How good of you to take on this task! Do you have the kids help? (that can be fun too, to run it as an after school activity.) If there are flat rocks in your area, you could collect some (or alternatively keep an eye out on Craigslist for free used bricks) and use them set hozontally along the edge of the paving as deep as seems necessary (sort of widening the paving.) Leave a couple inches of spacing between the rocks and plant between the rocks with plants that can crawl onto them. That way there would be a sort of transition zone of plants that would survive being walked on since the roots would be protected, but also give a bit of warning to the kids that they were off the standard paving. The rocks or bricks will keep the plow from dropping down into the dirt and uprooting the plants and being flat shouldn't pose too much of a problem for the plow (or at least that's my experience since the plow went right over my flat brick edging a few years.) Wooly thyme doesn't seem to flower much in my garden, so might work. Some of the shorter Carex (sedges) may work, especially variegated ones like 'Ice Dance.' Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila' grows low and spreads, but flowers in August and doesn't seem to draw bees. Lady's mantle has such subtle flowers that no one will probably notice them, and has both a larger variety and a smaller one. You could also use some shrubby low groundcovers like Paxistma canbyi (no flowers usually), cranberry (tiny flowers), bearberry (Arctostaphylos) or one of the low growing winter heaths or heathers if your soil is a bit acidic. Many heathers have colorful foliage. Just check the flowering time of your particular cultivar and be sure it is during the summer. The shrubby plants you would have to plant back from the sidewalk far enough that the plow and kids won't mangle the center of growth and so that it won't grow onto the sidewalk. I don't know the salt tolerance of most of these since I don't salt the walk, but I do know that heaths and heathers seem to be pretty salt tolerant. As far as the budget . . . Once you decide on your groundcover, if it is one of the more common ones, you can check with the principal about sending home a request for donations of that type of plant. S/he may be supportive of this.

I don't know about middle east, but yes, those are common in europe. Because washing with water is cleaner than wiping with paper after a #2. If there is a showerhead next to the toilet, as in the picture, it's called a douche. If there is a separate toilet bowl looking thing, it's a bidet. You probably seen those before. I think they are just too messy, so I like the japanese way where there is a automatic water wash system build into the toilet. I have been using them for years now and love it. Toto has one called Washlet. Kohler has the Numi and Duravit has the sensowash. They are more common now and a lot more brands carry them, even costco has them.(not by toto or duravit).. If you want one, Toto is probably the best..

I've been following this thread with interest because my DH and I have been having the same argument for years. He has the fireplace at the top of his list and I have about 10 projects above it on my list. I love your bricks, but do think they need to be cleaned up at bit (not the moss - love that). If you're going to keep them as they are, I would dig out the edges and lay landscape ties on either side to create a more distinct border. It also helps when gardening by creating a bit of a raised bed (easier to add compost, mulch, etc). Last summer, I did away with our old walkway which looked much like yours except it was ugly interlocking brick with grass growing in it instead of charming moss. I pulled up all the old bricks and laid them on the front boulevard with a for sale sign and they were gone quickly. The base they had been laid on was still in pretty good shape, I just bought bags of quarter down limestone from home depot and spread it over top. I bought new stones using my airmiles points and, voila!, I had a brand new sidewalk. I think the stones and all materials cost about $700 total. My neighbours got the exact same stretch of walkway done professionally and it cost them $2500. It took me about a week and by the end of it, I had the best toned arms (and walkway) on the block. Awm03, I would love to see pics and have details on your fireplace insert.

Flowers, I hope that snow melts fast. It's finally springish here, but our winter, like yours, came in Feb/Mar while January was mild. I'm glad it's been late because it gave me more time to rest. I know you don't like chemistry, but here goes on soil acidity, boring as it is: The breakdown of organic matter in soil is acidic in nature, forming more acid compounds as a result. Leaching out of nitrogen in soil also causes some acidity. High nitrogen fertilizers which are ammonia based can also make soil more acid. Aluminum comes into play in determining the color of hydrangeas. Acidic soil forms acidic aluminum salts which express the color blue. Like litmus paper. Aluminum hydroxide forms in basic soils and produces a pink color in the flower. Please forgive the boring stuff. Giving fertilizer for acid loving plants to roses does help the soil to acidify in my garden, and really helps the chlorosis problem of roses that don't like alkaline soils. But it's an ongoing process because it doesn't permanently change the pH of the soil. So every year my roses get a does of this fertilizer in early spring. I'm not very concerned about soil pH if the roses are doing well. Diane