Argh...so many threadlets to address. Kirimarie - I read your posts and obviously your opinions are valid based on your experiences. But, you never addressed what I specifically cited: walk around any average middle to upper income residential section of a randomly selected mid-to-large UK city. Walk around the same in the US. Anyone paying attention will spot huge differences in the amount of effort put into the personal landscapes, on average. It's not like I'm saying something crazy here that has never been said before. My parents aren't into gardens at all - I got the bug from my childhood neighbors who in a strange twist of fate were all avid gardeners. But every time they are in the British Isles they go on about how great the gardens are and my Mom will just take some pictures on a random street of people's gardens brimming with Fuchsia, Choisyas, Lilies, various vines, etc. A friend of mine who is also not at all into gardens went to Ireland with her erstwhile fiance and both said the gardens there were absolutely amazing. I'm sure they didn't visit botanical gardens, and by amazing they weren't talking about the fact there's a Phoenix canariensis in Cork. They were just talking about the gardens they saw in neighborhoods that were on their way to someplace. "I think the whole UK are "better" gardeners point of view is nonsense. " When you clearly spend more time at something, the world usually rewards you with the accolade of being "better" at it. The only scintilla of unfairness in what I say might be that, obviously, the climate makes it easier for the English to have the sort of gardens that they do than it is for most in the US. But that isn't to say it can't be done. I've visited private gardens in PA that are every bit as impressive as any I know of in England...(on a per unit land basis, of course...you can't really compete with Sissinghurst when your entire spread is the size of one walled garden there) but they might well be more work in PA. Doesn't have to be someplace moist: I once spent about an hour walking around the neighborhood near the Denver Botanic garden. I saw a couple very interesting private dry-climate gardens. Employees maybe? Probably just supporters who went to the plant sales. But most were just boring standard landscapes...blue spruce, some bland shrubs, whatever. This climate factor influences US regional differences, obviously, as gardengal noted. The whole west coast seemed a bit more gardenesque to me than the rest of the country, and I especially single out some parts of the Bay Area. Lawns... I agree in the west, the watering of ornamental lawns is absolutely a massive and foolish waste of water resources. (though I've gotten in huge arguments with some westerners about this...not online, in real life!) In the east, over maintained lawns are a different kind of environmental timebomb. Particular in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, where, years too late, the amt. of phosphorus in lawn fertilizer was finally restricted. But this doesn't mean lawns per se are the problem, it's just that people have a pig headed approach to them. I will never water my lawn. In the terrible summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012, it had periods of going brown. Big deal. I also don't fertilize it, because I don't need it to be a perfect shade of green, and fertilization would make it grow even faster than our often abundant rains do. Because I did some judicious broadcast spraying with trimec years ago, and - DUH - cut at the highest depth permitted by my Kubota MMM which is 4" on the scale but probably a little higher in practice - broadleaved weeds are so rare I can just spot treat them as needed. So, I am ecologically caring for my lawn. Many people are not, and too many people want theirs to look like a putting green. The house I posted, no, is not nearly the worst example of McMansion landscaping. Definitely not "horrible", in fact I would just call it average to mediocre. But the reason it's partcularly egregious is, sorry, someone who collects plants on such a massive scale, should by my estimation have known better. The formally trained person they hired (this I know from the real estate site where I snagged it) still got it wrong, which is actually more comical than some random local landscaping dude not knowing what he was doing. In fact, the university trained landscape architect producing something that pretty much says "local landscaping dude cramming plants in front so he can get the bill up to 25K". (thus feeding the wholesale industry beast which - to loop back - is the whole reason I branched out into this) It reminds me of the hilarious story of a mature Araucaria araucana - one of the only on the east coast - being cut down at a historic estate near Wilmington, DE, by a professional landscaper for "not looking English enough"(!). Seriously, you could not make up a funnier and truer anecdote about the ignorance of some in the US landscaping profession. It's priceless.

