, a 5 minute walk to a canal and one can catch fish all day or cast from the boat dock. But you must beware of gators and poisonous snakes, this is there home, we are visitors. As for fishing you don't just get in a boat and go fishing, this is serious water for serious boaters, there are seadoo and small boat rentals but I would recommend small boating on the Gulf side vs. The Atlantic unless on a small bay. Licenses are required for fishing and regulations are strictly enforced. You must know what is in season as well as the sizes you may keep or not. Equipment and bait is available on charters which is your best bet and can be had for half day outings. You don't just throw off your shoes and socks and wade into the water to fish like we do up north here. Stepping on a Stingray can have serious and sometimes fatal results. The best deep sea fishing is in Islamorada, it is the best in the entire world including Cabo in Mexico. Some of the best beaches are in KW. You must go to the KW aquarium where you can pick up a baby nurse shark, if you would enjoy that type of thing. I was going to recommend a oyster place that has been there for 80 years but I read no oysters. They have 2 things on the menu oysters and cold beer. This is the place that Hemingway would have spent more time in than the house they say was his. Everyone says their hotel is where he ate, slept, drank, wrote so they can charge you for it. On the way down don't be afraid to get off to the small keys. I have been to so many over the years that you can't see them all in one month, so I'll keep it to one can't miss place. Little Deer Key and Deer key. There is a restaurant hole in the wall kind of place we love. It was a stop over spot for fishing boats to load up on ice at the turn of the century. A favorite place of Dwight D. Eisenhower I believe. Ask for the place with the dollar bill wallpaper. The best burger I have had in the states. On Little Key there is a State Park that has walkways into the mangroves where you can observe big gators in the wild, keep a close eye on them if they are anywhere near an egret. And have your camera ready, the teens will think it's a blast. The best beach is Bahia Honda State park. As for Key West being a destination for gays, yes it is. That shouldn't deter any mature person. I love Provincetown as well, very educational when your 18 years old to say the least. As for going down to the Keys in the summer, you had better enjoy wet heat. Yes forget makeup and bring a hat. I have been to Cuba for work in July, and Finland in December. I wouldn't go to either place during those extreme climates unless paid to do so, and paid well I must add. My goodness I just wrote a travel blog, time to give it a rest. Enjoy, I just wish everyone could have enjoyed the way it was meant to be without the Walgreens and Wallmart, and in January. This post was edited by SouthernCanuck on Sat, May 4, 13 at 4:08

The key west looks nice in the photo, and I am sure it looks even more beautiful in person. I echo what others say, your cabinets are really nice and warm. The chosen stain makes the grain really stand out, which is lovely, even if it is not exactly what you might have chosen. I also echo the comments to work with what you have - does this counter really compliment your cabinets? That is generally the wow factor from counters. I can see the dark part of the counter pulling out the dark in the grain. I think it could be lovely. But, totally unsolicited, have you considered something lighter that might brighten the kitchen complimenting some of the warmer lighter tones of the cabinets? You reference that the walls and floors are dark and lighter counter could be a really gorgeous contrast, especially if it has bits and swirls of the darker colors or even some gold. I imagine something with a cream/white background (or whatever works with the oak stain.) I have seen a couple of oak kitchen face lifts and they have had lighter counters and it has really made it look fresh. That said - I don't think you could go wrong with what you have picked. It sounds like you love it - congrats!

Oh, butterflies, birdies and green plants look so good at this time when the weather is so terrible in most of the country. I planted some Sweet Pea, Knee-Hi Dwarf seeds in one of my planter boxes yesterday, just to see some new growth in spring. I just know that we can get through this terrible season, drought, ice, snow etc... Hang in there and move forward.