Oh when it rains it pours! After having a good hot day and only a 30% chance of rain forecasted, I though we would get a dry day under our belt. No such luck. This evening we got another storm, putting down another 8/10 tenths of rain. Dave, your advice is spot on, but when it rains this much and just about every single day, I canÂt even do what you suggest. I can do what Anney suggested. I have lots of 5 quart ice cream pails that I can cut the bottom out of and fill with planting mix. At this time it seems that may be my only viable option. Do you guys think I should forego putting my black plastic down? The positive thing about not putting the plastic down is; less walking around in the garden, therefore less compaction. The negatives are; soil not as warm, having to deal with weeds and isnÂt this next one ironic. Having the plastic down would keep the soil moist should the summer turn to be very dry. I guess after typing this out it seems that it would be best to put the black plastic down. I am including a picture of one of the ice cream buckets with the bottom cut out, to get some thoughts as to whether or not if they would do the job. Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. David

Keep the stucco, definitely - yeah it does require some occasional maintenance every ... oh, half a century or so... but it really is a quality item. Either patch and repaint, but make it an earthier color that realates better to roof and brick chimney - eg if green, a browner/richer/earthier shade of green. Or if you are resurfacing entire house, they can color the stucco itself to leave you with a more maintenance free surface that has a more of a natural masonry pebbly surface that can be VERY attractive. Im curious do you know what the original color or finish was? Not that you have to replicate it, but it can be helpful to inform you what the original intention was and look up pictures of other stucco houses of that era - could be Im way off about my inclination toward earthier colors for stucco. Your houses era/style, midcentury modern, is very fashionable these days and in fact a lot of contemporary architecture and home furnishings replicate or are inspired by that era.... so you really cant go wrong by remaining true to that style. You say "modernize" but IMHO, getting houses back to their roots and making changes that are harmonious with and true to the original design esthetic is usually the best choice. That in itself will make your house look totally refreshed and "new." Actually I cant see any sign of swirl marks in the photo - I don't think changing that would have nearly as much impact as repairing the surface & refreshing the color. BTW, I do agree with above posters that it is a very attractive house as is!

Hello everyone!!! I’m a complete newbie. I got a rose in a pot as a gift (Now I’m helplessly in love) I tried to make sense over the google, but information is simply too much for me to handle.. I already dealt with sawfly larva and mildew. But now my pot rose is suddenly changing!!! One is more like (please forgive me, if I’m wrong) an english tea rose, many petals, coral pink color. But now it produced 4 flowers, dark red, almost like classic Lincoln! Is that possible? Gonna add some photos, to show the difference.

First widen the walkway it is way too narrow and maybe a picture from uch further back so we can see the whole yard and house.