Thanks again for all the great suggestions. designoline6, is that summersweet clethra? A shrub that's great for this area, and one we're planning a bunch of in the back where we have wetter areas. I like how you drew it. Unfortunately, can't plant anything out that far into the front. Still thinking maybe a Japanese maple. karin1, I love the idea of perennials and bulbs and actually plan to incorporate them into the beds, but here in CT if that's all we had, the whole front would be bare for 5-6 months of the year. The grasses and a few other things do have some cool structural interest in the winter, but unless there's something evergreen in there too, it just looks desolate. The plantings will extend out at least 6-7 feet in front of the back holly row. I will check out all those that you mentioned. yardvaark, yes, the side approach is just big flat blah wall! It's awful, but also pretty much the norm around here. Sometimes looks like a face to me, with that motion light as the nose. (wreath or evergreen swag thing looks nice on there all winter.) One issue we have to consider is access to the back/side/front yards for trucks. Seems we always need tree guys to come for something, and nothing can go over the front lawn because of the septic, so we need to maintain access to the right. My solution is a row of feather reed grass-overdam, lining that right side of the driveway, not too tightly spaced. Hoping it will create not so much a total screen as a visual stop, more of a psychological screen. Also, won't be an issue with the snow that gets piled there by the plow, and we can either plan work in the yard in the late winter/spring when it's cut down, or worst case scenario a few of the grasses are trashed for a season by trucks, but nothing permanent. What do you think? As far as the grade, I think the pictures make it look like much more of a slope than it is. All of the walkway quotes we got were on the fence about needing even one step. They all priced it, but said they were pretty sure that with their measurements it should be avoided. It's really quite a nice gentle flow. I think I'm just a bad photographer! Also, with the septic in front and excellent drainage /flow in the area, doing anything to change the flow/grade in the front of the house just isn't an option. I can work around terrain and landscaping issues, but I cannot handle sewage backing up into the house or having any type of issue with the septic!! Things are just fine now, and I'm deathly afraid to do anything that might lead to a septic issue. Totally agree that everything needs to stay gently below the window level and not be too busy. So many people around here plant to fill any blank space beside the ground floor windows, and I don't like the look at all. I just want a big gentle sweepy flow. In the pictures the hose marks the edge of the walkway closest to the hose, then the walkway will be 4 feet wide off of that, so post lamp will be towards the driveway end maybe 1-2' from outside edge of walkway. Driveway and entrance have great lighting, it's just that area as you approach the end of the house (when leaving) that's dark. Picture is deceiving. 4' wide walkway will flare to 6' as it enters driveway. Given all that, I'm trying to finalize the general structure of the end of the bed on the right. This is the bed to the left of the door, just to show. Will be tweaked and added to, but general layout is okay. Might consider an upright blue-ish juniper on the corner behind the ninebark down the road, and will maybe swap out the first euonymus for a bluestar juniper. All down the road. Shot looking out front door to right. Will probably put in a red japanese maple, maybe fireglow, roughly in the tan-ish area of grass. Away from wires, kind of half-way between house and the trees on side, and as you walk up the walkway from driveway it will be dead ahead in your sight line, but in the distance. Shot of front from further back. Huge sugar maple to the right of drivway and garage. Bigger than it looks. Beautiful. Can see the little dark green dots of the feather reed grass pots. Can't plant until next week because a truck needs to deliver an Autumn Brilliance serviceberry tree to the backyard. Also can see the hay in foreground where I'm planting grass to creat a nice defined edge to the front grass rather than raggedy patchiness dribbling into the pine needles under the evergreens. SO...this is my real question...(given that nothing is changing in slope or grading), what is the basic structure of this end part of the bed? It will be about 8 feet deep. The measurement to the end of the downspout rocks is about 6 feet. (the downspout is usually extended to go to the driveway.) All those rocks will be gone and that grass triangle will be part of the plantings. I need to get something at the end of the row, against the foundation, evergreen. I think it should have some visual weight, and will grow up to roughly the brick, and softly grow a bit over the right edge of the house. A rhodo is an option, but it seems like the shape is too similar to the pieris. It would be, from doorway: big blob....lots of little blobs..then exact same shape big blob on the end. With yew it would be: big blob...lots of little blobs...then big, different shape and texture clob on the end. (Also, whole area could use some needled stuff added.) Please note this back row is just the back/base and there will be six feet-ish of low plantings, perennials, etc, extending out in front. It isn't just the "row of blobs"! Either way, I really need to figure out what's in front of the potential yew or rhododendron, something low but kind of a focal point right as you come around the corner, maybe in the general area of the end of that rock row. I was thinking maybe temporarily a small, white-blooming hydrangea. Cheap and can be moved relatively easily in a few years. Any other ideas?? Picture the row completed in the back, what should be the general arrangment of the area extending out from there, in the yard direction, on the end? (I can figure out the rest of the run, shooting for low simple, some mix of textures, etc. It's the end that I can't envision) Of course small stuff, but one round pretty thing, 3 very small roundish things? Maybe even something with height if it's airy and narrow? What about a very small open upright Japanese maple, situated back enough so that it would be possible to prune it to keep branches from impeding walkway? Of course there will be other low stuff in that area. I've got some nice white bleeding hearts and tons of ferns we can use in the area that's now grass, at least for now. The whole area on that corner needs to be the pretty, inviting, flowing, kind of open, come-this-way area. If I can just get a concept of general structure for the area, I can fill in with cheap things or transferred stuff, get the evergreen structure settled for the back, and maybe get whatever pretty little mini-accent thing for the end of that rock area, either the permanent thing or a cheaper temp thing for a few years. (of course, rocks won't actually be there. It'll just slope down.) Sorry for such a long post. I appreciate any and all thoughts. As I mentioned, we're really trying to get a basic structure decided for that area at the end, and money is tight! We have a million projects going on, and of course I'm spending all my time focusing on this, the smallest issue. We have another area that's a massive project, so maybe it's just easier to focus on this for awhile! The big project:

