Tara, Do you have any kind of retaining wall holding up your steep hill? We had a very large hill on our last acreage, and terraced it to create planting beds and paths. (the paths went up the hill diagonally). We had an Allan block retaining wall for the bottom - it was about 200 feet long. We had a concrete paver path in front of that. It was the crown jewel in our yard. We have a smaller man-made 'hill' on this property, and my DH made a retaining wall with Allan blocks that curve around a pear tree. We have a 3 foot wide gravel path between the wall and the tree. It is definitely at least an annual chore to clean up the debris/weed out of the gravel. Definitely put down a good quality landscape cloth. We have plans to replace the gravel eventually but we haven't finished off the lower patio area, so we are waiting to match it with whatever rock/concrete paver we choose. I have another gravel path in front of my greenhouse. That I literally had to screen to get all the dirt out. (Not a pleasant job) Gravel is doable, but requires more maintenance work that a solid surface. Out of curiosity, why would you put the flagstones on gravel instead of sand, if you are thinking you will reuse them. Packed sand gives a better subsurface for the stone. We also have a flagstone path that is a breeze to upkeep. DH wants something more regular for our patio (as we are DIY), but other than the increased work, I would do flagstones again in a hearbeat.

"Sand off as much of the rust as you can. Apply a rust reformer product, prime and paint." Only loose rust should be removed before using a conversion coating. The coating needs rust to react and bond with. A lite pass with a wore brush to remove loose material, then appply the coating (auto paint stores are a good source of quarts of the solution). The coating react with the rust to form iron phosphate, a stable black coating. You can then paint over the coating. Avoid using water based (latex) paints as they can create additional rust. Krylon type spray paint works well, or even auto body spray paint.

I should have known, I tend to like the Walker Zanger line, but it is pretty pricey. Since I am putting off the back splash for a while, though, when I do get it done I may be able to splurge a little more than I would have if I had done with the rest of the kitchen. Thank you, I would love to know which ones they are, esp. the color names. That inset color looks like it would go well with my countertop, and I am sure it is avialable in more than one design of tile, although I do love the ones you picked out. It also looks beautiful with the background color tile. Rich and understated. It is what I had in mind myself. I love the more colorful ones, but don't really want to limit what I can put with it for accessories. It also doesn't look to me like it would get dated very fast. Classic, I guess. You did a very nice job. Sue

For years I struggled with my tiny yard and posted and posted on the landscape forum. I got some help, but mostly what worked was my own trial and error. I made the HUGE mistake of hiring a landscape designer for a plan, she met with me, drew up a plan, and it was pretty much useless and the whole project cost me 3K, and she did a bait and switch on me and said that was just for the "first phase." So I ended up with a patio design that I didn't really want but it was all I could "afford." If I had to do it again, I would have done it in phases, and worked with a patio installer directly instead of a landscape designer. As for plant selection, get some books and use Google, you'll do just as well as a professional if you put your mind to it and are reasonably intelligent. First of all, for keeping in the mulch, you need some type of raised bed/garden wall border. Not something terribly tall, but something. My designers said no, just mounding the mulch would be fine. Poppycock! I used bricks and treated lumber for my bed lining, but you could use rocks or whatever you like. Does not have to be terribly high to be effective. My yard was dead flat, and 6 inch bricks were fine. Would be different if you yard was hilly, they you would need a retaining wall. Get a good landscaping book, should have instructions on how to do either option, and online videos too. Rocks can give you a natural look but are heavy to move around. As for plants, bear in mind that you can move them around just like you do furniture, and tear out something if it doesn't work out. My garden evolved over time. Get SMALL plants. They are much cheaper and will do better in the long run, they can acclimate and will surpass the growth of more expensive larger plants in a very short period of time. Here's an example of a three year's time "before and after" of my yard. I-kid-you-not that it is three years time elapsed. Note the ugly brick that I didn't want and hated and the white brick borders that I also didn't like or want, but were cheap and easily available and something I had to add after the fact. The shape was not very elegant and I fault the designer for that. I paid her specifically to help me figure out how to design a patio and walkway that elegantly went from one angle where the back door was to another angle where you had to walk along the garage to the entrance. What I got was not what I wanted, but I made it work with plantings to disguise its awkwardness. But I didn't get my 3k's worth my any means! The fireglow maple died sadly, and I took out the little Silverbell tree in front of it (in a vain attempt to favor the maple) but thankfully at the end the Musclewood tree on the other side had grown up to provide some shade. The lattice work covered my compost bin, to keep out mice and other critters. The dates on the photos are 2006, 2009, 2013. It's not very elegant, IMHO, and I paid a designer 3K for the work and it ended up being exactly what I pretty much had to do on my own, other than lay the poorly designed patio and walkway. I should have messed around with string and spray paint and I probably would have done better than what I got. I climbed to the second floor and was able to take a picture of the whole yard and print it out and draw on it to get layout ideas.