Hurray! I got my package from Diene today! Diene, you did a fantastic job of selecting plants I don't have. Lavender made the whole box smell delicious. 2 different sedums that I do not have will go in my sedum bed. Yarrow-perfect for cutting. Astilbe for the shade garden. Golden Bleeding Heart- I love it! I also received a lovely natural sand dollar and snail shell, a wind chime and a terrapin as well as seeds for crocosmia, bachelors buttons and stocks. The terrapin is going in the vegetable garden where the living prototype is eating my tomatoes. Maybe they will think the area is too crowded and move on? Vela, I am glad you liked your box. You have been a great hostess! I won't be participating in the next round. I am busy with the wedding, and there is not much in the garden right now that I would feel comfortable digging up; too hot and too mature. With the water restrictions we have been placed under, it is really hard to keep everything going. I will be peeking in now and then to see what everyone receives and how things are going. Late July, early August is a great time to divide iris and daylilies. Hopefully one of you will host a swap then. I have lots of those I need to divide and obligating yourself to a swap is a great motivator. Some photos from this morning: Fuchsia Koralle Shasta Daisy Sunny Side Up a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"> Pentas, Grafitti Pink Morning Glory, Flying Saucers

I found your chat in counter in front of window very helpful. But I cannot add to it. Can anyone help us about a kitchen design dilemma. We want to add a set of small washer dryer in the kitchen (about 10ft x 11ft). But it’s an old 1930 old apartment with two wall of low windows (three old Harvey window on one wall and two on adjacent). Right now all kitchen appliances/fridge are on the two walls without window in L shape arrangement. Would appreciate any advice on how to add the washer/dryer and perhaps more counter space to this design dilemma without losing natural light from the windows?

There ARE a lot of minute details that ultimately go in to the creation of a complete landscape installation. Most of os who do (or did) it for a living had many of the same struggles of learning about nuances at the beginning of our careers. Then we begin to see patterns of what works and what doesn't, gradually learning to eliminate landscape problems before creating them. For the DIY-er it can be the same as us starting out ... lots of frustrations. On the other hand, there are some landscape architects/designers who never do landscape maintenance and do not have a clue how much more maintenance they're adding with certain configuration schemes. (If you noticed, I limit shrubs to specific places and numbers instead of plastering them solid across the entire front of buildings. This saves a lot of trimming. Also, it eliminates the smothered-in-shrubs look.) Pruning won't be weekly, but likely monthly-ish.

I agree! Such a simple but wonderful idea that is a win-win for everyone. That's great that you posted it on your Nextdoor. I'm so inspired by so many people in NYC right now! Another group that has formed is called Invisible Hands. They will deliver groceries or prescriptions to anyone who is unable to get them themselves due to age or health issues. It is completely done by volunteers. I think they even offer a $30 subsidy for people low on money. And at 7 pm every night, everyone opens their windows and claps, blows horns, rings bells as a way to say thank you to all of the people who are helping us get through this; the healthcare workers, delivery people, shop workers, etc. Almost every day a local store closes for 24 hours so they can sanitize it due to an employee catching the virus. A few days ago it was a Trader Joe's, after that it was a Duane Reades. Each night the clapping gets louder than the night before as more and more people join in. It's something to see and hear.