Do you want to use the bench? If so you need to move it closer to the walk and not behind the bird bath. I think what you have looks nice one b/c you have three well spaced things. If this was mine, I would create a 3-4ft diameter patio in front of the bench and link it to the path with a very narrow path. Sort of a lollipop look. I would either outline the patio w/ small gray paver stones, or make a small starburst. Then fill in between the stones w/ pea gravel. I'd try the birdbath behind the bench or else find a plant for some height (redbud tree, trellis and clematis, etc.). depending on the sun exposure, I'd then add roses or hostas to fill in the garden. Maybe moving your columbine from the mailbox area and adding four more would be nice. You have a good start, let us see how it turns out.

joscience- it's so outdated that posting here is a major pain. I am migrating to more up to date forums like The Garden Forums--no complaints. This is a very cool succulent. I overheard the grower talking about taking cuttings to propagate it.

Backs plashes are difficult because they are basically design decisions vs building decisions and while most of us are good at picking and figuring, pre-visualizing is tougher. Even some KDs aren't especially good at doing a back splash so don't beat yourself up. Tile design can be very challenging -- if the store will help out with it that's always a bonus. Some will for a nominal or no fee. They'll do the design and sometimes even help find an installer. . When it gets tough, instead of getting lost in tile world I think it might be easier to find a photo of a backsplash you love, or even of a tile object you love. If you post it folks here can give suggestions about how it will work in the kitchen and whether it will produce the result. Then it can be used as the basis for the splash (take it along while shopping). Here's an extensive list of tile sources which can help with some of the pre-shopping. http://www.atticmag.com/shopping/tile.html My backsplash basically sets the style of the kitchen. It runs from countertop to ceiling on 2 walls -- so it's the opposite of the 4" micro-splash. I began with the tile and picked around it (not typical). My inspiration was ceramic tile stoves. I drew out a scale "cartoon" of the splash and colored it in and taped it up to see how it would look. Tile has repetitive pattern so it always draws the eye. The cartoon was a bit of work but very helpful as it covered nearly a 2' x 3' section (paper taped together).

I love those pictures lindalana! Your Teaspoon is huge and cute! Thanks nshosta and Don. Dhaven, you have provided a wonderful list! Madplanter, thanks for adding to the list! And look at this list! I tried my best to put it all together---for myself and for others. It's amazing---thanks to all! Allan P. McConnell Appletini Baby Booties Baby Doll (really cute! Maybe unstable?) Bedazzled Blue Jay Blue Clown BME (I forgot about BME too. I have it!) (x4) Cameo Cheatin Heart (x2) Clown's Collar Cracker Crumbs (x2) Crumb Cake Curly Fries Diamond Tiara Dinky Donna (x2) Dinner Mint (x2) Extasy Feather Boa Flamenco Mouse Flash Forward Frosted Frolic Funny Bones Gemstone Golden Needles Gracillima Green Mouse Ears Hands Up Hush Puppie Hyuga Urajiro (x2) Ice Cream Itsy Bitsy Spider Kabitan Kikufurin Ko Mame Ladybug Lakeside Dot Com Lakeside Lime Time Lakeside Little Missy Lakeside Looking Glass Lakeside Lollipop Limey Lisa Mary Marie Ann Mighty Mouse Mini Skirt Munchkin Fire Nakaiana, Ops Paradise Sunset Purple Lady Fingers Pure Heart Ruffled Mouse Ears Stiletto (x3) Strawberry Yogurt Surprised by Joy Tea and Crumpets Teaspoon (x4) Trifecta Venusta Woodland Elf Vanilla Cream Wylde Green Cream Smalls recommended: Royal Tiara, High Society, Grand Prize, Rainforest Sunrise (x2), Blue Jay (small, but not tiny, a real beauty), Faithful Heart, Hideout, Ivory Queen, Rainbow's End, Coconut Custard, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paisley Print (a beauty!), Remember Me (especially gorgeous in early spring), Ripple Effect, Marilyn Monroe (gets to be 26"), Raspberry Sundae, Gypsy Rose, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Paradise Island, Tiara Series and Sultana. So what did I chose? And you can imagine how hard that was! For the larges: Amalia (who could resist Donna's photos?) And Ooh La la. I have never been able to forget that one ever since seeing it at a garden tour. I don't think its a good grower, and I haven't seen anyone posting photos of it. But I just got to try it out for myself. For the smalls I got: Stilletto, Lakeside Down Sized, Hush Puppie, Mini Skirt, Church Mouse, Hyuga Urajiro and Curly Fries. Some of ones on the list were not available or sold out unfortunately. I wanted Teaspoon (sold out)! I love the list and I will use it when shopping again for smalls and minis. I had to really stifle myself and not purchase all that I wanted. I began purchasing minis last year and had a few losses so I am not feeling very confident in my ability to grow them.