Unless you know your soil is high in magnesium, you could try applying Epsom salts - a hefty teaspoon to a gallon of water poured onto the root area after it's rained. If your soil has been hit by weed spray or ruthlessly groomed of anything looking like humus by the previous owner - mix up a catcher full of lawn clippings with some compost (NOT mushroom compost - too alkaline) and spread that on the soil to about three inches deep. Starting about four inches out from the trunk spread it out to the edges of the branches - the drip line. Then cover with mulch. Camellias can cope with sun scorch if they have moist but not soggy soil. They just look a bit ratty, yellow and miserable. Possibility: if your soil is naturally alkaline then the Camellia may be having trouble picking up trace elements it needs. You may need to get a particular sort of fertiliser to help the plant cope. If you can see Rhododendrons, Camellias and azaleas all thriving in your area then alkaline soil will not be the problem, unless someone planted it over a pile of mortar rubble. Try feeding first using the compost and clippings, followed with reliable summer water. PS - if you need to prune it back do so directly after flowering as it develops next year's flower buds over the summer. It will come back from older wood, too. About the mulch and strips - unless you have fearsome winds I 'm thinking you'll have more trouble with foraging birds shifting your mulch and strips won't help at all! You might consider using a heavier grade of mulch. If your slope pitch is abrupt then a green groundcover may be a better option for soil protection.

No, the bond beam is at the top of the tile shown here. The previous owner poured a concrete patio on top of it. The other half of the pool has the original concrete edging for the pool with the same tile. None of it is missing. My thought is they were going to do something to dress up the edge, but I just don't know what.

Does anyone know the answer to this - I have a 2 1/2" mitered flat edge and shaker overlay doors. When the doors were installed I noticed that I only have a 1/8" overlay over the door and drawer fronts. The counter does not protect the doors at all. Now the fabricator tells me that with a mitered edge they can only make a 1" overlay and not the 1 1/2 overlay that is standard with a flat eased edge. They said that when using a mitered edge only an inset door and drawer will do so that you can get enough overhang. Has anyone ever heard of this before? Any suggestions in how to correct this problem? How to add on to a granite edge. I can't rip out the countertop. Could possibly plane down the doors and drawers or make new inset doors and drawers but this is problematic to do.

GreenDesigns: this was not a "budget guy". In fact, this is a large professional outfit with 5 star reviews on Houzz and a portfolio of large, luxe kitchen projects-- this is precisely why I'm upset with the quality. My project may be smaller than others they do, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't get the same level of quality. And although my photos are closeups, I can see these issues from 3' back, thank you. Hope you are more helpful with your clients. Joseph Corlett LLC: wow! Are homeowners supposed to hide their head in the sand and just pay up? What a horrible attitude to have of clients. I'm proud to care about craftsmanship and hoping any self-respecting company would feel the same. Debbi Washburn and others with helpful comments and feedback: thank you! I was looking for constructive opinions and insights, so thank you for taking the time to provide me with them. Update (if anyone cares): I spoke with the countertop fabricators directly (my contractor let them know the issues first). They will be sending out an installation manager to review. I will be happy to at least have the conversation with them in person. If something can be done to even out the wavy edges, that would help. If nothing can be done, then it's not the end of the world and I'll still love my new kitchen, but I have to at least try. For those who mentioned cabinets, photo 2 is of a "dead" corner (on the right) with drawers to its left and a skinny door to its right (next to stove.) Not sure if that should have been resolved differently, but that's how it is. I also called cabinet fabricators and they are sending someone out to fine tune drawer and door spacing.