I would grab some plants that are wonderful in Texas like purple or white trailing lantana, cuphea, plumbago, etc. and plant them now. They won't mind being planted in the heat as long as you keep them watered and will give you a nice show this year. They are tender perennials that will probably not come back next year because of the cold. Spend the summer thinking about what you want to plant in the fall. If it was me, I'd get roses (tea roses or china roses, not walmart, home depot, or lowes roses) and blue or purple salvia and some of the nandinas that make berries, preferably the short ones called Harbor Belle nandinas, and a winter honeysuckle (it's a big bush, not a climber). That way you've got blooms from spring to frost from the roses and salvia and blooms from frost to spring with the winter honeysuckle, and an extra bit of winter interest from the berries on the nandinas. Maybe I would throw in a jasminium nudifolium (spelling may be wrong) for more winter blooms and some crocus and daffodils for the spots that the salvias will leave over winter when they die back. To me, that sounds like the perfect full sun bed. Fragrance in the summer from the roses and in the winter from the winter honeysuckle. Blooms all year. With plants like winter honeysuckle and the jasmine that bloom all winter long, you wouldn't even need evergreens for winter interest. If you decide to go in this direction and need help finding plants (that jasmine is hard to find) or picking out roses that will bloom all summer without any pause then email me and I'll help you out. Carrie

A vote for a taller dark buffet lamp (or even two lamps?)-- and the dark framed mirror -- hung vertically. Another shape for the mirror might work well here too -- think of a round mirror in that same place! The style and finish of the lamp(s) should echo the strong finish and simple shape of the iron railings of the staircase -- if possible. Perhaps a dark woven tray on the top level (between the lamps) and a dark woven basket (with or without suitable seasonal greenery) or a stack of dark leather-bound books on the lower shelf. Pewter items might work well here too.

Hi Linnea, I think your green and white one is Francee. I have trouble integrating the green and white ones into a predominantly blue and yellow bed too. Do you have any other hostas that are green and white to balance the green/white to gold/ blue ratio? I've had an eye operation, so I'm not sure I'm seeing the colours of your hostas properly, so I hesitate making suggestions on how to move yours around. Generally speaking I've found that solid blue hostas and solid green hostas act like neutrals. I use yellow hostas as contrast to blue or green hostas or to pick up the yellow in a variegated hosta. After many years of trial and error in combining hostas I do the following: 1. A gold centered blue hosta goes well with a gold margined blue hosta. The same holds true with white and blue variegated hostas. 2. Two adjacent hostas should have a common colour, except that green ties anything together for me. 3. Identically variegated hostas look good together if the leaves are different in some way...either smaller or ruffled or shiny etc. If I can't correct what I consider an error I introduce green, either a green hosta or another perennial. I like using green ferns (Athyrium 'Lady in Red', 'Dre's Dagger','Victoriae'), aruncus aethusifolius or epimediums. Queen Josephine is a gold margined green hosta and Frances Williams is a gold margined blue hosta. So, a gold hosta would complement both. Francee is a white margined green hosta and Queen Josephine is gold margined green hosta. A solid green hosta would be a good transition from one to the other. In the end, whatever pleases you is what works. If you haven't used Hakonechloa macra before, it does get quite big. I put mine in front of the smaller aruncus and should have done the reverse.

We haven't yet moved in, master bedroom and bathroom are not yet done. But we stay here quite a bit during the day and brought in some random furniture from the main house. Thank you for the suggestions, I see that grey's don't work in this place and I am not at all offended by suggestions. I went with some of them to paint this place after all.