No arguement here, but I think another equally important principle is "Give me an adequate budget to work with for your design/installation, and I hope you don't mind if we end up going over it in the interest of more "unity"! A little more seriously, I do find that estimating the costs to put the garden in is the most difficult thing in designing, and love the luxury of doing things as time and materials rather than having to bid the project. I am finding this with my latest project, where a $25,000 budget seemed more than adequate at the start, but I am wishing we had an extra $5,000 right about now, and will probably need to scale back some of the hardscape elements or detailing to remain on budget, after all the planting and irrigation is already in. Maybe the 9' by 18' open wood arbor can become a sun umbrella over the table, and the 7' square slate over concrete 18" tall raised planter can become wood, and the saw cut existing concrete patio with proposed grouted mexican black pebbles as a 6" design inlay can be done instead with a different concrete stain color? How I wish all my clients didn't choke when contractor estimates come in 50% over budget to implement my designs. Definitely it helps to keep current with construction costs for your local market, and always estimate on the high side. I probably would have done okay with this project if I had accounted for the terrible weed problem of Oxalis pes-capri infesting the garden, and the consequent need to use heavy duty weed fabric in all planting beds to compensate. This alone drives up the hours to plant by 100%, if not more... When I first saw the raw garden, the weed problem did not look to have millions of these devilish bulbs everywhere... Sorry if I highjacked your thread, Tony, we may now get back to the regularly programmed "Aristotle unity" theme.

I have a 18 year old cat who was diagnosed with senile dementia 3 yr.s ago. After multiple trips to the vet for what I was sure was a UTI as she stopped peeing in the litter box. She'll poop in it but that is it. And it must be scooped immediately upon the poopy drop. My solution was to get pee pads (the human kind-they are better) I buy them by the caseload and I'm sure Costco thinks I have a real issue for someone my age-Ha! I Fold in half and tuck the loose end under the litterbox so there is about 10 inches of doubled soft pad for her to do her business on. And I replace as soon as I see it's soiled. Usually 2x a day. Also, cat is on valium to quiet her nightime howling like she's a b***h in heat episodes. and if she gets really loud, well I can take one myself! I know it's getting to be time, but she's not in pain-just nuts. Of And i swtiched to the domed litterbox too, but I actually put it in the bathtub of an unused bathroom so if by chance there are any "oops" I can just clean & wash it out. MUCH better, works for crazy old kitty & works for me. It has stopped the accidents. For some reason she likes to pee on the pads. And for pet stains & odors get "natures miracle" This stuff works great, I even use it for laundry stains as it is an enzyme based cleaner. I buy a big jug and keep some in a spray bottle. It works great on just about any type of stain. The vet & I can't figure it out. Cats are odd creatures. ~Cat ;0)

Thanks everyone for your great comments! Buehl, love your idea but sadly, no, I can not close up that window. It is the window to the street, the porch and I love it. Even if I didn't love it the Historic Preservation people would never let me get rid of it. So it stays. It sounds like you all agree adding the fourth counter makes it too small. What if the counter was 18 inches instead of 24? Would 6 inches help much? I still need storage underneath. Bmorepanic - you are not the first to propose cutting down the other side. A second designer I hired suggested cutting that down to a 15-18 inch pantry only (pantry for dishes, not food - food pantry has a good home) floor to ceiling piece of furniture painted a different color. I actually love the idea but here's the rub...that counter is totally our favorite place to work. Our dishes are in the uppers there and that works with where the d/w is...we hate to mess with that part of the space. I am thinking I could make something that was a pantry-like cabinet but still had a counter...not as deep but we could still prep over there... and keep the 24 under the other window. My husband and I don't love the bigger counter moved to under "street" window because it is weird to face the street while you are prepping...and at night the blind comes down and that is even more strange. At the other counter you are facing whoever is sitting at the counter so that seems a happier place to work. Our goal in adding the counter under the window was to have a place to plate the food out of the oven. We also have to have room to store: all kitchen gizmos, pots and pans (we have alot) but I think we could also hang some. I would also love to have a spice drawer, pull out pantry for oils, and a tray storage. Am I high to think I can get all of that in? I know if I go shorter than 20inches it won't happen. Ugh! I can tweek my plan now but I have to decide by Monday if the counter under the "street" window is 24 inches or less. If it is going to be 24 inches then I have to reconfigure the garden window so the sink can be centered. If it is under 24 inches then I can tell my GC to center the garden window and take another week to figure it all out. But not much more. I would love to hear more ideas - it is so helpful to get input from people who understand kitchens as opposed to someone who designs kitchens. My guy threw boxes and uppers everywhere and now I fear I am cooking in a space the size of an airplane bathroom. Here is a link that might be useful: amacs renovation blog

It does depend on the nitrogen source, but in any case it's too late. If urea, that was flipped over to available ammonia 48 hours after it was watered in--soil bacteria then started to flip it to nitrates. Ammonium nitrate and the like would have been available as soon as it watered in. Watered in Saturday, it was available no later than Monday (and urea's curve is such that most of it's available in as little as 24 hours, so Sunday). Now, Tuesday, it's far too late to do anything about it if it burns. Flush it out, rescue what you can, and regroup once the weather starts to change if he needs to reseed.