Mehitabel & Brooke, Your descriptions of dogwood and redbud make me homesick for Little Rock and the nearby lake where people had rustic cabins. There were wild dogwoods in the woods there - even some with pink flowers - and cornflowers & honeysuckle all around. In town, there were redbuds (also in the woods), mimosa trees, and cultivated azaleas that stayed in the ground all year and got huge. Japonica, forsythia (sp?), wisteria, magnolia trees, hydrangeas, honeysuckle. And yes, the beautiful Japanese maple. Other places in Arkansas, there were fields of wild azaleas. Both my grandmothers and one grandfather had green thumbs and grew plants in the house and outside. Growing up, I was more into fish, birds, hamsters, frogs, lizards, snakes, and dogs than plants but in my early 20s, became fascinated with bonsai. In Mississippi, where I lived for several years, the squirrels got my treasures. Moved back to Arkansas and raised lots of interesting houseplants, using bonsai methods to keep them from taking over the place. No outside plants interested me much except pansies. In Minnesota, more houseplants. Always, orchids were the magical and the impossible - I'd never have the greenhouse it took to grow them, although I pored over greenhouse plans a lot. When DH and I moved into the house in the 'burbs about 4 years ago, somehow I picked up the book "Orchids Simplified: An indoor gardening guide," by Henry Jaworski. My mom, an excellent cook, always said if you could read, you could cook. I believed her and became a gourmet cook. Jaworski said if you can grow houseplants, you can grow orchids. I believed him and bought a Phal from a garden/craft chain. Sure enough, the Phal thrived and rebloomed as I followed Jaworski's instructions. One day, I was ga-ga over the orchids at a local garden center. One of the staff and I started talking. She said if I could grow Phals, there were lots of other orchids I could grow in the house, and she told me about Orchids Limited and AOS. I got chills and raced home. It was winter and pitch dark, but I checked MapQuest and headed straight to Orchids Limited, knowing they wouldn't be open that late. Have you ever seen a commercial orchid grower's greenhouses at night during a cold winter? A fairyland. In the middle of frozen Minnesota, there was a glowing oasis of light and life. The insides of the greenhouse windows were dripping with humidity, so the plants inside were out of focus, just like a dream. The next day, I left work early to get there before closing. Walking into that tropical paradise was indescribable - the warm, humid air, the fragrance of blossoms, the brilliant colors, all those lush green plants, the burble of a fountain. Outside, the air was so dry it hurt my nostrils. Inside, my eyes and lungs and nose and heart gave a big sigh of thanks. I went home and started reading about cultural conditions possible in the house. That was about 2.5 years ago. Over time, the houseplants went to other homes. The other day, I ran across 2 brand new books on houseplants that had never been taken out of the bag. Orchids must have taken over right about then. Every year, I think - gotta get some native plant gardens going outside, esp. because we have ducks, geese, herons, etc. in the pond just beyond the fence. So far, it hasn't happened. Maybe now that the lathe house for the orchids is finished... Calvin, thanks for asking. This brought back lovely memories. Whitecat8

I've been following this thread, but refraining from answering ... until today. A beautiful day, with temps in the mid-70's, perfect for getting out there to work in the yard and gardens, move some more things out of the greenhouse, while enjoying the fresh spring breezes, birdsong, and buzzing bees ... and humming leaf blowers, and the drone of small aircraft operated by weekend pilots, and neighbor's little children who tool up and down the driveway in their little powered go-cart, and the not-so-little-"children" across the street going in circles on their go-carts, and the mortorcyclists out for a ride, not to mention the guys in their big off-road-capable trucks; however, it's still too early for the jet-skis, and the evening is peaceful, as the race track has announced it will be closing down this season. Hmmmmm ... is it really a change in views of our government that's needed? Restrictions on imported goods? I should give up the luxury of my (affordable) 6x8 (Chinese-made) greenhouse ... when I eschew a leaf-blower for a good old-fashioned hand rake, synthetic chemicals for organic gardening methods and IPM, and other such environmentally-friendly lifestyle decisions? When the car I've chosen to drive, even at 10 years of age, is more fuel-efficient than any (so-called) American-made model, but could not be parked in the lot of a local union hall because it's foreign-made? (I'm not kidding, they have a big billboard outside to make that clear.) When I'm living in a relatively small (All I can say is I'm glad I'm not among the younger generation. I'm worried for the world my children and grandchildren will have to live in ... and I cherish the freedom I do have to make a carefully considered decision about my purchases and my lifestyle. Rant over ... feel better ... thank you for "listening" ... good luck, everyone :-)

I have a HFGH 10-12, and put all four vents on one side, as I was concerned about wind tearing the vents out on one side. I have two Bayliss MK7's and the other two are the original manual ones. I have had the GH running for almost a year now, and never use the two manual ones. The MK7's open and close like clockwork daily. Other additions I have made are adding an exhaust fan (over door) and motorized shutter (on opposite wall), Aluminet shade cloth (50%), various fans running nonstop and a humidifier which I have coming on when the humidity gets too low for my plants' preferences. I am in southern cal., where it can be quite dry. Without the shadecloth everything inside would fry, even with all the other mods. You might consider alternatives to a second vent, but if you still think it's necessary, one option would be to install a round marine vent, which is passive. You would just install it in one of the poly panels. They are rain proof and you could install it somewhere other than in the roof, which might improve the interior draft. Not sure what you would do about it when you are winterizing, however, but I think some of them come with an option to close manually. Another idea is to modify a large panel by cutting it horizontally, line the cut edges with aluminum channel (or even aluminum tape)installing a piano hinge to re-join the cut edges, cut a bit off the bottom to compensate for the hinge, shave a hair off either side to clear the channels in the framework, and fashion a handle like the one which came with your gh. Doing this on a side panel would be better than another roof vent, since adding another roof vent just offers a partial airflow pattern. Unfortunately this would involve removing the caulking you applied. Lastly, assuming you want to make something out of the non-caulked panel (in the roof, presumably), you could still try to use a piano or other hinge, perhaps attaching it to the crown frame. If you would be using it daily, you would need to add some framework for stability. Ann

The only way? Less a marketing gimick than a sure sign of ignorance and someone looking to scam a few trusting people... IMHO. You might take offence at that comment, but anyone who dishes out absolutes like that obviously isn't going to think about options that may differ depending on circumstances, whether it be location, owner experience, finances, ease of building, ease of upkeep, local fuel costs/availability, etc. There ain't ever an "only way". Uh-oh...LOL I know of one person in Ontario who knows the "only" way... could it be? Ross??? Poppa