Try some dwarf lilacs- Syringa 'Bailsugar' (Sugar Plum Fairy), Syringa 'Bailming'(Prince Charming), Syringa 'Baillina' (Thumbalina), Syringa 'Bailbelle'(Tinkerbelle) They are from Bailey nurseries but if I can get them up here in Northern Maine I am sure you can get them. The height 5-6' and width 4-5' but they can be pruned. What caught my eye last year was (the tinkerbelle anyway) bloomed a second time in Sept.! The smell was awesome, just the one plant made my whole yard smell(it only had a few blooms as well). If you want something that looks good all four seasons try a red twigged dogwood with a variegated leaf like Ivory Halo Dogwood(Cornus Alba Bailhalo) or the larger version cornus alba elegantissima. The one thing I heard about though with the Ivory Halo was the leaves are prone to leaf spot(in the fall the leaves get black) I have 2 but this will be my first summer with them. How about a ninebark. I have a Diablo(height 6-10' width4-6') it has dark leaves all spring-fall then after the leaves fall the bark looks really neat. The bark is said to shed 9 times a year hence the name(that's what I was told anyway) but they have other types that are just as pretty-I think Coppertina, Darts Gold and Center Glow are a few. A smaller but really pretty bush is Clethra alnifolia they have 2 colors white(hummingbird summersweet) and pink(ruby spice) . I think the Hummingbird only gets to about 3-4' wide. Sixteen Candles and ruby spice gets bigger. Another bush is the Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia 'Regent')they get height4-6' width 4-8' they are green but are supposed to be covered in white blooms in spring. They have edible berries that I was told taste a little like apple. Another bush I acquired only last year. So far they seem fine but they only just budding here now in The County. If you are looking for more info on blueberries you can ask local farms. I don't know where you are but I know every county has some sort of website to the major local farms. http://www.pickyourown.org/ME.htm I also know that the coast has different growing zones than from inland. When I lived in K-port things grew very differently than N. Berwick.(I know one is more southern than the other but I can only compare where I have lived :) Good luck I hope I helped a fellow Mainer.

Last week we had wonderful weather - 70's during the day 60 and even 50's at night. Beautiful. One more day of 90 degree temps the weatherman said and then we too are expecting some rain and returning to fall-like weather. Yesterday it was hot but I decided to prune the branches of the mulberry tree in the orchard. They naturally want to arch and these particular ones were nearly to the ground already, felt like driving through curtains when I was mowing. All this growth this year by the way. It was a volunteer and grew to be a tall tree and should have been cut down but I kept letting it go. Birds love the berries! I used my electric pruning pole saw that can reach 10', I thought my shoulders and neck were going to kill me today but I feel good. Too hot to haul the debris to the brush pile tho. I got ripe tomatoes just not a boatload like usual. I'm cooking and freezing them whenever I get a dozen or so.

I don't know who made the cabinets - previous owners had them installed. They were about ten years old when we moved in and we started having problems immediately - top hinges coming loose and the door pivoting on the bottom hinge and breaking that. And the hinges are Blum which is a reputable brand. 15 years past that now and haven't been able to replace them - four children to launch into the world. Meanwhile, the chipping and heat-related delamination are accelerating. The townhouse we lived in before that had woodgrain thermofoil cabinets - they were only five years old and they were even worse because the particle board core would actually crumble at hinges and joints. Particle board is weak, weak stuff. And heavy. The other thing about plastic which is what Thermofoil is, is that grease really clings to it. It smudges from your hands and the cooking vapors grease it up. My mother's sixty year old varnished wood cabinets are far easier to keep clean, and the hinges and joints have never failed. Honestly, you're better off with wood cabinets and a laminate counter, than laminate cabinets and granite counter. The granite counter will just make the cabinets look cheap. If budget is an issue now, much easier to upgrade counter later, than cabinets.

Here are some house styles I like... Ours is obviously smaller and we have less money than the people in these houses!