Ok, First, thanks all for taking an interest in my post and offering ideas and opinions. I agree with most of the points made above. For some more context, my sister plans on staying in this house for the next 6 or 7 years then selling. I think a well done cottage style garden packed full of perennials would look amazing with this house and would match my sisterâÂÂs taste. However, neither her nor my bother-in-law are going to be interested in (or do) the upkeep required to keep up any complex gardens. Their goal is to give the front of the house some appeal that they will enjoy and will be an asset when they sell. A large well placed swath of low maintenance ground cover, coupled with some grasses, shrubs or trees that need minimal attention once established are probably a realistic solution for their needs. The window boxes will also work and can be easily cared for. I agree if they were planning on staying in this house long term, and had an interest in getting out in the dirt and gardening, the only limit to what they should do is what makes them happy. I think in this case, what is going to make them happy is finding some low care plantings that will improve the appearance of their home from the street, and be appealing to 8 out of 10 people. (as trite as that may be, ha ha)

I enjoyed your pictures, both the Centennial Parade and the zoo. Have you seen the series on Animal Planet about meeerkats? Of course, right now I can't remember its name, but the animals live in large groups and it's almost like a soap opera!

the roots were used in root beer at one time.....now they just make it synthetically

I would say Ponytail Palm too. Botanical name is Beaucarnea recurvata. Don't know how old it is, but the one in the picture is definitely an older plant which is probably taken inside every year. I think I have seen these at Wal-mart & Lowe's the bulbs on smaller plants are usually about an inch across wheres as some of the bigger ones I have seen are 3-5 inches across. I recently saw one of these in the palm house at the San Antonio Botanical garden that would make this one look like a seedling. It was HUGE!! Really neat to see. Hope you find one, it is a very easy plant to grow.