I personally think this could be a very beautiful area with alot of work of course, because to be honest it is a mess...the whole curves and lines etc... is just weird. First of all i would forget a vegetable garden there. Then what i would do is take all those land scaping timbers and have a big marshmallow roast :). Then i would somehow make a creek running under that bridge to the pond with little pebbles lining the creek, others may be able to help with that idea because without seeing further down the deck area, i cant think of a stopping point as to where the creek would end or how to go about keeping water flowing in it, i do know there are people here that can think of something very economical. Then i would jerk those ugly shrubs out around the waterfall and plant some nice rounded bushes, with hosta's, maybe a couple ornamental grasses etc... or at least trim them up considerably where they look better, although i like the first idea better. Like someone said amend that soil in that area first, i would amend the area that is around the pond and extending down the creek wide enough to plant a flower garden in. Then i would tear out all those flower boxes at the base of the bridge and put a gate matching the rod iron short amount of fencing you got there and then extend that fencing completely around to meet the corner of the deck. Add stepping stones (I would use creek rock like is laid around your pond) from the gate to maybe a bench in the corner and to the deck to tie it all in. Plant whatever you want in the areas with plenty of perennials and leave space to add beautiful annuals each year and mulch well. I would personally plant a big fat hosta where that square is cut in your deck just after the bridge and where all those shrubs to the left in the picture are i would pull those out and add a flower bed there with maybe a area in the middle to exit off the deck, i think a couple creek rock would be fine there as well. I would also take up all those concrete pavers and add the creek rock there as well with some bench seating at the end as well with some flowers on both sides to add interest to that area...you could even do potted plants down that area. Stain the bridge and the deck and walahhh, lol i know sounds like a ton of work and money...but maybe in stages. Alot of it could be done very cost effective. Anyway that is just what popped into my head, even though it is not always screwed on right lol. Probably not even the question asked but i just pictured it and could not resist putting it down, actually it says to view it as a blank canvas and minus the vegetable garden i did :).

If you want a small tree at the right end of bed (near corner) then putting in a Hydrangea that's NOT a tree, won't work. You'll need to find another place for it. Earlier I recommended PG Hydrangea which can be grown as a small tree. Burning Bush, common Lilac or Philadelphus coronaria are other large shrubs that make good small, multi-trunk trees. For planting a large groundcover bed, you'd want to arrange plants in rows with the leading row in line with the front edge of the bed, but set back a uniform distance from it. Usually, the same spacing between plants works well as the front set back distance... so let's say for Hosta, 18". Then space them 18" apart in the row. 18" Behind that row is another row laid out in the same manner, except that you would place these plants not directly behind the first row, but offset them so that they are staggered relative to it. Continue the process until you have reached the back of the bed and filled it up. Since you are planting around trees, just don't place a Hosta where the tree is. You can come close, but not so close that you are struggling with tree roots (the tree being the Dogwood) as you don't want to disturb its ability to grow. When the Hosta grow, they will nestle around the tree trunks just fine. Though you PLAN the planting beginning with the first row, you'd actually install plants beginning with the last and work your way backward so you are not crushing installed Hosta as you plant more. That's the manner in which you'd approach laying out a normal large bed. Now let me contradict that. If your bed is only 4' deep from front to back, the above instructions would only allow you to place 2 rows in the bed. That'd work OK, but if you have sufficient Hosta and want a full look more quickly, keep the plant spacing the same, but adjust the row spacing so that you can fit in 3 rows...say each being 12" apart. (Spacing would now be 18" o.c. x 12" rows.) Whether you install whole Hosta clumps or split them up is a factor of How many you need vs. how many you have available. Split them if you're going to need a lot of Hosta or if the clumps are so huge they just need splitting.

I got a body pillow at Wally World today for $8.88. (I could have sworn the tag below said they were $14 or something. I think the register made a mistake. I may have to go back and get two more for bolsters for the daybed and stuff them into a casing. They come in beige, blue, brown, green, and maybe gold. It pays to shop. I tried to find material to match the blue in my comforter, but didn't find that yet. Will keep looking. I did find a chenille throw in a similar color - which in a pinch I could use to cover the body pillow. red lover, I know what you mean about trying the stuff out and being able to see it in person. I have a new policy where I have an envelope in my purse which contains all the receipts for the last month or so from shopping for decorator items. You wouldn't believe how much stuff I have returned. I also returned a bunch of molding pieces to HD and Lowes I wasn't going to use and I got a ton of money back - molding is very expensive because they sell it by the foot. Some I get credit for because I returned stuff I couldn't find the receipt for, but I knew I would be buying more stuff there anyway and the gift cards they give you if you don't have the receipt, really help out. red lover, you are so right about getting stuff in person. There are so many diffeent colors out there - greens can be shade off and they still match, but it seems like the blues can really clash. Thanks for your advice. I don't know what to tell you about the comforter you have - unless you can go to a discount fabric place and cover it with something you like? Some stuff is not very well made these days. But even if you can sew, any fabric purchased is more money than you can buy things already made for - so it's a catch 22.

Hi Practical: Sorry the sketches were confusing. First, if the door to the bathroom is open, yes, unfortunately, you will see the toilet. BUT, I don't expect that door to EVER be open. I'm looking at doing a pocket door (or possibly some kind of barn door IF I can figure out a way to soundproof it. That triangular area, with toilet and sink is separated from the dressing/bathing area by another sliding door. The hope is that then it can do double service as the water closet for me and as a powder room for anyone visiting, At my age, it's highly unlikely that I'll be sharing the bathroom with anyone! Any stay-over guests will be in the adjacent unit, where they'll have their own two bathrooms. The L you see on the other side of the peninsula is a built-in banquette for a dining table there. Of course, it doesn't have to be there. In fact, virtually nothing (except maybe that alcove bed!) has to be where I've got it now. That was just the best plan I could come up with.. I do think a huge mirror is a great idea. One thing I'm exploring is finding a giant one to hang on barn-door hardware and use it for the door to the powder room/bathroom. (Again if I can find a way to soundproof it). At the very least, I'm thinking of a mirrored panel door there, perhaps flanked on one or both sides by "mock" doors that are mirrored as well, so that a lot of that angled wall will reflect the outside view. Thanks for your thoughts! Keep 'em coming!