Does it really matter how people get into gardening? If they are making an effort, more power to them. I'd much rather see that than yet more landscaping/lawn care businesses dumping chemicals on lawns and chemical-filled RED mulch around trees and shrubs and against houses!! I moved to Maryland from Texas almost 4 years ago. After having my beautiful antique roses die when I moved from San Antonio to San Angelo TX (yeah, expensive hard lesson there), I didn't do much at all with gardening, mostly because we were in a rental house and were in the middle of a drought. After we moved to MD, I waited until we knew that we would be staying in this house for longer than our military tour of three years. Last year, I decided I wanted some flowers and planted a couple of roses and a hydrangea. After moving the hydrangea to a shadier spot and moving a couple of the roses to a sunnier spot, everything did well, which encouraged me to keep digging... Our town has a freecycle group, and I got some plants from a very active member of the local garden club, who has encouraged my efforts from day one. The club's motto is basically 'your $10 membership fee should get you $300 worth of plants the first year'. The members are generous with their extras and well informed, such a great resource to a military transplant like me!. Gardenweb's Mid-Atlantic forum is a terrific group as well, they had their spring swap this past weekend and I came home with a ton of plants. They prefer that we use Latin names, but more to limit confusion than because they're snobby. Instead of railing about how horrible the situation is, how about doing something about it in your area? *Talk to the manager at HD/Lowe's/wherever about ordering plants that will actually do well in the area. *Is there a local garden club?? Is it full of stuffy snobs comparing their umpty-year gardens or is it active and welcoming to new gardeners? Is there a 'garden open house' where new gardeners can go to see local neighborhood gardens and get their questions answered? *Is there a gardenweb (or other online)forum for the area? *Are there any plant swaps in the area? Would it be possible to have a plant sale with a portion of the sales going to beautify a local building with plants that will grow well so new folks can see natives in a local setting? *Is there a freecycle group in your area? Post some plant 'offers' and get people involved! Just like with cooking or sewing or any other craft, a skill must be LEARNED. Give people a chance to learn the skill by starting with the easy stuff. You don't expect a new baker to start out with a wedding cake or a person new to sewing to start out with a double wedding quilt. Be reasonable and make the effort to HELP new gardeners, not bash them down. Lynne

I've been noticeably absent from all my boards lately and now find that I have a little more time to browse...and found this very timely conversation ;-) Cady and Mel will remember that I've been renovating/restoring my parent's '56 contemporary that had been neglected for almost 25 years (mom had alzehiemer's, dad took care of her, she died he wouldn't let us touch anything, brother is terminal and could care less about fixing or cleaning) Well, the end is in sight ...the house is to be officially listed this Tuesday. I made a marked effort to bring back the landscape to what my mother had planted in the late 50's early 60's ...not strictly due to nostalgia but because my mother had an excellent eye for design and color that spurred my interest in gardening at a very young age. I found the comment on Frank Llloyd, "* Wright originated the visionary concept of a rear living-room opening into a garden terrace -- fifty years before the California architects generally credited with the concept" described my parent's house to a 'T' and we tried to make the most of it - it may not be a Wright but it is certainly '50's California. I thought I'd share a few pictures...I will take all the final photos this weekend when we do all the little nit picky stuff. This is a view of the refloored rear living room and gives you a shot of the windows overlooking the back patio i.e garden terrace pre landscaping - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=342900975105&photoid=501321897105 This is that same back patio Before - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=567043265105&photoid=287043265105 And after After - http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?&collid=342900975105&photoid=921321897105 We did remove the junipers out front (person loathing involved in that decision) and repeated the fern/fuscia theme my mother had had out back. I'll take photos this weekend. Barbara in Hollywood

It looks like the film-build is pretty thick/rough/lumpy, especially where the flash is brightest (mid-left). A sanded/smoothed/primed surface shouldn't look even HALF that rough! It looks to ME anyway, sorta like an orange-peel wall texture. My diagnosis: It's sprayed-on slightly too thick. * OR...was your surface prior to priming that lumpy?! * I noted that you took off glued-slats, and that some glue MAY have been a factor. * BUT...since you sanded and used BIN, that shouldn't be a factor anymore. Secondary...those cheap sprayers are nearly hopeless for a good cabinet finish. There's a reason good sprayers cost a few-hundred $$$... I'd roll on the next coat(s), and immediately lay-off with a good brush. Remedy: * You'll have to scrape off the existing paint IMO. * When you do, note the backside of the chips. Does the primer come off too? Faron

I have a question: why do you have two fairly large tables on both sides of your kitchen, plus the bar stools at the counter? I realize that you entertain a lot, but if you live in SoCal, you're doing most of your entertaining outside in your yard (which looks beautiful, BTW). Why clutter up your rooms with, basically, three tables (counting the counter and stools as one of those) in such a small area? Friends will congregate close to the kitchen on occasion, but they can just as easily sit on comfy upholstered chairs instead of at a table. Another possibility would be to look for a coffee table that can be raised to eating height when needed. Have you considered selling both pieces and buying a larger dining room table for the dining room area? Is there room for one that has extra leaves you can pop in when needed? If you did this you could add more real seating and perhaps the tv in the hearth room. I'd try moving in the chairs you now have by the fireplace and adding smallish end tables, lamps and perhaps a leather ottoman coffee table that can be used for extra seating when needed. You're right about the placement of the fireplace and those in-swinging doors: very poor planning on the architects part! Regardless of what you end up doing with the rooms, reversing the swing will help. That said, barring major wall removal, you're going to have to work with what you have. Putting two chairs in front of the fireplace just looks awkward to me. They're in the traffic flow there. As much as I hate to see a fireplace removed, your idea of taking it out and enlarging the bathroom makes sense. If you want to keep it,though, I'd look at placing just one chair to the right of the fireplace close to the wall, with a narrow (and I mean narrow!) table and lamp against the wall. My reasoning for that is, if you're going to put a chair there for a small cozy reading area, make it work as a true reading area! A chair by itself, looks like it was just dropped there for a moment on its way out the door. A table and lamp will help anchor the area. I'd look for an upholstered chair with wood legs, instead of a skirted, bulky one. It would give you a comfortable chair but without the visual bulk of the ones you have there now. And, in a pinch, it could be moved over to the work with the rest of the seating group. Anyhoo, just one more idea to put into the mix. Lynn