I need a P.O.W. fix

I need a nursery fix. My garden beds have some nagging gaps and one whole section of the yard (behind the pool) is just... yuck. I plan to hit P.O.W. this week, then other (pricier) nurseries. P.O.W has some really fun stuff and great bargains. All the plants I bought there last summer/fall (lavender, daylilies, penstemon, 'Moonbeam' coreopsis, a really pretty pink sedum, etc.) are looking great and blooming very nicely. Ok, so the lavender was mislabled and isn't compact, but I like it nonetheless. As long as it's English and relatively dark blue/purple, I'm happy. Nothing against the Spanish and French and their squatty little lavenders... kidding! And I'm 3/4 Irish, so it's not a solidarity thing. I just prefer lavandula of the English heritage. Can't we still all be brothers?

Yes, it's hot and I really shouldn't be planting in hot weather, but I just gots to fill in those gaps. Knowmsayin? In the yuck area behind the pool, I plan to add a mass of grasses... something arching and fountain-like and classy (like me). I'm thinking miscanthus or calamagrostis. Or if I see something fabulous at a nursery-- it doesn't have to be a grass-- I'll go for that. I don't like to plan ahead too much because I relish the thrill of finding something new and wonderful and unexpected when I'm out nursery hopping. Blueprints schmooprints, I say.

In a week, I'm escaping to beautiful Mendocino for a few days to celebrate the big 4-0. I won't be going alone. Two of my dearest friends who are "crossing over" at about the same time are coming with me... to Mendo and into old age. We'll kick back, enjoy the coastal views, wander the botanical gardens, check e-mail at the local internet cafe, eat decadent dinners, relax in the hot tub, toast to a few lovely local vintages... and complain to anyone who'll listen about our bursitis. Then we'll tell 'em again about it. Slowly. Isn't that what you're supposed to when you're our age? ;-)