Hi. New to brugs, last year I bought 3 little 8 inch cuttings, a white, a pink and a yellow, potted them up, managed to over winter them, and I'm very pleased with how fast they are growing and how big they've become. This is them after a year under my care. But best of all, today I found my first bud on the pink one, I can't tell you how excited I am. I'm also pretty sure I have buds starting on the yellow. I figured I was doing well enough with the ones I had that today while visiting a botonical garden and found they had orange brugs for sell already in bud, I couldn't resist.

What wonderful potential! I love your brick choice, BTW. My inlaws had that same brick (they lived in Seminole, OK) and I always thought it was so pretty! I think with the two seating areas, you have the best of both worlds: shade and shelter from the wind when you need it and over on the other side, a place to catch a bit of sun and/or a nice breeze. Love your idea of the twin topiaries, too. I can't use wicker out here because it blows over in our winds. From what I know of Oklahoma, you get some pretty strong winds, too. That might be something to take into consideration when choosing your furniture . . . that and fading from the sun. I have to deal with that, too! I do like the idea of using white all-weather wicker on yours if it'll work for you, though. As for a long table under the other window, why not a smaller table flanked by two (or just one) rocking chairs, also painted white? Question: are you having your flower beds built up so that there won't be a drop off from the porch or leaving them about that level? Another idea is to keep an eye out for a small hutch or credenza that you can put out on the protected part of your porch. Something from a garage sale or consignment shop that you can paint. My front porch (we call them front portals out here), spans the front west side of our boomerang shaped house. It's 65 feet long, I believe. It has four areas, so that we can always find shade to sit in, as I hate sitting in the sun now that I'm not a teenager ;^P This is the view of it from farther out on our property: The middle areas are in deep shade most of the day and with the jog for the kiva fireplace, we can usually stay out of any wind. I have chairs near the fireplace area and at the present time, we have a table and chairs to the left of the front door (where that mass of toys and pots is in the pic). We use the table for weekend breakfasts and lunches in warm weather, card games and whatever. I don't have any pics of the table yet. I can't believe I'm showing you these awful pics. Please consider them my "Before" pics, as many things have changed out here. I need to take new ones once the weather gets better! Here's a pic of the fireplace area, although I've since recovered all the furniture and restained the wood: To the far east end of the portal, past the table & chairs, I have a porch swing and a couple of chairs. We have great views from there of the valley below us. Since I took this pic, I've put our old sofa table out there under the red shelf. To the far west end of the portal, we have an adobe banco, to give us more seating when we're entertaining . . . and to keep visitors from falling off the portal and down the hill after a few margaritas! Excuse the mess in this pic, I was getting ready to restain the chairs and have my painting cloths piled up by the fireplace!

Kees_Lover, Thank you for sharing your landscape prints framed showing me so many different ways a picture can be framed and look nice. I really do appreciate all the helpful people on this decorating site. I am now thinking that I like my print despite how much green it has so I have to decide on a frame. I will try to take pictures tomorrow. My sofa and recliner are called taupe but to me is a leather by Natuzzi that is more on the beige taupe side and is very neutral but does not like gold frames and since I have two glass lamps with chrome bases and chrome filaments on top of the very white shades on the glass tables next to the sofa and a triangle glass table in front with the green glass edging, BM Bone White Walls, White baseboard molding and Brazilian Cherry Floors, I am wondering if a Bronze frame will go or will it clash with the sofa or the chrome? Bronze is more of a brown right? I also like a brown espresso very ornate frame but I wonder if it would be too dark. My picture if of Japanese Maple trees with dark Pine Trees and some other lighter green trees and some trees with orange and yellow but the green dominates with red the second color. There is a bridge and a green pond probably from algae. My room needs some color so bad and I wish I had chosen a dark brown or Mahogany sofa and not taupe years ago since it took me a year to buy some furniture when I bought my first home. Do you think a 40"X 30"size print would be good that will get bigger with a mat and frame for an 81" long sofa? I never bought pictures before except for the small framed prints in 2007 from JCPenney. I went there and they have no more framed prints for sale in their store.

Roxana, yes I was...95% I’d say. It still pops up but much more manageable. I go around every couple of months in spring and summer to catch stragglers but it’s almost entirely gone from lawn and easy to pull if it pops up in the bed. it was creeping up from an adjoining ditch and I battled it unsuccessfully for 10 years! Oddly, it seems to only expand in one direction. So now I’ve cut it off from my yard the ditch is even doing better. It seems not to be able to expand backwards where it has already grown and maybe depleted soil. Just my unscientific observation. Lol It also doesn’t like lime so be diligent about liming your lawn as you try to get rid of it. Aerating the lawn annually also helps improve drainage. good luck!