Love that box, Slow! I like that you left the inside unpainted... less is better sometimes (your wastebasket gift for CJ, too.) Both were a great choice! I have a similar shaped box. Probably 100 years ago... in a tole painting stage of my life.. I painted it. Most things from them have gone by the wayside... but you've given me an idea of how to bring it out again and use it in a different way! Thank you! And as alway.. thanks for the wonderful inspiration!

Wow, thanks so much, all! We lived so long in the partial remodel we got so used to rock walls and cherry paneling (and furniture to match). edeevee: it was a challenge to combine all the old furniture without buying too much new (two chairs). We ended up with a lot of warm undertones (derived from the paneling) that we had to try to blend with some grey ones (from the rest of the house). kiki_thinking: I think your wall will turn out just fine. We did a little paint washing on the most offensive rocks, but we also had lava rock in the mix that there was no other fix for. It was messy and cost a whole lot more than expected to fix that wall of rock. After tear down, we were left with a pile of bricks.

Cheers, Maackia. Yeah, it's hard...but I am learning to cope (smirk). On a non-tree note, the household members gave me some severe hard-eye when I rocked up with a rubus I had been craving - r.thibetanus 'Silver Fern'. Frankly, I don't understand the fuss - it's not as if I had traipsed in with r.cockburnianus (or the plant substitute for barbed wire). Already have just the spot, in front of a gloomy yew hedge...and will (obviously) need to acquire a Himalayan birch (or 2) to carry on with the ghostly stem theme.Those b.utilis (and to a lesser extent, b.septentrionalis) always look good as multi-stemmed specimens...and this is certainly how I plan on growing them. There are a few US trees which have really caught my eye - it is slightly mystifying that they are not more popular in the UK - specifically the buckeyes and also the hickories. Might it be a case of not enough summer heat (as with lagerstroemias)?

I was going to say, just take it off the dang thing and replace with siding. Its just a veneer and often only on the one side of the house, not relating to anything else. Then do raised beds and stairway in stone in front to ground the house and give appearance of solidity. Create a good size landing in front of the door - at least 3-4 feet out, with the 4 steps going down between the raised beds on either side. The beds should extend at least 6 feet out to allow for a generous display of perennials or flowering shrubs. If room add small ornamental tree closer to the street, to the side of the house. Oh well, a project for another time maybe. IMHO small modest houses always benefit from lush cottagey plantings - - you could get geeky and choose popular 1950s era flowers like bright zinnias and red carnations