Don't get discouraged if you kill a few... or more than a few. And try and find out how to pick the right candidates for seedlings or pre-sprouted plants before buying them to help you in being successful! I made that mistake on an impulse buy of my fuyu persimmon tree which had a several small branches on a bare root tree! When it struggled through most of the year only to finally give up the ghost it was quite sad for me, but I replaced "Percy" the next time and thought to Google first and learned that a bare root tree should be more root than branch so it doesn't have to work so hard to support itself and establish at the same time. This may also apply to some other plants as well since the above ground part is only half the story and the roots are the heart of the matter. I learned I should have chosen one with a nice set of roots (open the bag if you have to, I did) and no branches at all, just trunk. That one leafed out almost immediately (the other never did) and is thriving in a big pot I put it in until I figure out where it will live permanently, since it will be better to only move it once. This way its portable for a while. AND Seeds: sometimes its more efficient to germinate in a napkin in a bag first and plant when you know that they are viable. It seems to germinate faster by a magnitude for me this way, and also saves me the axiety of peering at the ground and wondering if it is weeds or my seeds that are coming up if I direct sow. It also helps, if you do direct sow, to mark the spot with some flag to help clear any confusion too. If you have pets, get a small fence/border to discourage them. (Roundup isn't all that will kill peppers...a dog does a decent job of that too. My pooch seems to have a vendetta against them and my artichokes for some reason. I came home one day to a massacre! It wasn't pretty...) =) Last: some plants will thrive much better if you don't let them get out of hand and unruly- don't be afraid to prune - my tomatoes and grapes are very forgiving even if I get overzealous. Also petunias seem to appreciate a nip and tuck too, or they turn to a sticky mush. Trial and lots and lots of error is probably the only way to go though. If you don't kill anything, you aren't REALLY gardening. =)

Depending on the cost we are planning to build the Tranquility plan in central Texas, but we can't build a basement to raise the height of the home due to hard soil. Has anyone added a second floor covered patio to the second story of the Tranquilty floor plan or one of the other versions that is similar to it that Garrell offers? Our lot we plan to purchase has a panoramic lake view, but we need to be up higher to see it. We are not planning to build any of rooms on the second floor, but we would like to have an interior staircase leads up through the unfinished second story that gives us access to door that opens onto a 2 story covered deck. If that isn't possible then we would need an exterior staircase with an easy walk up on the exterior side wall of the master/master bath. Our ideal location for our covered deck would be over the Master and Master bath, and we are hoping the roof line can be altered to allow a gable over the covered patio. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated, as I email Garrell 2 days ago, but I've heard back from them.

While that may (or may not) help, studies are showing glyphosate showing up in some pretty strange places. One study reported it is found in Human mother breast milk in Germany, a country which banned its use. Another linked over exposure to it by farmers in Central and South America to "kidney necrosis", death of the farmers' kidneys. Both glyphosate and 2-4-D are endocrine disruptors. They are finding increasing evidence they not only disrupt plants, but also insects, animals and Humans, as well as lead to or directly cause a host of other illnesses and ailments. Buying non GMO and/or "organic" may help reduce our exposure,but the chemicals find their way into many other food products we are never warned about nor notified of. Thank you, Karen. Yes ma'am, the DARK Act is but one of so many "sell outs" of the citizenry. We're currently hearing a lot of push over Dodd-Frank, the banking regulations act. It contains some safeguards for the industry and the citizenry, but it also contains a nasty little provision called "bank bail-ins". If you're unfamiliar with them, you honestly need to research them. Unfortuantely, there isn't a whale of a lot any of us are able to do to protect ourselves. Those in power wish to eliminate the safeguards/regulations, which will surely lead to another crash. That will then trigger bail-ins. At that point, we are all screwed. The banks get the money you have on deposit. The derivative losers are first in line to be made whole using the monies on deposit in the banks and no one is forgiven their debts, taxes, etc.

Hi lascatx! The piano does not fit between the windows or on the opposite wall unless I angle it in the corner which someone mentioned was a no-no for upright pianos. I'm wondering if art and lamp above/on the piano could help with the "all one height along the wall" problem. And then I could move the existing art to the back wall where the mirror is in these pics. The bookcase has been in our foyer right outside this door to this room. I kind of miss it there, so I may move it back. It's not really any farther away if I use it for storage for office items - I haven't been sold on it between the windows and that would be one less piece of brown furniture in here. I definitely gravitate towards blues, so I'd definitely be open to that on the walls...finding the right color is the hard part. The current color is Benjamin Moore November Rain and it isn't terrible in person, but I figured I should explore other options since it needs a fresh coat.