Thanks Florence! I got real brave a few years ago and painted a big Mexican clay pot cobalt blue. When I put pictures of it on the Texas Forum not one person commented on it ... LOL. But when a friend came over and saw it in person she said, "That blue pot looks better than I thought it would." Hahaha! After all this is a hot climate so hot colors 'go'. Hence, I've gotten more and more bold with paint and really enjoy the effects. I don't think I've overdone it. For one thing I tone the pure color down with some antiquing in most cases. There is a yellow section in the yard with various yellow toned flowers and a couple of light yellow painted pots you may have noticed above, a purple section, the aqua, a little acid green, plus there is some overlap. So when flowers aren't blooming there is still color. Thanks for noticing!

Rita, your roses are to die for. Just beautiful. But what I spent the most time staring at is that low rock wall in picture #3. Whoever did that for you knew what they were doing. I am in need of some hardscaping in my (flat, flat) yard and have just been dithering. Looking at pictures of others yards is so helpful. But I'm still dithering... Christine

The climber is the Brownell Rhode Island Red--I got it from Mike Chute of the RIRS. He also sells two books. http://rosesolutions.net/ Yeah, I tried all sorts of methods I've read about for rooting roses--then I finally realized I don't have to do all that! From what I've read, the professionals just find the right locations and stick their Dr. Huey cuttings in clay soil--same as I do.

The "before" picture showing shrubs lining both sides of the walkway should be enough to permanently scare you away from reverting to that scheme. As Bio says, it will make the walk look narrower. It will look less inviting and feel it, too. You definitely need to extend the walk to the curb as it has the look of an abandoned, unfinished project. Try to find the best match to the stone as possible. You'll be forgiven that there will be a "shadow" where the new meets the old. Over time, it will lessen. You could widen the walk a little (8" each side) by bordering it with brick laid sailor course. Or by using a plain concrete band if that's your preference. If you're going to include a bed around a tree, don't make a little bed around a large tree as the proportions will be way off. Tree beds are not good for annuals (which must be changed out periodically. They are better for permanent groundcovers or perennials that serve as groundcovers. When you have a lot of grade change, shrubs below windows do not need to be matched kind. What's important is that they have the same relationship where they meet the window. What everyone said about deepening the bed ... for sure. Instead of 2, 3, or 4,' it should be 6' at the shallowest and flare to meet any deeper bed configuration. The house could use another tree off of it's right corner to balance the picture. Color is always nice by the entrance. Colorful perennials wrapping the corners is another way to interject some seasonal color. It would be good to someday replace the lamp post with a taller one.