Hi Dave, Sorry to be late to the party!! I have been working to much!! " ) The Miami Rose is a happy tree! It was happy with you as well.. MO..? When i brought that big baby home, it did go through a period of mild shock!! Don't laugh.. it was a long trip home ( 3 hrs) with this giant tree in my back seat coming forward to the front seat!! LOL.. Dave even helped me wrap it up.. She was happy after i left her alone to adjust.. Then i root pruned her and potted her up to a five gallon container. SHe really liked the trim and i think it has rewarded me this year. I did keep the soil consisent as to what you were using. Next year, i will repot, bare root into the gritty mix. I do repot the little ones more than the bigger ones.. The big boys will be next year. Thank you again for this beauty!! I LOVE IT!!! I still think of that citrus... LOL.. Ill email you about the other things mentiones a few days ago. I had to laugh at spell check... woa!!! LOLOl... Take care Dave, Laura

jejvtr: I like the first link you showed, but the second one did not work. You are right the columns look similar. Perhaps you should leave them afterall, they are growing on me. It has a certain delicacy with the arched roof and you may change you mind also once the trim is painted different than the house color. Which is probably another reason my vote is for a non-white base color--to accentuate your lovely trimwork. I'm glad you are looking at other homes similar to yours for inspiration. When we were remodeling last year, I always kept a digital camera in my car and I would snap pics of features/colors/etc of houses I liked--usually while picking up or dropping off my kids from school or sports practices. I would try to drive a bit in the residential areas. Then when we were finalizing paint, I had my paint swatches with me and I would go up to houses which I liked and compare paint swatches. Once you and your DH find an inspiration pic I think this is helpful to narrow down to an actual color. You will always see things we don't, like lighting and how it works from various angles. What does DH think? Still white/red?

HOLY WOW! Has this thread ever taken a lot of hits since I looked last : ) Great ideas too. I still like the color of your parent home the way it is...but I would go with a different (larger) shutter in a complimenting color. I like the idea of bright accent for your door too. I'm still keen on the purple floral tones too : ) I also like the wood trim above the windows, it really adds character. Not to crazy about the flower boxes, too hard to water, keep moist and dirt will splash the windows, I'm a freak about my windows LOL and a bit lazy too. Did you find out if you can remove the railing around the front porch? If that is something you've considered. Or pillar accents? I like those too. One thing to consider is that when you plant near the foundation is helps deter 'dishonest' ppl from sneaking/viewing into the windows, especially when you plant something with a bit of thorns nearer the back. Uplighting helps too! What have your parents thought so far? Spring is coming and I'm sure they are eager to get started. Your children will love being close to G & G, just as much as they will : )

zipdee: I'm late to this thread, but love what you've done so far--the steps, the original door, etc. I also have a Northern Exposure and heavy shade tree in front and had some similar problems. We relandscaped last fall after our remodel and I'm really happy how it turned out and get lots of compliments from our neighbors. I drew everything out on graph paper ahead of time to better visualize how it would all look together taking into consideration walkways, planter beds, drainage and lighting--plants were last. Some things we did which you might want to consider were to curve the walkway and extend it to the side of the house where we added a gate and bike shed to store the kids' bikes (noticed you had several on your side porch) and also curve and widen the front planter beds. I was really nervous about the wider beds at first in case they did not look good, but I find it allows for tiered plantings and also brings the front part of the beds into more sun so I have more planting options. I also tried for advice on the landscaping forum and concur what has already been said above. What we ended up doing was working with the owner of a nursery and she was very helpful with plant selection and even made a home visit to help with placement. I find that using proper soil ammendments, plant food and Vitamin B1 directly after planting make a huge difference. I learned so much from her, just watching her work and now I feel more confident to do my own selection and placement. I just finished my spring overhaul (taking out what didn't survive the winter and filling in the blank spots). What I've learned is that good gardens (like good decor) do not happen overnight--it's an evolutionary process so don't be afraid to experiment and that is how you will find what plants look good and grown well in your space. Hardscape, drainage, lighting, etc. are more expensive and permanent, though, so it pays to think carefully what your needs are. I do think azaleas with a good acidic soil ammendment are pretty fool proof, though. Her fee was something like $200 and money well spent, though the landscaping forum will make you think you need a landscape architect or you'll mess up. Some of the plants that do well in our shady area are: azaleas, camellias, mother fern, Japanese maple, violas (spring/summer), cyclamens (winter) and purple palace; though your best bet is to go around your neighborhood and see what plants work well in your neighbors' yards since climate varies. I also used a bit of strategically placed ornamental stone. It looks like you are off to a very good start.