I wasted my money on 157 Bismarckia palms.... That is 2 x 4 footers and 155 seeds. Tried one, took a great care of it, but no matter what I did it slowly died. Then tried another 4 footer, and it slowly turned brown in the ground over a 3 month period. Only central spear remains, all brown, but it's not pulling out yet. The 150+ seeds planted professionally in environmentally friendly pots, well taken care of, not a single germination so far although I've read many people get them germinated in a few days to a month, but some up to 3 months, so we will see. Yet if you don't have money to waste, I wouldn't. Just like the dinosaur pine Wollemia nobilis, tried and all died. Be careful when purchasing Bismarckia palms, you may be wasting your money on them.

Wow! I can't believe I got so many comments on this. So happy and will read through it all later today. You people ROCK! Just a quick update, we live on LI and found fabricator we like, Marbleline in Westbury. Stella is great and so helpful. Today we just found Calacatta Gold Bhorgini marble at European Marble in Farmingdale (Dubon Ct.) honed that is the slab I want (if I win the battle) they are also great there and I thought their selection was the best I've seen so far in marble, granite. They have multiple locations but when they get a lot, they split it up between locations so you don't have to trek into Brooklyn to see it all, the Melville location will have it. kerri helped me and they are so friendly and nice. We also found a granite and quartzite piece we like in case we (me) get talked out of marble. I am holding strong and preparing to present my case to DH and do my research. We took a chunk of carerra marble and taj mahal quartzite home (Stella's idea from marbleline) and we're planning to test it ourselves. I've seen photos of honed marble with etching and I'm ok with it. My tests will be with jelly, tea, wine, coffee, lemon, peanut butter, oj, grape juice, Gatorade, butter, honey, milk, cereal, ice cream (can you tell I have kids!!) and see how it turns out. On a daily basis this kind of stuff happens on my counters today so I expect this to continue...... sigh...... I just think that I love marble so much that even with the patina over time, it will still be stunning.

Shadow Storm Quartzite Marble is a unique and rare natural stone that has been used for centuries in the construction of monuments and buildings. This type of marble is highly sought after due to its distinctive dark gray and white veining, which adds elegance to any space it is placed in. Homeowners and builders alike are on the hunt for Shadow Storm Quartzite Marble, but finding it can be difficult. The marble's popularity has grown significantly over the years as more people discover its beauty, so locating a quarry that stocks this particular material can be challenging. Additionally, it may take time to find either slabs or tiles large enough for larger projects. As such, many have turned to online forums where they might be able to find someone who does have Shadow Storm Quartzite Marble available - allowing them access to this sought-after stone at a more reasonable cost. Reference: https://thestyledare.com/fantasy-brown-stone/

Well..I guess I can let you in on our little secret. We are also building a home. It is in the Prescott Valley area. Our builder has an account with Arizona tile and told us to check there. While they have lots of great options they didn't have an option that was a wow to us. Through digging online we found a place in North Phoenix called " The Yard". They have quartzite , marble, granite and even onyx. Lots of remnants and full slabs. We found a granite called " Black Horse". We fell in love with it. It is a drive from our location but worth it. They also could store it for us till we need it ( for a small fee of course).