Around here, most people have lawn services and gardeners, none of whom speak English, so it's kind of hard to ask. There are two or three people who do their own work, and we always chat when we see each other out working. The yards are not large (only 1/2 acre) so you can see most of them from the street. This season, I reclaimed a narrow strip alongside the driveway where a couple of trees had to be removed. Man, what a job! I couldn't dig out all of the root systems, but I managed to do a decent job. Since I spend most of the summer working right out by the street, I ended up speaking with everyone who walks by. Apparently, the progress of my garden has become the topic of discussion for the whole neighborhood! I was happy to explain my game plan to anyone who stopped, and I was rewarded by having divisions left on my front stoop by a couple of neighbors. Very nice. I never thought about asking to tour a garden. I'm basically very shy in general. A couple of people here mentioned that gardening is a great time to be alone, communing with nature and relaxing. I've also found that to be true. I treasure my time in the garden, especially since our world has changed so drastically in the last several years. We don't have plant thieves, but there are people who recently moved in across the street who seem to think that the back of the yard next to them is fair game for dumping. They are very well aware that the property belongs to someone else because the man grew up in that house, and moved in a few months ago after his father passed away. I don't think that the elderly lady who owns it is aware that this is going on. I thought I'd tell her and offer to put up "Private Property - No Dumping" signs. To confront the people directly might be dangerous - long story. I guess it takes all kinds. orcuttnyc - your yard is lovely! Very natural, just the way I like it. I don't know what the purple flowers are, but if you ever find out, let us know. They look great with the daisies. I would never take cuttings without permission, but I'm not above pulling alongside one of the local roads and digging up "weeds" on town property. (Not privately owned, that is. I pay taxes, too!) One person's weeds are another person's native wildflowers, I always say! (LOL) But I do know better than to try this on the parkways. Those wildflowers alongside and on the medians of parkways serve a vital purpose in helping to filter noise and pollution. The natives growing on undeveloped land seem to fall below the radar of the local authorities. In fact, I'm not sure which department of government would have jurisdiction over weeds! Happy gardening, all!

muktowngal... Thank you (and others) for your complements. I think I'm around 480 varieties... a few duplicates, but still, under 500 total. The large garden in the panorama has most of the varieties in it... around 400. The neighbor...they moved in a year before us and the previous owners left them a few hosta. That S&S in the pic was a puny 1-eye and was not doing well. It's grown so much in the 5 years since we've been here. Almost all of their others were added around 2008-09. I gave them the Royal Standards in that pic, and a few others that are not in the photo. I plan to thin out a few of my duplicates and will probably give them some more, since they're willing takers! Both my neighbors are good about keeping a nice landscape and I'm thankful for that. My rear neighbor... not so much.

"How did you handle it if the final result wasn't what you expected? Did you eventually grow to like it?" Our kitchen was done in bit and pieces, not all at once, so it was easier to tweak things over time. That said, I'm responding because I did NOT like the initial result. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. The cabinets were not as I expected them to look and it really bothered me for awhile. I had the cabinet maker add trim, change drawer fronts and do other things to get it closer to what I had been expecting. It took months. We apparently had a miscommunication somewhere up front (like he had false advertising!). It didn't cost me anything but I had to be persistant. Over time I finally got the kitchen to where I am happy with it but it took about a year. It happens sometimes. You see people on here buying one light fixture after another, or ripping out a backsplash, or repainting an island. I changed the floor! So how did I handle it? I kept working at it until I DID like the result. Good Luck and Keep Your Chin Up.

My opinion on pot fillers. If the pot is too heavy to carry to the stove when the water is cold, I sure don't want to carry it to the sink when the water is boiling. For the effort/cost I don't need one. YMMV, though. I wish I had run my layout by gardenweb members for feedback. I wish I would have thought about a pull out cutting board. I haven't had one for about 30 years and had adapted. Would really like to have one again. The matt white Formica shows every speck of everything! Good, because I can wipe it off right away. Bad because if I haven't wiped it off right away everyone can see it. I live on a gravel road. I rarely use my a/c. Windows are open all the time. The FX stuff I originally planned might have been a better choice. Maybe next time. I do like the look of the white, though. I really hate my upper diagonals but I also hate the blind corner cabs. The more complicated pull down/out doesn't appeal to me. Problem still not solved. I don't like what I have but I don't like the other choices. I thought and thought about this and only came up with the three "I wishes", so all in all, my kitchen turned out pretty good. I am more than delighted to have the peninsula gone and every time I think about my new kitchen I suspect my face has the orgasm expression.