On another thread recently, a regular poster here did a *:facepalm:* which perfectly expresses my feelings when I see "window boxes" in posts about landscaping. Honestly, spare yourself. How the heck would you water the things, and if you could they'd drip on your cars... Ditto for clematis up the posts. Very romantic - in summer - but have you ever seen clematis in winter? And they do grow INTO eaves; they do not naturally curve out and go over the roof. Ask me how I know. Blank slates, big or small, are daunting until you start fleshing out the parameters and constraints you face, which can be best done by looking really hard at function. In this case, these include preservation of sight lines, shade and sun preferences, and property lines, both on the ground and in the air. So for example, you want shade on your son's room - so put a tree in spot A. But choose a tree that does not make an overwhelming mess nor spread or seed excessively (hint to my neighbours: not a Norway Maple). You want some screening probably just at a certain spot when people are looking from a certain height to a certain height. A wall of green may not be necessary to block this - perhaps three columnar evergreens, either upright or droopy or some of each. The property line looks like it is a huge issue to me. It looks to me as if your neighbour will want to have walkable space next to that boat, and will step on your plants if they don't have it. Having had my fill of neighbour issues, I personally would either leave that area for them to do something with, or do it in flagstone with ground cover or in brick - end of story. Then it's space you can use to weed or prune your plants too. Legal issues aside, it just has to work on a day to day basis. Now, the next step is debatable depending on whether you DIY or are having this done for you. You see, a designer always has to do a plan in advance and then get approval and work to it, because the designer then goes away. If you are DIY, you have the luxury of feeling your way through this, because you're always going to be there. And plants can be moved. In other words, the designer has to get it right first time. In contrast, you get to make a few mistakes, and change your mind. Yes, it can cost an extra few dollars, but if you get it mostly right, not that much. First maybe you address a boulder(s). If your husband is a rock person, I'd go along with this, because I am one and I know that when you need rocks, you need rocks. If you don't get your rock, you suffer from rock envy, which can make a person grumpy. Go rock shopping together (or watch craigslist or your local construction sites for free ones). Next, you go plant shopping. You get a few plants. You may find tall slender evergreens among them - there are some great junipers in this category (also some great ground-hugging junipers for the front end of the driveway) and some amazing drooping spruces. You argue about where to put them, and then you go back to the nursery a few weeks later and get a few more (lots of new stock coming in through the season, don' t just go once). Then you plant and live with it. Move it around if something isn't right (in the fall, not in the summer). (It is already actually a little late to plant without being sure of watering adequately this first summer - be aware of that). You might find yourself picking up a few new plants as the weeks or months, or years, go by. In a way, though, all my advice is only going to lead you to one key realization: what you and your husband each want is not incompatible. There's plenty of room on that strip for both of you. KarinL

One of the first things I ever wintersowed - about 7 years ago now? (I think, I've lost track) was a coreopsis grandiflora (don't know the specific cultivar) that Trudi sent me seeds for. Every year I looked forward to their cheery yellow blooms in Buzzard's Bay - keeping them deadheaded kept the bloom cycle going nearly all summer. When I moved to the southeast two weeks ago, I started a pot of seeds from those original plants - coreopsis is one of the most beautiful "workhorses", IMO - they require very little care, don't get a lot of insects and diseases, and take heat and drought well. They are coming up nicely - the beat goes on!

Happy New Year Phoggie! Ok, question, do you have to decide now, or can you wait until the kitchen is installed? Sometimes seeing it all together is what is necessary to make that decision. Which of the choices do YOU like when you see everything together? I'm not sure if the 1x1 tiles are the way to go, they may compete too much with your granite. I think a small cream subway with a matching grout would give you a simple look overall vs a busy look if you did a contrasting grout. Wish you could post pictures. Have you read Buehl's primer on posting pics? It is easy. You can do it! Bee

I'd vote for the basketweave (and not just because I used the floral on the wall in my kitchen). Mosaics generally aren't slippery - the grout lines make them grippier than a lot of large(r) format tiles. I have these crappy white 6x6's in every bathroom in this house (ugh) and you could like to kill yourself on those with wet feet. The issue with the floral is that onyx can be fragile. I got a pretty decent lot, but I also hand inspected every single sheet, removed the "uglies" and used two sheets to replace the rejected pieces. The marble also has some very distinct gray (which does not appear in your limestone) but does appear in my Corian, so I'm not bothered by it. And yes, I did use bright white grout and no, I would never use traditional white sanded grout on a bathroom floor. At a tile shop you'd likely have more choices in the white/cream family. I just think that overall the basketweave is a stronger choice for your space. If you got a very grey lot of the floral you'd be even more behind on tile - and stuck with it to boot. Lisa