While a thread about PDN is still up, I'd say I have to agree they are somewhat declining. But I think that almost all of the mail order rare plant nurseries*, save one, are slipping in customer service quality. That one is Seneca Hill Perennials. As for the rest, I'm not going to name names but I'll just say I've ordered from most of the biggies. I do not mail order from Rarefind because I can drive there, but I've seen their packing operation in full force and the quality of the packing looks superior. Back to PDN, specifically, I had a plant that arrived VERY small in my opinion, and I broke its stem getting the rubber band off and it did not recover. My fault - granted. I simply asked could they ship a replacement, that _I_ would pay for plus the actual cost of the mailing/shipping. But bypassing the minimum order I'd have to for a 2nd order. My email was ignored. That is simply unacceptable for someone who placed a $200 order with them. I'm not that angry about it though. I think it's a difficult business. As we know quite a few mail order nurseries have disappeared in the past 5 years, more in the past 10 years. Especially ones that carried relatively unglamorous plants, like Dilworth Nursery in PA. It's a frightening trend in some ways. And granted, by "slipping" I'm counting relatively minor annoyances like what I see as an increasing trend toward "bait & switch" by putting a certain plant in the spring catalog, letting you order it and then emailing, "oops, those need 6 more months on the bench." Funny how that never happened in my mail ordering experiences in the 1990s. I think in the 1990s they were less pressured to rush things out! The miniscule plant from PDN I got whose stem was broken with the slightest provocation needed 6 months to a year more on the bench. * btw I am not counting Bluestone as a rare plant mail order nursery, just a mail order nursery. They are good, the plants are tiny but they don't hide that fact. And they are well grown so they establish quickly.

Thanks for that good information. this bog is right up against a koi pond and it is designed to allow water to run off.....away from the pond. I may need to push one edge of the liner down a bit farther so it doesn't hold standing water. I did punch a few holes in the bottom of the liner which seems to work fairly well. The soil mix is banked up against the rock border in a few places. Not high...only maybe 3/4" of an inch or so....but that would keep them out of flooding for the most part. Anyway...thanks again for the assistance. this is all very new to me. I love this bog...it is so different and interesting looking!!

Wow, so many beautiful plants still blooming in this record heat. Thanks for getting out and taking pics. I'm going to rearrange some things this fall so I put more summer bloomers where I can see them from the house!

I think you can make some distinctions between "organizing" and simple daily cleanup that you might do as part of living in a family--doing the dishes, putting away laundry and so forth. --I know they're related in the sense that underlying order helps with maintenance and cleanup, but that's something for your own home; really, you don't need to clean out the attic in your parents' home or throw out their plastic containers. So it is definitely not healthy going into drawers and closets in attempt to "organize"--these actions are part of the parent-parent-child power struggle and you are seeing yourself in the wrong role. You might try a family meeting, but that could be hard without a neutral party such as a family counselor--it would be again, the 21-yr old being the family/marriage counselor. It could be done if you were able to use it simply to state your discomfort and what you feel comfortable doing vs. not, and to ASK for their support. You wouldn't be able to lay down any ultimatums, such as "you have to..." It sounds like you are already at a point at which you would need to have conversation with your dad alone, to some extent, in that you have identified him as a driving force requesting you to fix your mother--if you can't talk with your dad or if he doesn't "get it" in conversation with you alone, he won't get it in the presence of your mother. But, see, you would have to really WANT to stop being in the middle in order to propose to your father, here, I can do this and this, but I would prefer it if you would not ask or expect me to that and that. You could stay there if somehow you are able to change YOURSELF--to develop some serenity and distance from these struggles and just smile and fix an occasional meal, do daily and weekly chores as a good citizen of the family, and, if you really like organizing, graciously do so whenever your mother gives you a target drawer, etc (assuming she doesn't later accuse you of doing it wrong). Some people can manage a year like that. But, another approach as mentioned is to get out your pencil and paper and calculuate your way into moving out and continuing school on your own even if at a slower pace. You would be the one to know whether your father would be willing to discuss tuition or a loan if you move out. But, it can be done with or without their financial support. You could do either approach, and it's not completely wrong to stay to get tuition if you can manage all these other emotions and situations, but you can't really stay and stew about why your parents won't change. It isn't really good for your siblings to watch that dynamic, either, because it certainly won't be a successful strategy for them to follow as they get older. One of the reasons why protecting your siblings isn't a helpful rationale is that, under that reasoning, you would have to stay there until they all leave home.