My ex didn't want me to get this birdbath and it is one of the things that was the final straw in our marriage. Actually the other thing was three round bales of hay. That was nine years ago. When I had this birdbath on the other side of my creek before I moved the garden over here, I had Ranuculas around it which looked really pretty. When I get my new bare root roses through the mail, the roses get put in the bird bath prior to planting. All the large rainfall last Summer killed my perianals around the birdbath. I will have to get some more My girls put this statue in the birdbath some years ago, the lady is nursing a baby and I thought it was appropiate. Too bad about her neck or head and I haven't repaired it yet.

The sundial garden idea sounds wonderful. I'm in 7b of NC and grow a full sun (10 hours a day in summer) garden. Happy Returns daylily is now blooming for the 3rd or 4th time (I've lost count). The yellow IMHO is prettier than the gold in Stella. Salvia 'Mystic Spires' looks fantastic with soft yellow, deep pinks and soft orange colors. Mine have been blooming nonstop for so long, the foliage is gorgeous and there are more buds forming. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies love it. This is my first year, so I don't know how well it overwinters, but I have high hopes. An evergreen for zone 7b are the salvia greggii varieties. There are many colors -- magenta, cherry red, bright red, deep purple, fuschia, white, etc. They have a shrub-like habit that reaches around 3' for most of them. I am very fond of 'Dark Dancer'. Hummingbirds love them. Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' is a large-leaved variety that takes slightly more moisture, but is still in full sun all the time in my garden. This is THE favorite for our hummingbirds, so we have 15 of these! I love gaillardia 'Golden Goblin' which is a soft yellow blanket flower. Just make sure you buy it in bloom, or you may end up with the standard gold/burgundy ones. Gaillardia 'Tizzy' is an orange, but it is an incredibly great blooming plant with interesting petals. This is my first year with these, but blanket flower usually returns for me. Coreopsis 'Redshift' is a fantastic, upright coreopsis with abundant blooms. It is pale yellow with a deep red center that coordinates perfectly with Gaillardia 'Burgundy'. I plan to eventually put this pair with the salvia 'mystic spires'. Nepeta 'Walkers Low' is my "go to" plant for frilly foliage and blue-lavender blooms. You only need one. You can divide it every year. Perennial heliotrope (now a Southern Living plant and is carried by Lowe's) is my "go to" edging plant/ground cover. It blooms all the time until frost and nothing bothers it. Another great bee and butterfly plant. Again, you only need one of these to cover 5 feet and can take cuttings in the future. I'm also a big fan of agastache. Just pick a color and size that you like for your zone. I find the small-leaved foliage (rupestris) with tubular flowers look better for a longer time than the larger-leaved, bottle-brush flowers such as 'blue fortune'. I'm trying 'Summer Sky' this year and do hope it returns as it is shorter and looks a lot like spires of salvia. Another hummingbird favorite. Verbena bonariensis is my favorite skinny plant to tuck in. It can grow over 4' tall, but you can keep cutting it and it will keep on blooming, only getting bushier. A goldfinch, butterfly and bee magnet. Will reseed, but I like it so much that I help it reseed by scattering it. Shrub crape myrtles can take 3 years to give you great blooms, but I love them. I have a 'White chocolate' with burgundy foliage and white blooms. It would look great beside a Knock Out rose (I have 'Radrazz' but can't put the roses outside my fence because of deer). I also use spirea 'neon flash' with the salvia 'dark dancer', pink muhly grass, echinacea 'prairies splendor' and monarda 'blue stockings' and 'raspberry wine'. Monarda takes more moisture than the others. Dianthus (Cottage Pinks) are in full sun, in a harsh spot in my garden, too. Finally, zinnias love full sun. I am growing the tall varieties with the tall salvia 'black & blue' and the shorter salvia 'mystic spires'. I like 'Purple Prince' with the salvias. For fall blooms, look into sedums such as 'Great Expectations', 'Purple Emperor' and 'Bekka'. I have these and love them. I like the annual purple fountain grass with the salvias, zinnias and sedums. Mums do well in my garden, too. I keep them pinched back until July 4th. Right now, mine are beautifully mounded and loaded with buds. I saw the first bloom today. I like them with my sedums. If you want some herbs, lavender, rosemary, thyme and oregano will work, too. For spring bulbs, I use daffodils, spanish bluebells and Dutch irises. Cameron Here is a link that might be useful: my gardening blog

What makes me say "wow" when I see others' kitchens is if they look real, lived-in, have their personality. My kitchen, 2.5 years after its remodel, is more WOW today than it was in my "after" pics because now you know who lives there and that we really *live* there. Nothing about us is for show -- we are for comfort and function. There are doo-dads which are pretty, sure, but our kitchen works for us, baby! I have and will always love rhome's kitchen because it is warm, inviting and tells you so much about who lives there. I don't know her at all but I feel as if I do based on her kitchen. And I like what I see! I do have the delight and pleasure of knowing cat_mom and I feel the exact same way about her kitchen -- it's insanely gorgeous, and that's her. (she happens to be gorgeous herself!) She is sleek and modern and she looooves her cats, and it shows in her kitchen. Her kitchen (home) is also a space which is inviting and makes guests feel comfortable. That's my definition of wow. I'm excited for your project!

Sorry about the missing windows in my plans - we left them off because we are undecided about placement. There is one now above the tub that needs to be replaced, and we also want to add one in the toilet area. Chisue, we know moving windows isn't cheap. But given what we expect to spend on this we want to make the space work right. The exterior is siding which is also badly in need of replacement. Everything is 30 years old. Right now the balcony is a wasted space. We need storage not a sitting area, or office/library space. There are 2 other bedrooms - one is on the other side of the master bath - 10 x 12 or so. The other is on the front side of the house and is much larger. On my proposed plan with the angles that everyone seems to hate, the bathroom door,entry door and closet doors were all in the same corner. I thought that was good to allow someone to get ready for work without disturbing the other sleeper. Funny thing is that I keep hearing/reading that angled walls create wasted space, but in this case they seem to work pretty well - a lot better IMO than the floating bed idea with the "hallway" between the bed and closets (which were both drawn on the balcony wall with separate entrances. There may be some wasted space, but it sure seems to make the remaining space more functional.