Is the hydrangea really that shade of mixed pink and purple? (Sometimes colors don't photograph well.) If you want something short to puddle at the feet of the taller plants I could see Nierembergia, which might well winter over for you, though for me it's treated as an annual. A short Campanlua like 'Blue Clips' or 'White Clips' would serve the same function. Both have enough flower power in my experience to be seen from a distance if planted en masse but are well behaved and come in blue and white. If you want other spikier plants, there are some Campanulas like persicifolia that might work, though I don't know if seeding is a problem for them or if they have enough flowers for your use. This also is available in blue and in white. There are some shorter summer-blooming "tall" phlox on the market now that would be a bit shorter than the daylilies and would sort of match the shape of the hydrangea flowers, but later in the summer. Don't know what colors those come in. A shorter daylily in front might work also. Some of the yellow hostas seem fairly sun tolerant and might work here if deer aren't a problem for you, depending on how much shade your part shade is and what time of day. I find the yellow foliage stands out against the greens. My Siberian iris can be pretty stunning in mid to late spring and the foliage is neat the rest of the year, but it looks similar to the day-lilies as far as foliage. Some of the shorter rhodies and azaleas might look good here if you don't mind the short season of bloom and have the room. How tall are your daylilies? That's what has occurred to me so far - don't know if any of those meet your requirements and taste.

I put in a BS window and my aunt has one in her Florida home and loves it so much she is putting another in the new house they are building down there. They are both 18" tall. Both of ours go the entire length of the exterior wall counter. She has a fairly traditional kitchen and says the BS window brings in both a ton of light and a ton of compliments. She says it is the highlight of her kitchen. My place is still at pre-renovation, though, as we did the exterior first as part of an energy program and went ahead and installed the window. I used to have a taller window there, but we are ripping down the wall separating the kitchen and living room and so I needed the exterior wall to hold cabinets. My cabinets are 30" and will go to the ceiling with small crown of some kind. I have extremely short ceilings. The BS height will be perfect for viewing from the peninsula seating and living/entry area. My major observation so far is how much light it brings into my Alaska kitchen and how it warms up the counter. I hope mine doesn't look awkward, that would be disappointing. This style is NOT designed for an eye level view from the perimeter cabinets, though some bring the window up to eye level over a sink or range or something. Like this: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-modern-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~27996) [Modern Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by San Francisco Architect Rossington Architecture Here's my aunt's first place. The new house is still under construction: Here's mine, unfinished. Pics are not great and view is filled with work zones: As you can see, cat loved it on first sight... And...just to provide some more eye candy: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/white-laquer-and-dark-oak-kitchen-modern-kitchen-los-angeles-phvw-vp~40006) [Modern Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by Los Angeles General Contractor See Construction [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/feldman-architecture-modern-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~18937) [Modern Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by San Francisco Architect Feldman Architecture, Inc. I do think it leans modern, and I'm a little concerned about that with my kitchen. Many have offered assurance that it will work with whatever I want to do, but I'm in a small 50's ranch and won't be going ornate/fancy.

Every source I've checked says that there ARE plentiful deer in the San Fernando Valley. You might not have seen an actual deer, YET, but they are there! San Fernando Valley Wildlife

My dog and I are puzzled by this big pile of scat we found by the pool this morning and wonder if anyone can help ID it. It is too big a pile and the pieces too large to have come from a tree rat or bunny or other typical yard critters, doesn't look like coyote or raccoon scat (we do have those in the yard once in a while). It was full of what looks like those little nuts found on some palm trees, with some poo material binding it together. Googled it and some links show that it resembles deer scat, but we don't have deer here. I wondered if one of the hawks or crows might have dumped it, but it's too large plus all in a nice pile like something squatted to deposit it. I'm in Los Angeles in the SW part of the San Fernando Valley, up a hill with a nice amount of greenbelt surrounding us but we are in a suburban neighborhood with houses all around, no direct link to the area's wildlife corridors so a bobcat or such seems unlikely, have never seen one of those around here. The pool area is fenced so whatever it was would have had to hop over the fence. Any ideas? I'll try to post photos. Thanks! http://s1125.photobucket.com/user/SBMW/media/Image%201_zpswurr5tr3.jpg.html http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l596/SBMW/Image%202_zpsweaezola.jpg http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l596/SBMW/Image_zpsd7mhv6og.jpg