It is hard to tell from your posting whether the trees have been in the ground for a number of years or if they are newly planted. If they have been there for a while, then watering MAY not be the problem. Check around the roots and see if it is especially dry. Mulching would help keep whatever moisture there may be at the root level, to do some good, since I am assuming that it's more likely to be dry than wet. If it doesn't seem to be moisture that is the problem, I would take a few branches/twigs/leaves to your county extension agent - look in the phone book under state or county agencies - and see what they can tell you. You can also take them to a GOOD nursery, if there is such in your area, and try to talk to the manager/owner. If you talk to one of the employees, they MAY not know anything - I would be slightly suspicious of any response that immediately tries to sell you "this great product", although, in fairness, you may need one or the other of the products! If the trees are newly planted (within the past year), then probably, since you say you are in drought conditions again, they need more water. You can save the water that you run in the kitchen or bath faucets, waiting for the hot water to get there, and use that for watering - I would use most of a bucket on only a few plants, rather than a bit on all of them, as that way the whole root system will get wet. If you can't do that, then I can't think of what else it might be of use - posting a photo would help.

Buehl, thank you so much for doing that alternate layout for me. It really helps to see it. I actually really like the way it looks (although I might move the wine tower to the south wall or ditch it). It allows the less attractive range and ovens to be out of the direct sightline and lets me have the back wall full of tall cabinets and appliances like in my first design. The funny thing is, as much as I like it aesthetically, it might not work as well for us. I expect the aisle between the north wall and the island will be a prime traffic area, especially if kids and guests have to walk to the far east end of the kitchen, past the range, to get drinks from the fridge. The east wall is probably a more protected spot for cooking at the range, and keeping the ovens in the southeast corner means they will not open into the middle of a major traffic path. Cheril27, my preference is to stand on the north side of the island while prepping, so I am facing south, but can easily look west into the other room. The sink may actually force me to work on the south side of the island where there is a longer, unbroken expanse of counter. I know GWers really like prep sinks, and I can see it being useful occasionally, but I also see it being in my way a lot, which is why I wanted to tuck it into a corner. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by moving the sink to the middle of the island. Do you mean moving it further down the north side, like where I show the trash pullout or drawers, or move it the center of the shorter east end? I figured having the prep sink on the south side of the island across from the big sink would be pointless, since the 2 sinks would not be very spaced out then. I do occasionally look for Gagg ovens on ebay. I noticed several GWers comment in other posts that the Gagg warranties do not start until install, but MIL was told by the person who handles sales of BSH appliances to employees that the warranties for Gagg, Thermador and Bosch start running when they are delivered to us, even if they sit in the garage for 5 months waiting to be installed. Thanks for reminding me about the 18" wine towers. I originally wanted one to the far right of the sink, since it would be very convenient to the dining room, but DH hates the idea of a 24" deep tall appliance in that spot. If he is standing at the clean-up sink, he does not want a "big, hulking thing" right next to him and blocking the view into the next room (never mind that there is a support wall there anyway). Sandn, what kind of prep sink do you have and where did you buy it? Breezygirl, I appreciate the feedback because it makes me think. Right now, I cook a few meals on weekends, and re-heat leftovers or take out on work nights. We do want to start cooking more though. It is funny to me how many times I have been told the prep spaces in my various plans are small, because to us, they are huge compared to what we have worked with the past decade. I do want to get things right with this kitchen though, as I hope we are in this house for many, many years. DH is so upset with me that I can't just pick one of the many design possibilities we have discussed and just stick with it. He tells me it will never be perfect (because I can't fit what I really want in our space) and I should just be happy with 85% perfect and move on with my life. We have always made whatever kitchen we have work, so he doesn't get why I am stressing over the best possible layout (despite the large amount of $ it will cost and the fact that we plan to live here for 20+ years). DH is really pressuring me to go with the revised design I posted yesterday and not make any more changes, even little ones that don't affect our appliance order like swapping the DW position. He is getting very upset with me for re-visiting design decisions that he considers have already been made. He thinks I am flooding our unborn child with negative stress hormones because of this remodel and agonizing over decisions. He said this morning we should either go with the design I already have (no more changes) or put a complete moratorium on kitchen design (i.e., I can't shop, discuss, or even think about (LOL) the kitchen) for at least 5 months. Of course, if we delay, we lose the 40% discount on appliances. Like I am not stressed out enough without ultimatums. The kitchen design started out as a fun research project and has just become a miserable task. The custom cabinet guy called me yesterday afternoon to see if he could pick up some magazine pictures I had mentioned and to see if I have made any decisions. At the time, I was feeling pretty good about my design (with the changes to the island) so I agreed to meet with him today (in about 1 hour). He will give me 3-D color renderings of my design and a quote for the cabinetry. If I keep making changes, he will also think I am nuts. The last kitchen design we did with him was much easier. It was a smaller kitchen with a decent layout, so we decided not to move the appliances more than a few inches to save costs. I did one sketch of the cabinets showing exactly how wide and tall I wanted everything, and that was it. Having a blank slate is so much harder.

How about brushed/satin SS? I have brushed Nickel and really like it, but I would also be OK with brushed SS. We all have preferences and opinions - to me, polished reminds of the cheap chrome faucets in restrooms - as BreezyGirl said, no offense meant to anyone else's preferences (sorry BreezyGirl). I find "brushed" or "satin" finishes hide water spots, etc. better than polished.

RE: the inspiration white kitchen with ORB pulls, an article says the fridge is one the "other side of the island" ...? "with its oversized, four-stool island, eat-in breakfast niche, petite butlers pantry, and large walk-in pantry" and "Although spacious kitchens are now commonplace, kitchen designer Robin Amorello of Atmoscaper Design was pleasantly surprised when she received the plans for the Laughlin kitchen. "The family can do a lot of living in that kitchen," says Amorello. Still, the space forced her to make a compromise on one of the basic tenets of sound kitchen design�the "work triangle" created between the refrigerator, sink, and stove. "When we realized that the fridge would need to be on the other side of the island," says Amorello, "I broke the space into work stations rather than a work triangle." "