Welcome to SW Michigan, Fruitbasket on 28th St. by East Paris, Horrocks on Breton just south of 44th st. and Harder Warner Nursery on M37 (Broadmoor) down by M6 is quite a large store and has lots of neat stuff also, worth the ride just to see. Have fun

Sunnyday - Where are you located? I am wondering what nursery is operational in January around here. It is March now and I still have plants encased in ice outdoors at my nursery. I think the most important criterium in selecting plants to grow is figuring out what isn't readily available or is in short supply. There are certainly a lot of things you could grow, but growing on a small scale, you won't be able to compete on price with the big nurseries and chain stores. If you are growing from seed, there are a tremendous number of annuals and perennials that you can start that are not commonly available. This will take some time, visiting stores and farmers' markets, to see what is being offered and at what prices. The other approach is to grow plants you like yourself with the assumption that other people will like them as well. Good luck! P.S. Happy birthday.

Ohhhh....this is gonna be so CUTE! I totally agree with bringing the curtains right up to the bottom of the bulkhead. It will make for a much more streamlined look. My only thought is that I think that where you have the level of the alphabet-rail it a tad too high. Don't feel compelled to go with the height of the bulkhead for your rail. Just ignore its existence. Look at Sarah's photo--she does not even do the letters over the curtains. I'd bring the rail down to the level that the current cornice. Then your letters will not look jammed up there either. I think it would do a lot to help the room feel less "tall" as well. Does this make any sense at all, LOL!

The plant is ok, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just producing large amounts of anthocyanin (red pigments) in the leaves maybe in response to the large amount of sun it gets. Actually the flowers can fade on cloudy days because it doesn't get enough sun i think.