Kippy-the-hippy, About 10 years ago, J&P sent bare root roses to me in July. I live in Las Vegas and the only roses in my yard were planted by the professional landscapers a couple of years prior. Being new to gardening, ordering on line, and assuming responsibility for the mistake, I could toss or plant them. Well, I let 10 Crimson Bouguet soak in water with a little B1 for two days and into the ground, full sun they went. It was 103 degrees plus daily. Those roses are still thriving in that island bed; (my ex lives there and my daughter 1/2 of the time). In fact, they are very healthy and beautiful. I believe the key was keeping them hydrated; I never let them dry out. I broke a rule of not planting bareroots beyond President's Day. Yes., I was an outlaw... By circumstance. Now I just call the different things I do pushing the envelope a bit :) Lynn

George - Your web site's grown a lot since I last looked at it. I hadn't seen your paintings before & they make me wish I had your talent (I have none whatsoever). Until I clicked on the one of Mt. Fuji I thought it was a Japanese woodblock. Looking at your Kilchurn Castle Loch Awe painting, makes me think you'd enjoy turning your hand to painting your versions of various Japanese woodblocks. (There are hundreds of these to be seen on e-Bay - and I think many of the ones of landscapes might appeal to you.) The link that you have to William Corey's pictures of Japanese gardens is fascinating - including his description of his enormous camera & what it led him to. And it was great to see all the (to me) new pictures of your own garden. Herb

In our previous house, we put up a tile backsplash just like the ones used at the Belgian-inspired kitchen in Portland. I scored tons of different colors when HD was closing out their colorful square tiles at, IIRC, about 50 cents a tile. I like lots of color, too. It makes me happy. :) Anyway, I wish I had a photo handy but we had a laminate counter with a bit of a faux stone look to it. However, much less movement and all the color tones were much paler than your Venetian Ice. Our cabinets were Hickory which is a busier wood with a lot of grain and visual interest. I thought it looked great. But I'm unsure if you could pull it off with that particular stone. I agree with getting out your paints, markers, crayons, whatever, and coloring on paper what you think you'd like and then hanging it in the backsplash area to see how it looks. Don't just do a small bit. Make colored copies and really cover that area to give you a good feel for how it might look. It might look great or you might decide you need to bring color into the room with the art and accessories. I dunno. I think people should do what makes them happy. I also hate to see people spend time, effort and money on something that doesn't work for them. I think a test run is a good way to make sure you are going to be happy with your choice.

Let's see - gardening rules I break all the time: - I plant my roses far too close together and I actually want them to intermingle - I interplant with a wide variety of other plants, when "everyone knows" rose gardens can only contain roses (smile) - I don't prune below the first 5 leaf nodule or some such foolishness - if it looks dead or is in my way I cut it back as much as I feel like - I don't spray anything - I don't fuss over them - I don't use products specifically designed (or priced) for roses, but buy my fertilizer at the hardware store and huge bales of alfalfa at the farm supply store - I don't worry about bugs or diseases and make them shape up or ship out - I put colors next to each other that aren't supposed to go together, most of the time by accident but I'm too lazy to move them - I buy roses from anyone and everyone that has quality plants to sell, including big box stores if that applies - I overwinter roses that aren't supposed to grow in my climate - I kill roses that are supposed to be perfectly hardy for me And gardening rules that I keep, most of the time - I find joy in the small things in the garden, and try to see the roses more than the bugs, blackspot or sweat dripping off my nose - I share that joy with anyone who expresses even a passing interest in any of the above - I bring bouquets all the time to friends and neighbors even though I rarely cut them for myself - I bring my kids out into the garden to enjoy nature, including the cool bugs - I get a kick out of helping newbies learn that roses aren't that hard to grow - I don't expect perfection - If I don't feel like getting out to the garden for some strange reason I take a break - I try to spend as much time stretching back out as I do bending over - I remember to hang out on my swing or hammock and gaze out proudly over the garden (however ratty it may look) and sigh, "Dang, I love gardening" Cynthia