Teatree: Crassula perforata variegata. Fantastic. :) Thanks so much! The Haworthia fasciata - I did a search and found images that matched what I have, but also found images under Haworthia attenuata that match as well. Are the two similar enough that they can be confused? I'll keep looking. Thanks again. And Echeveria "Black Prince" sure seems to match as well. Thanks times three! :) Cactus: My apologies, when I said it's not a Tomentosa, I meant a Kalanchoe tomentosa. (Now I must look up the etymology of the word "tomentosa.") So, Cotlyedon tomentosa. I'll look that (and the suggested variations) up. And I believe a good, "Oh, that's right - I knew that!" is in order on the recent thread regarding Hylo cuttings. I'll go back and re-read that, and do some more digging (for info). Thanks! The little beanie-looking leaves came from something that looked somewhat like this: It was all spilling out of a hanging pot. What did I suggest at first, a sedum? Nevermind that. I knew it was a sede-semper-sedu-something. When I go back on Tuesday, I'll bring my camera and see if the owner will let me take some pictures. Thanks, all, for the comments and IDs! *CG*

Ada, Crape myrtles would be great if you don't mind that they are deciduous and you'd lose some of their screening in the fall thru spring. They do come in all different sizes, so be sure to select varieties that mature at the appropriate height, or you'll drive yourself crazy trying to keep them pruned back. You do know that many Crape Myrtles have powdery mildew issues, don't you? So, watch for the ones with resistance to powdery mildew bred into them--they are in a series with Native American names. One of my favorite is a purple-flowered one called "Catawba" that gets about 12' tall and 5' to 6' wide. "Tonto" is more the size you're looking for, maybe 8' to 10' tall and 5' wide and has gorgeous watermelon pink flowers. I might choose a holly like Berries Jubilee or Dazzler. Their deep green glossy leaves are so gorgeous, and the berries are just a bonus. Today's newer dwarf Nandinas never do as well as I think they will although some of the older common ones would be about the right height. My parents had a 5' to 6' tall and about 3' or 3.5' wide nandina (with the red berries)outside an east-facing window all our childhood and it is there still. It must be 40 to 50 years old. The newer dwarf varieties, though, seem to struggle more in drought and heat than that old standard one did. For a nandina that gives you a slightly different look, you could plant the yellow-berried one, which is Nandina domestica "Yellow Berried". There may be some named varieties with yellow berries, but all I've ever seen is the old common one. It gets about 6' tall. Is this a full sun location? If so, I'd be tempted to plant smallish trees like Chaste Tree (Vitex Agnus-Castus) or Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis--not a willow and not a desert plant either). Both are deciduous, but the Chaste Tree spreads out really wide and is multi-trunked. (You can prune it to a single trunk, but I don't.) It is lovely in and out of bloom, attracts butterflies and has lovely bluish flowers. Desert Willow comes in the standard native version that gets about 12' to 14' tall in about 5 to 7 years. It also is a multi-trunked tree and it has lilac blooms. There are shorter, wider named hybrid desert willows, like "Bubba", that have gorgeous blooms and are more shrubby than tree-like. Because they are natives, they are relatively easy to establish and shouldn't need supplemental watering after their first 2 to 3 years in the ground, unless you are suffering from exceptional drought. They also have few insect pests and I've never seen any disease symptoms on them. I adore Southern Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), which can be kept shrubby or pruned up tree form. It gets really tall and is very fast-growing. Mine grew about 15' in about 5 to 7 years, starting from 3-gallon plants. It obviously gets taller than what you're seeking, but I had to mention it because it is a top performer in our landscape. There is a dwarf version called, appropriately enough, Dwarf Southern Wax Myrtle, that gets 5' to 6' tall and it would make a nice screening plant. An underused shrub that has been around a long time and which forms an arching mound is Glossy Abelia. It has very tiny leaves and lots of very small white flowers that attract lots of bees. The tiny leaves are a dark green in summer and turn a sort of bronze-green in the cooler fall and winter months. Glossy Abelia gets about 5' wide and 5' tall although I don't know if it is an especially fast grower. The cultivar "Edward Goucher" is ever-so-slightly smaller, about 4' tall and wide and it has pink flowers. If you have soil that holds moisture well, then you might like Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus), commonly referred to as sweet shrub due to its lovely aroma. It is not show-stoppingly lovely in appearance--just an average-looking shrub, but the fragrance is nice. Another under-utilized shrub is Black Kerria, also known as white kerria or black jetbead. It is Rhodotypos scandens and is fast-growing, and likes any well-drained soil. It actually is a member of the rose family and is an arching type of shrub that gets about 6' to 8' tall and not quite as wide. It has small, single, white flowers in midspring. There's also Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica) and the one you usually see in nurseries is an old variety with double flowers (yellow) called "Pleniflora". It is a sort of gangly, arching shrub and it is unusual in that it blooms very well in almost total shade. In a partly shaded location, you can grow another shrub that is not especially common, but which is uncommonly lovely. It is called American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and it has unusual violet-colored berries that grow in clusters on the stems...spaced sort of like this: leaf, berry cluster, leaf, berry clusterm leaf, berry cluster. It is deciduous, but the berries hang onto the branches for a long time. We have them growing here in our woods in everything from morning sun/afternoon shade to almost full shade. If you want more of a lush, green, tropical look, you could plant canna lilies and the very large-leaved green elephant ears that get about 5' tall. The cannas might get 7' tall in good soil. There are lots of kinds of yaupon hollies and they come in all sizes, including dwarfs. Yaupons hollies are very nice and very tough, but tend to be overused in modern landscapes, not that I'd hold that against them. You also could use some of the large ornamental grasses as a screening plant, you know. I hope this gives you some ideas. Dawn

We're in Boston also. A place in Watertown wanted 7.50 or so a square foot. I ended up ordering from place in North Reading - National Tile Distributer (Maria was very nice and helpful) actually just looked at receipt (ordered the end of January) and it was 5.50a square foot for the 3x12. Their prices were a couple of dollars cheaper. Also ordered the small ramp edge molding for 5.00 a piece. @pippiep thats looks pretty!

What an amazing room! I know real estate listing photos are deceiving, and it's probably not as spacious as it appears but those windows and that view...WOW! I have seen painted furniture in person and it was not good. A valance, is different, and a temporary fix, which I don't find objectionable. I didn't look at BeckySharp's links, but I'm wondering how one might handle the tight tucks around the piping-like trim. The backsplash looks like laminate. Are the counters not the same blue? Laminate can be painted or tiled over. Tiling over it is possible, not not cheap once you factor in all the supplies. For example, I tiled a 14 SF countertop, and it was $300 when I added up all the materials for the job. That was basic 4" square white tiles with trim pieces. It is a less expensive alternate to stone, tho.