I'd pick one and go with it...then find someplace else for the other one. With them being placed so close to each other and having similar growth habits (in terms of size), you won't really be able to fully enjoy either one...they'll compete visually. What you've got are 2 specimen-type plants that should be treated as such...each standing on its own to be highlighted/showcased for their nice attributes. I understand you're willing to prune the spicebush to keep it low, but why? You're just creating work for yourself and disfiguring the natural form of the plant. Personally, I'd go with the sweetbay and use some smaller shrubs (or even evergreen groundcovers) under it (liriope, ivy, a "dwarf" abelia, indian hawthorn, carissa holly, dwarf/prostrate gardenia, etc, etc). Sweetbays have (1) a nice sculptural form; (2) architectural branching pattern when limbed up a few feet; (3) handsome bark; (4) nice blooms that can be easily lost in foliage due to size and how they're held; (4) great silvery undersides of leaves that are simply beautiful when fluttering in a breeze...why not show off those great attributes? And even though they can grow relatively large in natural situations, they (and most plants) typically don't grow as large in landscape situations...even down south where they are very prolific and perform very well. I've seen many in Ga and the Carolinas in both situations...very rarely do the planned/planted specimens attain the size of "natural" ones (on occasion they do, but a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then too). Just my opinion...I think you'll be MUCH happier with the outcome if you go with just one.

Mine is a double sink, one being a little over 18" long, and about 10" deep (with granite), and the smaller being 15" long and about 8 1/2" deep. I keep a SS dish drainer in the smaller one, and I'm quite happy with this arrangement. I find with not having a huge dish drainer like I used to have, the dishes just get put away faster, and the counter doesn't have the DD on it. I have a bigger single sink in my downstairs kitchen, and the inevitable DD on the counter. I much prefer the double bowl with the smaller bowl being 'big enough' to hold the DD. Also, I have never seen this addressed on this forum, but in a huge single sink, don't you have to fill it up with an awful LOT of water?

My daughter found out her roommates two weeks ago. She unfortunately was placed in a quad (supposed to be a triple but due to over-enrollment, they added a fourth to her room!). We have no idea what the space is going to be like b/c tho' she saw the dorm during her visit, it only had three people, not four. So obviously there will not be much space or storage. Since that's the case, we really can't plan very well as we have no idea if she will even have under bed storage! Since she found out so late about her roommates, we didn't have time to coordinate bedding, even if they had wanted to. The only thing they have really discussed are things like - if anyone will bring a fridge, a microwave, a Keurig, etc. We have to fly to her school so we did the BBB Pack and Store and will pick her things up when we get there. So we don't even have bins or anything b/c we don't know what she will be able to have/use. Lynn, I remember pictures of at least one of your dd's rooms - I think it may have been the sorority room. I remember that I loved it! Next year dd will most likely live in a double, or off campus so decorating will be much easier and fun!

Water When the Top Inch or Two of Soil is Dry? I don't think so. Most growers unfamiliar with how water behaves in container media are prone to repeating the title mantra. But, if we were to look at some facts, first on the list would be saturated or partially saturated medium is limiting in a number of ways. Roots need an ample supply of oxygen in order that roots can function normally. Saturated soil surrounding roots limits oxygen required to drive root function, thereby impairing root efficiency and possibly setting the stage for any of a number of fungal pathogens that thrive in anaerobic (airless) conditions. Soil saturation limits gas exchange, so waste gases like methane and CO2 in the root zone are less able to leave the soil, also limiting root function; and, it kills the fine roots that do the lion's share of work involving water uptake and nutrient distribution. When this occurs, chemical messengers tell plant central injury to the root system has occurred. Top growth stops immediately, because root growth always precedes top growth – the top will not grow if the roots cannot support the growth with water/nutrients. The plant is then forced to regenerate dead roots, using energy which otherwise would have been devoted to additional top growth, keeping the plant's systems orderly, keeping the plant wearing a 'healthy glow', and improving the plant's ability to defend itself. In short, the wasted energy would have kept the plant looking/ growing better, and healthier. If a pot is 10” deep, the top 2” can feel completely dry to the touch, even while the bottom 6” is 100 saturated. That means 60% of the medium would be fighting you tooth and nail for control over the plant's vitality …… and this is the point at which you should water again? Does that sound reasonable? We don't care even a whit if the top 2" of the soil are dry. Roots there are largely plumbing and anchorage, with essentially none of the fine almost microscopic roots that do the lion's share of the plant's heavy lifting. Most of us who grow plants which don't provide food are doing so because we were born with a nurturing bone, and we're looking for the personal satisfaction that comes from knowing we're successful nurturers. Growing a plant that handles wet or dry conditions well doesn't mean we should test them to see what they'll tolerate, but it does mean you can and should let the soil dry down so you can only detect moisture (by using a 'tell') in the bottom inch or two of soil. Let me know if you're unfamiliar with the term 'tell'. ************************************************************************* Fear of failure limits our abilities. While it's often said that failure is just another opportunity to make a more intelligent start, it doesn't make sense to use failure and the disappointment that comes with it as a preferred method of acquiring knowledge. Trial and error is a painfully slow way to learn; and unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of knowledge to even identify or determine what mistake(s) led to the failure. The fastest way to advance in our journey toward green thumb status is by way of learning all we can about the plant and the science of growing as soon as we possibly can. Knowledge saves us from the punishment inherent in the error part of 'trial-and-error'. Some might say that growing is supposed to be fun and all that science baloney is a distraction; however, if we consider the reason we grow is for the personal satisfaction, the question becomes 'is there more personal satisfaction in failure after failure or in advancing from a rank beginner to the place where all the successes behind us, provided thanks to an improved set of knowledge and tools, combine to rightly allow us to expect further success in any subsequent growing adventure'? Learning first, then acting second to make use of time spent in practical applications to validate what we already learned is exponentially faster than trial-and error; and it provides us with a real opportunity to leave the trial-and-error crowd standing in our slipstream. Al