Deer resistant ... that makes it a little harder. BTW - have you seen the motion-detecting sprinkler things? Just in case you fall in love with something that isn't deer-resistant. Do you need/want year everything to look good year round? I think that deer are the hungriest in the winter, so maybe if some of your plantings were perennials that died back in the winter it would let you have more options for summer color, and even let you have more light in the windows in the winter. Heuchera (Coral bells) are a nice plant that have really pretty foliage, you could mass several of them for blobs of color. There are purple and chartreuse versions (and other leaf colors as well). They are hardy to zone 4 - since you said dogwood struggle to make it through winter I'm guessing you are in a cold spot in 5, so looking for zone 4 plants would give you a better safety net against frigid winters. Ferns would contrast nicely with the coral bells because they have that arching shape with fine cut leaves, while coral bells are low mounded plants with round leaves. So you'd get nice texture difference there. I'd plant daffodils among the coral bells so you'd have some spring blooms before the coral bells really leaf out (they have flowers as well, but they're tiny). Daffodils are pretty deer resistant because they're toxic to deer. Also toxic to dogs, but I think most dogs know that. I had a beagle that ate a bag of tulip bulbs but he never touched the bag of daffodil bulbs. I'm still struggling with the area between the windows - I can't think of any tall, spiky plants that will be decent height and are either deer resistant or die down to nothing in the winter. Your house doesn't seem to want an arbor - the architecture is all clean lines as opposed to ornamentation (IMHO an English cottage garden would look really out of place there). I'm still loving the idea of using the dark backdrop of your house color as a stage for something white. What about paper birch? Again, it's a tree, so you'd need to plant it away from the house. But they are hardy all the way into Maine, they're beautiful white trunks would look great against the house in winter, and the multi-trunked ones are almost sculptural. They aren't a plant that deer favor, either. One last (possibly crazy) idea. I know it might look weird to have a foundation planting and then a single tree out in front of it. It could look like the tree had been "voted off the island" by the perennials. But what if you made the bed a wide triangle shape? It would echo the shape of the roof there - as if the gable end of the house was mirrored onto the ground in plantings. That would let you put something tall in between those windows without it having to be a shrub. On the flip side, that kills the idea of the big white hydrangea tree on the corner. I really do like the sketch you have so far, I'm just thinking of other options in case you were thinking, "I like this, but what else could I possibly do with the space?"

Virginia Beach Weather and Climate Chart - Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), USA The following are the normal daily temperature ranges for Virginia Beach: Maximum Minimum Virginia Beach weather in January 8°C / 46°F -4°C / 25°F Virginia Beach weather in February 10°C / 50°F -2°C / 28°F Virginia Beach weather in March 15°C / 59°F 2°C / 36°F Virginia Beach weather in April 21°C / 70°F 7°C / 45°F Virginia Beach weather in May 25°C / 77°F 12°C / 54°F Virginia Beach weather in June 30°C / 86°F 17°C / 63°F Virginia Beach weather in July 31°C / 88°F 20°C / 68°F Virginia Beach weather in August 31°C / 88°F 19°C / 66°F Virginia Beach weather in September 27°C / 81°F 15°C / 59°F Virginia Beach weather in October 22°C / 72°F 8°C / 46°F Virginia Beach weather in November 16°C / 61°F 3°C / 37°F Virginia Beach weather in December 10°C / 50°F -1°C / 30°F It doesn't seem hot enough to grow st augustine long period of the year. They don't typically start growing rapidly till overnights hit over 60*F and daytime over 80*F. Where did you get st augustine sprigs? In your town? If so, how did it look round year?

I guess there are no takers.

Hi all. We met with our house designer today. The goods and the bads. Bonus - he was able to give me another foot on the fridge wall (yay) so that helps with the blind corner (I want to close it off to preserve drawers) and the pantry was also enlarged which will allow for my small chest freezer. The overall kitchen dimension is 9' x 15'. The 'it will have to do': pantry is still around the corner. I think it will be okay. It will keep my peeps out of the sink/stove area. They will access pantry for cereal and snacks and the fridge is right there out of my work zone. I could get creative and have the kitchen side cabs open to the pantry and put the cereal and most used items there - how fun would that be? Because that wall backs to pantry I can also recess the cabs and fridge if I need them deeper as well. The MW has to go on that wall...and they are deeper than 12". I am feeling much relieved as this last draft that he did for us (he already sent it because our changes were few and to other parts of the house) is 99% on. We are still studying it though. :) I will post this latest draft with a few questions and see what you all think. There are 2 main things I am contemplating. One is the cupboard pantry reach through (I think dh would think that is CRAZY) but I think it may be a perfect compromise. Would that be something that is super expensive to do? The other is still trying to fit in this sort of thing. It is Michelle16's and she has a fridge and pantry flanking whereas I'd have just the fridge to the right and a corner would be on the left. I have 4' to play with there from fridge to where corner would start. I will try to post the new layout tonight but it may not be until tomorrow! Thanks. Lisa