Edie...Funny story...last summer, Sean had some buddies over for a swim. His friends know where Sean's plant collection is--grouped together near the house by the pool. One of the guys decided to be a smart a--, and grabbed one of the smaller cacti in a pot and yelled to another guy in the pool, "let's play keep away from Sean...". Now mind you, these were all baseball players with pretty good arms... One of the other 'new' guys said "hey..throw it here" (he was in the pool-not knowing what kind of plant it was). Sean just stood there shaking his head and told them I don't think you want to do that...the kid threw the plant to the other kid, and he caught it mid-air about 30 feet away---along with a handful of thorns!!! OUCH!!!! I'll never forget the scream! Sean said "they'll never touch my plants again!!!" Yes, boys will be boys...

Thanks Lindsey- appreciate the feedback. I want to stay neutral and pick a waterline tile that is complimentary to both the coping and the water color. Because I don’t know yet which plaster color to use, I’m leaning towards whites/creams that are close in tone to the coping. My installer is great but they are hardly designers but with many years of experience they have made some suggestions.. unfortunately their style lean very warm and rustic (I’m in TX) with lots of rust tones, browns and royal blues, which is not my aesthetic at all and why I’m trying to pick materials myself.

Agree w/spicebush. A desirable shrub I allow to grow on my lot on unmowed areas. They like shade.

Everything looks so nice and well cared for, good use of color. I love the color of Miss Molly butterfly bush. Do you keep it outside in the container in your zone or do you have to pull it inside a garage or whatnot?