A few suggestions (plants not specific as don't know where you are) ... Think I would paint door, door frame & posts just white. Shutters, one of the greyed teals. Explore color on one of the paint mfg. websites where you can upload photo (a better one w/ less shadows) and see changes ... like @ Valspar.com.

I was wrong about the number I originally planted per square foot... it was four, not 10 (which I believe is what the guidance says), but they have grown much thicker now and I know I need to do something about them. What's the difference between June bearing and day neutral? They started producing in May and fizzled by early July so I'd guess that means June bearing (although I have gotten the occasional blossom and wimpy little strawberry since then and even now. Maybe I have two different types? I don't foresee myself buying new plants (at least not now), I'd like to be able to thin mine out and maybe a new set up this fall. I wonder if I'd be able to tell the difference between the two types... my guess is the Lowes strawberries are better stock than the 'random hanging basket' strawberries. I think the Lowes plants are the ones that produced the bigger/thicker runners (as I recall my hanging basket having thinner runners before I planted them all together. Maybe if I can reduce my number of plants to just the Lowes plants plus any runners I can have an overall better stock for next year. Now that I talked myself through that (LOL), my real question is how to plant them... leave them in my SFG? Get one of those strawberry towers? Arrange mini raised rows with window planters to keep them contained and easier to pick?

It has been a few years since some long discussions here on GW re the various uses of cornmeal in the garden. Lots of information to be gleaned. Do a search on the entire Forum using titles such as "cornmeal fungus" or "cornrmeal as a weed killer" or "cornmeal and southern blight" or "cornmeal experiments". These should lead you back to prior discussions and aid in understanding the subject.

Well... I'm a minority of one here... 37 years ago I started on our old house & I'm still going. I've done pretty much everything myself (yes, up to code) so I know what I've done in the past and how it's held up. Wood filler absolutely does not last under outside paint. Period. (The book "Wood" might be a good starting point to explain why.) Basically, wood moves. Filler does not. Starting to see the problem here? I did it and after 10 years or so it started falling out.. oops. Yes, caulk works. But you have to keep applying thin layers forever to get around the shrinkage problem. DAP used to have an elastomeric filler... it was basically thick caulk, so the shrinkage problem was still there, but not as hard to build up. Wood glued in place is probably ideal, but it can be hard or impossible to get a piece that fits the damaged portion tightly. Use an aliphatic resin glue (yellow wood glue) - it gives a little so it can handle the wood shrinking and expanding. You can try a thin layer of caulk for better adhesion, followed by filler immediately, while the caulk is wet. The layer of embedded caulk gives enough it may keep the filler from coming loose. Whatever you do, you need to apply a layer of wood hardener first if the wood is weathered- ie. gray. At that point the lignin- the glue that holds the wood fibers together- is gone, so whatever you put in the hole will come loose, still attached to those weak wood fibers. Lacquer-based hardeners (Minwax) work ok; if you want it to be as strong as the original wood, use epoxy that's made for the purpose (Abatron). It's thin so it soaks into the wood nicely and leaves it stronger than the original. Then fill. Good luck! And the guy who said wood filler would come loose... he was dead on.