Nah, not thinking that far into the future for myself. Just marveling and wondering how the trees (no particular species) in show photos and that I've seen in person were kept so flawless. Lucy, I would never in a life time thought of putting a tile under a tree in the yard or my flower bed keep the roots growing laterally. I'll certainly do that. And Jim, thanks for getting back with me on Arkansas clubs.

Generally, in CT peony foliage stays pretty much in good shape till October and only then start decline. The only two reasons I could think of why yours foliage is not good, either you forgot to water them from time to time and they are going into early dormancy or they have a Botrytis. There are plenty of info on a net about this fungus, but i include the link to the article that explain this particular and many other peony problems in a simple terms. Here is a link that might be useful: Peony problems

Technicolor - After reading your original post again, I never thought about porch and floor paint but that would make sense. What brand (Ace?) were you talking about? Oh, and wouldn't you still need to sand - at least scuff sand and use a (bonding) primer like Zinsser first? *NOTE - Just a general heads up, I don't recommend anyone using SW Porch and Floor paint. Total crap. I supposedly got a 'bad batch' (it never got past tacky and I went above and beyond to do that job right.) and had to redo my stair project which was MISERABLE. They gave me a new gallon of paint and threw in some tape and sandpaper but that still didn't fix my stairs. I was told they were discontinuing the product but I believe it's still available. Your kitchen sounds really pretty. And I like red - have a bathroom painted BM Moroccan Red. You think bb around my DR side too? "My senses tell me it is the dining room that is making this so difficult for you. I know you don't want to change it, but the styles are clashing regardless of color." I almost hate to ask, but can you be more specific? I look at it everyday and I'm sure can't 'see' it like someone else. I'm assuming it's too formal/stuffy for the kitchen side? I've been trying to get away from that a bit, tho the rug didn't bother me enough to make it a replacing priority right now. I figured I'd have a better chance of stumbling across art I liked first. Even if I had more money, I don't know what I'd pick or replace first. Ha, it's a little tough to change anything if you don't have a clear game plan. It's interesting, in the past when I had a project, I'd throw ideas out and go back and forth, back and forth with what I wanted to do and I always have to WAIT, sometimes months, until I figure out what's going to work for me. I wish I knew how to speed the process up. I'll post a photo with the new hardware on when it comes.

Not a sign of distress......that's just how it grows :-) Hydrangeas are caning shrubs, not trees, and are carefully trained into a tree-like form by removing lower branches. Those are just the starts of new branching and you do want to remove if you wish to maintain the plant as a 'tree'. Don't "chop" off - rub them off with your fingers while still very new and young. This leaves no stubs or scarring and tends to limit any regrowth in that area.