as i understand it ... you bought these pre-planted ... which to me means OVER planted ... for fast sale and immediate gratification ... if they are flopping every night after being in the blistering sun during the high heat of the day ... that means the roots are too jammed in what little potting media there is ... there isnt enough media.. to hold the water they need the ONLY solution.. FOR NEXT YEAR ... is bigger permanent pots ... with enough media ... to sustain the plants for the season ... and just enough plants to grow in such .... but you will have to wait a month or two.. for them to fill up the pot ... i would bet my shiny nickle... if you took the pot apart.. and tipped out the root mass.. you would be hard pressed to find any media.. to hold water.. for the whole day ... these pots need to go in shade.. during the heat of the day.. and you will probably find.. that they can actually making it thru the day ... without looking like a bunch of wilted cut flowers ... yes.. i know.. that defeats the purpose you bought them for... but them dying does also ... put them in the patio in the yard in the shade.. and you can enjoy them for the rest of summer ... ken

Thanks for all the feedback! GottaGarden: This place is in Gloucester, MA -- hence the ubiquitous granite. On paper it's in zone 6, although I think there are several microclimates even within the borders of our property. Catkim: I agree, I hate those ugly plastic chairs. I found a set of 4 super-cute old metal bistro chairs at a thrift store last year, which I'm going to use on the patio once I paint them -- I'm thinking a nice deep red would look nice but I welcome suggestions. They would be out there now but I stupidly tried to remove all the old paint myself instead of taking them to an auto body shop or something. I probably did 10 coats of paint stripper each, plus too many hours of both hand and electric sanding, and they still have paint in the more hard-to-reach crevices. So at this point I'm just giving up and painting the damned things, assuming they're not covered in rust after spending the winter sealed in big plastic bags. I also need to find a table and get an umbrella that matches. I actually have charged admission before -- for the past 3 years we've had a big party in late June; the first one was after one of the 5-year storms and there were rocks all over the yard. I told everyone that they could not have a beer until they brought me a rock that was at least the size of their fist. It worked pretty well. Amazon: I hesitate to put up an arbor because (and none of you would have known this) there is an excellent view of the yard and the water from our bathroom window, and I'm afraid of spoiling the view if I cover the patio. I also am not sure an arbor would do well in that spot -- the wind blows heavy and constant on that patio, so much so that it's often rather unpleasant to sit out there. But I do realize that the patio needs more definition, and maybe I should reconsider the arbor idea. I was going to try making a container garden of the patio, putting taller plants around the edges, especially at the corners, to create a wall of sorts. I also want to put a wooden bench and maybe a chaise or something among the containers, to encourage more lounging in that area. Of course, I will need to figure out how to water the containers during the week. Actually, there is sort of an interesting story for why the house was built so close to the ocean. The estate was built in the early '20s by Arthur Leonard, who was a big name in the glory days of the Chicago stockyards. Apparently Mr. Leonard had something of an ego, and he intentionally built his house dangerously close to the water -- I guess it was in some fit of machismo, to show that he wasn't afraid of the ocean, or to imply that he could afford to fix the place if it was run through with water. Which of course it was, practically every year. By the early 70's, no one was really using the house regularly and it was such a financial burden to keep fixing it that the family decided to have it torn down. It pains me to say it, but the cottage that's left is headed in that direction. To be honest with you it's something of a money pit, and eventually we will have to sell the place unless one of us starts making seven figures.

LOL Nope!! Mine is Dendrobium Pocket Love x Dendrobium Sikka Pink Balsy. I think its more compact because not a single one of the growths (and there are a lot) are over 3 inches. It remains to be seen just how mature it is, everything I bought from this vendor was pretty immature, but with so many growths on mine, its hard to imagine it getting much bigger.

I hear ya D2G, we all have plenty of those missed opportunities in our homes. I know I have tons! It certainly doesn't make your home any less beautiful! However, I would not draw attention to it with a FP screen, except maybe one of those fold over types Flo mentioned-they tend to stand higher. I also wouldn't buy anything else for the mantle. You don't need to match the art, and you have so many lovely things. I would sooner see your beautiful clock and candelabras, though not "perfect," because they are a piece of your story.