Ingrid, yes, the site and the house say cottage garden all the way. I love your suggestion of perennials to go with roses. I will tuck some herbs in there where it is the sunniest. Rosefolly, it is very helpful to know about the growth habit of OTN and I will go ahead and plant it in front of GH. And, that is a good point about the leaf stripping and lack of sun. It makes sense. Why do you strip GH leaves? To make pruning easier? Jeri, I will "go for it!" As much as I hate to move plants, sometimes you just have to do it. Also, Mountain View, CA is quite warm and dry in the summer. And the bed is totally sunny after 10am when the sun rises above a big Siberian elm. Thank you all very much. I have been indecisive about what to plant in this bed and it is wonderful to get feedback. Photos to follow after planting :-) Anne

melvee: IMO, you should add compost during the growing season according to the individual plants needs. For example, it's not a good idea to overfertilize tomatoes, so I don't topdress them until the tomatoes have started to form. After that I continue topdressing every 3-4 weeks. Happy Composting, PJ

Hi The rainwater comes from the roof into gutters a two inch pipe carries the water from the gutter under the gravel where it is released by a spraybar . The water then overflows in to a standpipe where it is carried to the lily pool .This overflows into a bog garden at ground level. Used a two inch pipe as it fit into the gutter fittings. An inch and a quarter for the standpipe but will not handle a 1 inch rain. which causes overflow in the tank. Was more than adequet before adding the downspout. Simple gravity is the power method. Would prefer the water to go into the lily pool first then into the tank then to the bog garden. But the tank is the highest. I'm rather surpised at the volume as I'm only collecting water from one side of the hip and only a third of the roof area. Wasn't sure how to estimate how much water would actually flow into the pipe. WAAAY more than I thought.lol Wanted to keep it as simple as possible. In order to have any kind of control ,obviously need some type of reservoir though i think I'll try a valve on the downspout first. if I can figure out what position to set the valve.lol Worked fantastic for a half inch rain in 1 hour duration . They make bypass valves for cistern water systems which can be set at certain volumes before water is allowed to collect. Allows washing the roof so you get only the cleanest water. Guess that solves that problem but was sure hoping not to need a reservoir. Thanks for the help. gary

On the contrary, I think it's an excellent choice. Now all the rugs tie in together, even though they're all a different pattern.