Violet you've been so helpful to me on this thread! Pictures help me so much to envision things! I've been following this because I too have a hot, tiny yard. Crekha, I think Violet is on to something by extending the patio beyond the roof. Envisioning two spaces instead of three separate ones. So the brick from the patio melds with the path along the garden and out. That would make it look larger simply because it wasn't chopped up into three separate surfaces. Also loved the idea of a low fence with a gate to add two separate "rooms." And the use of the big pots with big plants instead of the little ones. Put your little pots on an outdoor etagier.

Wow--that was over a year ago that I asked my question about a red with yellow reverses. Appreciate folks still making suggestions. For some reason, Ketchup & Mustard and some of the others just don't make my heart sing, but I will keep Smart and Sassy and Dark Night on a reserve list, for future reference. I don't remember why I did not dig up Gypsy Carnival last fall or this early spring--probably just got too busy with other things--but this year Gypsy has been shaping up a bit--not as many disease problems and its actually growing fuller so it looks more like the floribunda it is supposed to be. On the other hand, this past summer has been so hot (over 100 degrees almost ALL SUMMER) that most of my garden shut down, so I'm not exactly sure where things are. We are now moving into cooler fall temps, so maybe that will tell me if Gypsy is moving toward her full potential--definitely next spring should. I guess I'll wait and see. I do love her BIG FAT blooms and I've worried over her for so long--now that she seems to (maybe) be hitting her stride, I kinda want to be there to see how it turns out. But I do appreciate everyone's continuing interest. If next spring Gypsy once again becomes a BS mess, I've got my reserve list handy. Thanks. Kate

I think painting the boards has already helped :) I agree with the masses about the planter not being right for the pool. However, I think you can change it's volume with plants for this year (and let the pool be the big cost for now). I've got some similar planters. I've gardened before, but not in this climate. So I'm going to suggest the two part process I used. See what's in the stores, writing down the names of plants you like. Then check the Sunset garden book, to see what it says. Then make lots of purchases of relataivly cheap plants -- nothing too large and pricy. Do try to coordinate the plants -- if some want lots of water and some don't plant them in groups a different ends of the planters, or in different planters. (I called this two part, but really, I keep going back and forth). I've found in the past that "full sun" can mean drastically different things for different plants, so I've only planted things that I won't be too upset to lose, and I'm seeing who does best (with the sun at my house and how much I'm willing to water, etc). You could also try some thing like Scarlet runner beans or Sweet peas along the fence. I *think* they will grow up the fence and break the visual line without needing trellis, and they grow quickly but just in the summer. You'll probably be better off getting plants locally, you can get them a little bit bigger. You could try doing a seach on the web - there's an organizations that small nurseries belong to... I think.

For those interested in the custom skim cover solution, I did some homework. I called the owner of Environmental Pools who gave me the name of the product they used. It�s available at www.pouralid.com. It was designed to pour concrete, Kool-Deck or aggregate into, but clearly from this example it can be used for pavers too. And the price is incredibly reasonable. I called up the company and got the owner there too and he was a super nice guy and worked out overnighting two covers for me since my deck is almost done. They arrived bright and early and fit perfectly into my standard skimmer. If your contractor doesn�t have them, you can order them online at www.waterlev.com. A few notes. The cover, again designed to have a concrete pour, is not nearly as deep as the full height of the Blu pavers so my landscaper is having to thin the paver out, which is fine because that will make it lighter. And they will need to mortar it to the lid base. Also, the cover comes in three parts. It has a plastic cover of whatever color you ordered (I picked grey but there are several choices), so even if you didn�t do the custom application you would still get away from white. Then it had the lid itself that you pour or adhere the paver too. Then, and this is key, it has its own neck/frame that the lid sits in so that your concrete or pavers can be secured up against the lid without impeding it. Great design, and again surprisingly affordable. I�m really happy I saw this here so thanks to the OP.