The best place for indoor plants is probably a nursery that has them. Yeah Lowes and HD have them if you get them when they first arrive. Otherwise check for bugs and soggy plants. Never seen them at Costco but I don't see why they wouldn't be ok. You can always rescue them and give some TLC and they'll be ok. Once next summer rolls around you'll find yourself outside and all the new plants you can grow. Come over and hang out at the houseplants forum also. Great bunch of peeps there and lots in CA. All my mom's family is from Lansing area...then she got converted when married my dad! I'll probably get in trouble for posting these: You know youre a Wolverine when... 1. You beat Ohio State. 2. Youre the best in the Conference. 3. You think Heaven must be a lot like Ann Arbor, Michigan. 4. You think the colors of the rainbow are Maize, Blue, Maize, Blue. 5. All your kids are named "Blue". 6. Michigan games come before...well...anything. 7. You count Wolverines when trying to fall asleep. 8. You believe the Wolverine should be our National symbol. 9. You paint your vehicle Michigan Blue. 10. You petition for a carving of a Wolverine to be added to Mt. Rushmore. 11. Youre Winning and on a roll. 12. Your entire wardrobe is Maize & Blue. 13. You name your family pet Blue. 14. You honestly believe the Wolverines Rule. 15. You petition to change the National Anthem to the Michigan Fight Song. You Know You're From Michigan If: 1. You've never met any celebrities. 2. "Vacation" means going to Cedar Point. 3. At least 1 member of your family disowns you the week of the Michigan/Michigan State game. 4. Half the change in your pocket is Canadian.....eh! 5. Your idea of a 7-course meal is a six-pack and a bucket of smelt. 6. You drive 86 mph on the highway and pass on the right. 7. Your idea of a traffic jam is 20 cars waiting to pass an orange barrel. 8. You know how to play (and pronounce) Euchre. 9. You know the "Big Mac" is something that you drive over. 10. You know how to pronounce "Mackinac". 11. You've had to switch on the "heat" and the "A/C" in the same day. 12. You can see a car running in a parking lot with no one in it, no matter what time of the year. 13. You end your sentences with a preposition; example: "Where's my coat at?" 14. You bake with SODA and drink a POP. 15. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, or animal. 16. You think of the 4 major food groups as beef, pork, BBQ sauce, and beer. 17. You carry jumper cables in your car. 18. You design your kids Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. 19. Driving in the winter is better because the pot-holes are filled with snow. 20. Your favorite holidays are Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the opening of Deer Season, which you consider a National Holiday. 21. You have 10 favorite recipes for Venison. 22. You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" are. 23. Your little league game was snowed out. 24. You learned to drive a boat before you could ride a bike. 25. You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car. 26. Your snow blower has more miles on it than your car. 27. Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout. 28. You attend a formal event in your best clothing, finest jewelry, and snowmobile boots. 29. The municipality buys a zamboni before a bus. 30. The word "thumb" has geographical, rather than anatomical significance. 31. You show people where you grew up by pointing to a spot on your left hand. 32.Traveling coast-to-coast means driving from Port Huron to Muskegon. 33. You measure distance in minutes. 34. When giving directions, you refer to "A Michigan Left". 35. You know that Kalamazoo not only exists, but isn't that far from Hell. 36. You have experienced frostbite and sunburn in the same week. 37. Your year has 2 seasons: Winter and Construction. 38. Home Depot on any Saturday is busier than toy stores at Christmas. 39. You know when it has rained because of the smell of worms. 40. Owning a Japanese car was a hangin' offense in your hometown. 41. You believe that "down south" means Toledo. 42. You think that everyone from a bigger city has an accent. 43. YOU ACTUALLY "GET" THESE JOKES AND FORWARD THEM ON TO ALL YOUR MICHIGAN FRIENDS AND FAMILY! Subject: YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA WHEN------- 1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible. 2. You make over $250,000 and still can't afford a house. 3. You take a bus and are shocked at 2 people carrying on a conversation in English. 4. Your child's 3rd grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Breeze. 5. You can't remember...is pot illegal? 6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor. 7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown and can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian. 8. You know which restaurant serves the freshest arugula. 9. You can't remember.....is pot illegal? 10. A really great parking space can move you to tears. 11. A low speed pursuit will interrupt ANY television broadcast. 12. Gas cost 75 cents per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S. 13. A man gets on the bus in full leather regalia and crotchless chaps. You don't even notice. 14. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney IS George Clooney!! 15. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment. 16. Your hairdresser is straight, your plumber is gay, the woman who delivers your mail is into BDSM and your Mary Kay rep is a guy in drag. 17. You can't remember...is pot illegal? 18. It's sprinkling and there's a report on every news station about "STORM WATCH 2000." 19. You have to leave the big company meeting early because Billy Blanks himself is teaching the 4:00 PM Tae Bo class. 20. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cell phones or pagers. 21. It's sprinkling outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents. 22. Hey!!!! Is Pot Illegal???? 23. You AND your dog have therapists.

I live in Sweden and came here from the rose forum on recommendation from Rosefolly, probably around 2001. Books and gardening are my main hobbies and I am especially interested in roses. I contribute regularly to a rose society newsletter. I have been married for 47 years to another reader. We have a son and daughter and five grandchildren who all live fairly close. Our daughter lives in the same village. I retired three years ago at the normal Swedish retirement age of 65. I worked at Uppsala University as an administrator my whole working life and dabbled in translation in my spare time, mostly various academic papers on computer science and sociology. I didn't understand much of the first but a little more of the latter. I translate mostly from English and a little from French, German and Danish, the latter three only if I am familiar with the subject. Another hobby is languages and linguistics. I didn't major in anything either as we don't have that system. I spent too many years at university studying political science, economic history, anthropology, general history of literature, English and Swedish. I know English well but my active vocabulary is much smaller than my passive vocabulary and my grasp of idioms is not perfect so I sometimes feel intimidated because there are so many clever writers here. My taste in books is catholic. I am reading The well-tempered garden by Christopher Lloyd at present and by my bed are two books I first heard of on this forum, Motherless Brooklyn and the complete Mapp and Lucia.

I'll second ourhighlandhome's suggestion of Petals from the Past. I've never ordered online from them, but love to visit in person. Wonderful people and wonderful plants. Their antique roses are 1 gallon own root and reasonably priced. They carry modern roses, too, but those are larger pots & I'm not sure if they ship them. Their heirloom perennials, herbs, shrubs, fruit trees and such are also great. BTW, ourhighlandhome, RTR!!!