Wow! Thank you so much for the suggestions everyone. I've been scrapbooking design elements and plants for over 3 years. My problem is that I appreciate too many things: English country, Japanese and French formal gardens, bearded irises, the Acer Palmatum Dissectum Viridis, purple flowers, most of the Heronswood catalog, etc... I'm having a hard time planning touches that complement the house and make sense. I'm obsessed with fixing this yard, but in two years all I've done is take down trees and buy bearded irises (my absolute favorite flower; which should be arriving soon). I don't want to turn my yard into something it's not - it's a wooded lot. I just want to add some personality and color here and there because there is zero color at ground level. Busyd95 is right. I can't afford to spend like crazy (only about 2-3K per year). I can't afford to make mistakes; certainly not if I want a yard to enjoy in my lifetime! So all your input has been helpful and insightful. It's been difficult finding professional help locally. I live in a military town. Several companies have refused to work here. My gardener (from a previous residence) actually quit after one session here. The last time we took down trees, they couldn't even get a stump grinder up to the kitchen yard. The stumps are still there. So at less than 1 acre this yard pretty much intimidates everyone. It's been a very frustrating experience. My house is the white elephant of the area (probably the town too) and Nandina is right about the leaves and pine straw - they seem to be on the ground most of the year. When we bought this house, the yard looked like it hadn't been touched in 10 years. The house looked haunted - one of the reasons we painted it a bright color. There are actually a few "scraggly" Azaleas, Rhododendrons and one Hosta here. They just have to go. No doubts about that. I haven't planted delicate flowers like phlox because I worry they'll get choked out. I've considered container gardening, but its tricky finding matched, large and non-plastic pots anywhere. I've checked "every" local nursery and home-store in the area... I am also checking online... But getting back to the original topic (sorry everyone) of the kitchen yard, I like the idea of a table, the Schizophragma Hydrangeoides vine, the Fragrant Tea Olive (which is actually already on my wishlist), and the Jack in the Pulpits; but only if they trap mosquitoes. This is generally a damp area. Nandina there's a downspout (coming from the roof) between the steps and the first air unit that's causing the drainage problem you saw. There's a river across the road and several creeks running through this neighborhood, which probably account for all the mosquitoes. We even have an underground stream at the base of the property. (I won't even go into what it's been like to find help for that.) Giboosi I like your suggestions of Solomon's Seal (what an interesting ladder-like shape) and the Tricyrtis (like small orchids). And Diggerb2 I like the idea of woodruff instead of mulch. Mulch is just out of the question as a large groundcover because of the Fall leaves. But still, some groundcovers are hard to find cheaper because they're only sold as plants; not seeds. I was considering Lobelia 'Emperor William' as a possible groundcover. It blooms 3 of 4 seasons and only grows 5 inches tall. Constructing a lean-to like cover was my first thought too for the air units, but it's tricky. That protruding air vent just throws off any design I can come up with. I also dislike lattice. It wouldn't match the siding (1-foot wide vertical cedar boards) on our 15-foot tall deck that surrounds two sides of the house. We've considered just painting the air units - is that something that can actually be done? It seems everyone is recommending stepping stones, but the stone walkway and steps (already there) match all the other stonework on the house (interior fireplace, chimney, retaining walls, etc.). It cannot be changed. And the area doesn't seem wide enough for stepping stones. The kitchen yard is actually 12-feet (fence to air unit edge) by 54-feet (gate to edge of stairs that lead down to the driveway/parking area). If any of you can stand more details, the kitchen yard extends out (12 feet by about 28-feet) to border one side of our driveway and then end in the part of our yard with the gazebo in it. This L-shape has made it difficult to plan garden beds. I can't seem to come up with anything except strict rows of plants; which I don't want to do. I'd like a few twists and turns - perhaps the hint of a secret garden, but I just don't want to fence in the kitchen yard again... Taken this morning. An aerial of the area causing trouble with planning. The view coming in from the North yard. The lovely air units. And for kicks . . . the tapped spring just flowing into the street.

Irma I was having the same problem and I read on one of these forums a thread where a guy just removed the plastic and had some metal pieces welded to the chairs....My chairs were still in great condition except for the bands so I had my neighbor weld some strips on the bottom...a coat of paint and they look fabulous...

How sweet! I love it! It is funny but when kids have a great imagination, anything can be fun. Geez, I remember pretending to be a horse and jumping over obstacles made from boxes, wastebaskets, anything I could get my hands on in the yard. I would set up the obstacles like the jumps at a horse show. Other times I was a barrel racer. Or we played stay away from the sharks. The living room floor was the ocean and the dogs were the sharks. I had to jump from one piece of furniture to the next to stay away from the dogs or *gulp* swim across the floor (run) before the sharks got me. And we used to play basketball with a Nerf ball and the lampshades were the hoops. Or we'd take blown up balloons and try our best to keep them in the air (I broke a window with my head once when I got a little too exuberant). Sometimes the simple stuff is the best! Love the sweet story of your grandson and Mingo. Thanks so much for sharing it!

I found this thread because I just got off the phone with my wife who informed me that replacement slings for our set of six Telescope chairs will be $780.00! That is a very tough pill to swallow, and like many here we weighed this heavily against just getting a cheaper set from HD, Costco, or any number of stores. Our set is about 10 years old to date (purchased summer of 2010) and the aluminum frames, table, and umbrella have held up extremely well (we do store them inside for winter though). Ultimately, I decided to stick with these and pay the exorbitant price for a few reasons: - The rest of the set is extremely high quality. I feel good each year when I pull it out of storage - heavy duty powder coated aluminum construction that has lasted well and still looks 9/10 after a spring wipe-down. - It does bother me how much importation has changed - pushing us toward a throw-away-away-and-buy-another culture. I do feel like we enjoy additional quality on these American made items (not always the case). - Less and less stuff is American made any more. As an engineer and a maker, I miss the days when we made most of the best stuff here. This set still exemplifies that quality. It's a little thing, but something I rarely get to enjoy these days. - After 10 years, with very little degradation (other than the fabric slings), I know what to expect from this set, and feel confident that they will last another 10 years easily with new fabric. The convenience of going 10-12 years between having to think about this, or take a gamble on something potentially less durable is worth something to me. Surely, I'll be feeling the sting of this bill in about a month (so good thing I'm writing this now!), but I thought I'd share what tipped us to reinvesting in this very expensive set. Pic when new April 2010: