Closing Business - Big Sale: Plants & Equipment May 17th & 18th, Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm and on Sunday from 10 am to 4pm. Petite Plaisance Orchid Collection - Intermediate & Cool Growing Orchids 1177 Valley Ford-Freestone Rd, Sonoma County, Northern California Jim Hamilton and Ron Ehlers have had their orchid nursery, Petite Plaisance, since 1981. They are well known for their unusual orchids, primarily species, and their wonderful exhibits at shows throughout California and also in New York City. With the sudden death of Ron Ehlers in early April, Jim has decided that it is too much for him to maintain on his own. Everything is being sold. The nursery will open for the big sale at 9 am on Saturday May 17th & at 10 am on Sunday May 18th. It will not be open until that time. Sorry, we are not taking orders in advance nor do we have a list of plants. If you have questions, we request that you direct them to Marni Turkel (email marniturkel@gmail.com). We will have some packing materials on hand, but we encourage you to bring boxes/bags if you can. There will be lots of great plants and lots of great deals. The greenhouses experienced a power failure this winter and some of the plants suffered during the outage. Plants will be priced to take this into account (pricing starts at $1). Besides the orchids, supplies and greenhouse equipment will be for sale, including small heaters, large heaters, fans, electric tank sprayer and more. Petite Plaisance is located an hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the rolling hills of west Sonoma County on the fringes of the California Wine Country. Parking on the property is limited, but directly across the street there is an area for parking. There is a short hill to climb so wear walking shoes. There is no cell phone coverage on the property so you will not be able to reach us during the sale. Getting There: >From Petaluma, on 101 take the East Washington exit in Petaluma. Turn left at the signal. Stay on this road. It will take you through Petaluma, out the other side, and into Valley Ford. The road will change its name several times, but stay the course. Go through Valley Ford and take the first right out of town. This is Valley Ford-Freestone Rd. We are about one mile down this road on the left. 1177 is on the fence. >From Santa Rosa, on 101 take Hwy 12 West through Sebastopol beyond the Freestone turnoff. Continue until you can turn left. This is Valley Ford-Freestone Rd. We are about one mile down this road on the right. 1177 is on the fence.

That will probably be just the Schefflera arboricola which comes from Taiwan. A lot of businesses add on cultivar names to give their plants an 'exclusive' appearance. It doesn't grow as tall as some of the other Scheffleras, but it still might get a bit large for indoors without some pruning. Also indoors in low light they can become a bit straggly. I have one in the garden, but in very low light and a dry location so it stays pretty small. I also have a couple of other Schefflera species which grow much larger.

This type of scenario is perfect for someone who wants to have a home occupation and needs the exposure. For instance, a one chair home salon, is regulated by the State in most states, under the Department of Professional Regulation, and in Florida we are required to have only 200 square feet of room, a separate entrance and a bathroom. So, if have a door that opens up to a room, say maybe a carport door opening to a laundry room, then you can have a salon setup situation, because you have plumbing and a buyer may only need add a bath. For someone who wants to work from home, they will do whatever they need to make the extra income on a regular basis. You could advertise that an outbuilding is perfect for a hobbyist, or cabinet maker, pottery barn. THINK BIG, use your resource, which is EXPOSURE and easy access clients. You need only get the permission of your neighbors to do this by having them sign a petition for you. Would that be a possibility for you?

anele - I tried the sofa on the wall with a chair at each end of the sofa, facing each other, but the problem with that arrangement is that it leave the room feeling a little lopsided. Most all the furniture, except the piano and the small cabinet near the 1/2 wall, is on one side of the room. Having the two chairs in the window helps to balance everything better. I'm not sure the table I have between the chairs right now is the best for that space. It is taller than the arms of the chairs and does kind of get in the way of conversation. I'm going to be on the lookout for a better table for that area. I agree that the wall behind the sofa will be a challenge. hill - you are right about the sofa blocking too much of the window and your comment about open, inviting and balanced are exactly what I was hoping to achieve. Here is the room today with the furniture in place and the rug added back in. It is not the right size or can I get away with it anyway? It is centered on the window and the sofa. See how the chairs are on the rug, but the sofa isn't? Another view (ignore the desk and audio equipment on the left). I I know I need to add a table to the left of the sofa. Most likely the table that was here originally (now sitting between the chairs) will come back to this location. Now I need to work on placing lamps, pillows and other accessories. Thank you to everyone who helped me get to this point.