They make a granulated bait (similar to snail bait) that's geared toward pillbugs, earwigs and grasshoppers. Works wonders! I used to find mine in local nurseries and even some drug stores. My best earwig control so far are the bunches of little tree frogs in the GH. Man, can those little guys eat! A good spraying and soaking with Conserve will take care of thrips, probably also spider mites (I'd have to dredge up the container and read the label to find out what all it kills). Smell isn't bad at all. As for emptying a heavy tub of water in the house, you might try to find a very tiny sump pump thing. My DH used to have several he used to drain our koi breeding tank. Submerse the little pump in the bucket, run a short hose to wherever (sink?) and plug it in and let it do its thing. Emptying using a gallon juice container would also work, but would require several trips to the sink until the tub was empty enough to lift, and if you're like me, the floor would require mopup from all the dribbles and spills. I also have one of those "bump out" bay windows in the living room where I keep my phals. No lights on them so far, haven't figured out how to do that without ticking my DH off big time. They seem to get just enough light reflected from the white house across the way to grow and bloom, but the growth and blooms are nothing like they used to be in the GH. How about those long grow lights (like fluorescent tubes?) on a stand? Not cheap, but should keep light directed downward enough not to reflect too badly into the room. You do have a project coming up, for sure! Sharon

The heavy rains and winds started around 3PM. Red Salvia is laying on the ground and tithonia is snapped at ground level. Keep reminding myself people have it much worse with loss of property and even lives so it's not the end of the world if the nectaring bunch have to use staked up zinnias to eat! Last 2 chrysalides I brought into garage are getting very dark. Just checked forecast for tomorrow (Sunday) and sun should be out by later in afternoon. After seeing more than a few eclose I know what the chrysalis looks like a day before...and they're going to pop tomorrow. Gotta get them dried out and ready to fly as soon as the sun appears tomorrow. If they aren't ready during that sunny window before nightfall I'll have to "sponge feed" them until Monday when it's weather forecast is all clear. It just occurred to me that I haven't worried about the power going out or some of the Chinese Wisteria choked trees coming down like last storm but it's the Monarchs I've been concentrating on since last night...LOL. Come on, Tracey, spill about what plants you got on clearance at Lowe's! :) I need to get my behind out to nurseries and garden centers to see what I can find on clearance that I won't kill over winter if I don't get to do the 24" deep amending thing again in less than ideal soil/drainage conditions even though I did that last fall. What does this clay want from me...LOL.

Beachlily, Rinsing is a very wise thing to do for eye accidents. Prevention is the only thing better. Corneas are no plaything. Whatever you do, go back to the MD for that check. I became very eye conscious when I taught Chemistry labs. I was one of the more obnoxious instructors and would yell across the room asking by name "so-and-so, where are your safety glasses?" I had an assistant and once, I noted her glasses were off and yelled at her. Not 30 seconds later, she smelled the top of a test tube with a reaction on-going, (strictly against all rules) and it blew up in her face! I quickly had her at the eye wash and we rinsed and rinsed, then transported her to the hospital. She had minor burns all over her face except for the area covered by the safety glasses she had replaced when I yelled at her. (I had felt bad for yelling until she was hurt). She was very grateful for my rudeness. Sunglasses are a good idea too for all of us gardeners...you just never know. beachlily, I am so glad you are going to be okay. We need the eye to garden and to appreciate the beautiful places. kay