Aggie, the journey can indeed be frustrating and paved with failures. but each failure is a learning experience. What people with experience can do is help you identify the lesson, and maybe also help you to differentiate the possible from the impossible, but don't let anyone rob you of the journey or of giving it a try. At the risk of repeating myself, you are asking a lot of yourself to get both your foundation planting and your flower gardening out of one spot. If colour and seasonal variation are really important things for you, I really would suggest you consider adding a bed somewhere to give yourself more opportunity in better growing conditions - and that is tough to do nicely if you don't make a new bed out of the same stone. But maybe you can do that. The other thing that is a bit uphill for you is that you can only get so much uniqueness when your plantings are in the same PLACE as everyone else's. I suspect in your old neighbourhood, there was variety in WHERE in the yard people put their plants, as well as variety in what plants they had. If I drive through the neighbourhood, everyone's plants are probably at the foundation, and if only the details vary, the overall impression is still very similar. So your bed at the foundation is working against your desire to do something original on two counts. But it can be done... if you haven't already asked in the conifers forum, ask there for some suggestions for specialty conifers that would do well in these conditions. You do need evergreen plants - the bones, so to speak - and they can be broadleaf or needled evergreens. If you want a lot of variety in your flowering plants, you might enjoy having repeats of some interesting evergreens... I keep thinking of Chamaecyparis 'Wissel's Saguaro' but that might just be because I like it a lot. No idea if it works in your conditions. Even boxwoods would look good as consistent, repeated forms to offset the variety. If, on the other hand, you want consistency in the flowers (all purple petunias or peach roses), then go for variety in the conifers. Who knows, you might develop a talent for topiary :-) Some of my favourite yards are amazing topiary confections. I don't have the patience or the discipline for it though. Then you can do amazing things with quite ordinary plants. Pruning makes all the difference between green blobs and interesting shapes. Broadleaf evergreens will also offer some options for you; try asking for advice at a couple of nurseries - not big box stores. I don't know if the Ilex family would work or not, but if so, Ilex 'Mariesii' is a lovely plant - varies in form, can have some fun with it. Whitecap is right that people like me from outside your area may not be much use for specific plant recommendations, but we can help with form, and process. I've linked below to a site that explains the principles of landscape design in a way that I like. It doesn't all translate to the design of a single bed, but you can maybe play with some of the ideas. Karin L Here is a link that might be useful: Principles of landscape design

It looks OK to me. Did you wash the roots some? They look less black in last photo, but I can't tell if it is just different angle. I just peeled off another leaf, not because I worried about rot, just to show you how stem looks: If you really worry, just cut old roots off, cut maybe 1" of the stem - or more if it is still too long or if lowest leaves look like they are going to wither, and re-root it. I didn't take photo of the plant before cutting it, I actually beheaded it since it was more etiolated than yours. I must have cut off at least 1" above the soil level, didn't even take it out of the pot. So it would be probably 2" or bit more. I cut it not because of rot, or problems with roots (I didn't even look at them), but because I didn't like the look. You just have to make decision and perhaps take some chances. Either leave it, repot into well draining mix, or re-root. If my plant, I would cut it since the stem is long anyways - regardless how healthy or unhealthy roots may be. Do not forget, oldest leaves will wither away anyways - they do not last forever. And, if my plant, I would keep it in grittier mix (lots of perlite and chicken grit. If you have to use 'soil', keep it to 10-20% of the total...) ps: did you see photo Kd (bunkfree) posted here - click me? Proof that roots grow very well without soil...

For a white house, anything other than white garage doors and garage door frames, especially large or double garage doors, will compete with the front entry door of the home for attention and likely become the focal point of the front of the home. If that is what want, choose something other than white; otherwise, a quality built white door with windows across the top (to let in light but not enable peeping toms to snoop as to what might be in your garage) would be a better idea. The one exception to this is you're going all out to recreate your front entry to ensure it can outshine your new garage door.

Yes. We went on a two week cruise. The dogs were at boarding. During this time, the remediation company did the tear out, repair and replacement. It worked out beautifully. We had used this company previously. So, we had a pretty good idea of their work standard. I'm a control freak and they met my comfort level. Prior to departure, I had a meeting with the foreman. We discussed the project thoroughly. I placed an order on file with their preferred tile supplier in advance. I also left the tile setter a document with illustrations explaining what I wanted. They texted me pictures of the progress. It went really well. They did a great job with clean up. I couldn't be happier. We decided to go with a reduced project. We did not get into changing the countertop or flooring. We didn't get into the bath surround, either. When they did the tear out, it would appear that we discovered the leak very quickly. The Advantech flooring base had gotten wet, but was not soaked, or damaged. The tile setter advised us to keep it in place. He was afraid if he cut it out and replaced it, we would have cracking around the base walls very quickly. The material appeared to be in really good condition. We went with his recommendation. What we ended up doing was trimming the entry surround in the same manner as the other doorways in the room. Originally, the surround was made of tile. I thought the transition to a different tile would be too jarring. Thus, the doorway trim and base trim in wood painted to match the rest of the room. I think it works. I only have two complaints. One, the shower seat is narrower than it was before. It's really not much of a seat anymore. But, it works as a shelf and place to shave your legs. Two, the new tile wasn't quite as thick as the old tile and the shower door doesn't seal quite as tightly as before. It's acceptable, but not perfect. I had them take down the huge sconces over the tub and not replace them. I'm going to buy new ones to replace the old ones. I'm going to apply Rub and Buff to the lights above the sinks to tie them all together. The biggest improvement was the removal of the gross green walls. We painted them Sherwin Williams 2017 Creamy. It's a huge improvement. It's amazing what a coat of the right paint can do to update a room. Why did I not go for a full renovation? We have decided that our tenure in this house is only around five years. It didn't make sense to pour a lot of money into the bath. We would never get it out when we go to sell. This is plenty good enough and very functional. New doorway surround and paint job. New tile. We kept the old shower door, grab bars and shower controls The tile is a 12"x4" white porcelain subway tile with a bit of a relief. It doesn't get any simpler than hexagonal tile in white with white grout. We used an upgraded white grout that does not mildew throughout.