I"m doing the test panel this year. They ran out of the bi-colored rose before they sent this far north so I'm getting a non-test surprise instead. I do have Jacelvet, Jacdrama, and Jacsammy and so far they seem to be waking up pretty uniformly, but barely waking up. I was a little disappointed since the one I was looking most forward to was the bi-color they're out of. Thanks for the heads up on "april in paris" it was a rose I had been contemplating on getting.

Ah, hex you want this to be so wrong. Sorry but you can look up the "no nutritional value" on hydroponics it's well documented. An yes your right the plants don't care what the source of those elements are. But we're not talking about the plants but what "feeds on them". But lets talk about something else. You mentioned a perpetual motion machine. Well, yes that's what life is. it's in the very air we breathe. The plants breathe in bacteria that has the nitrogen cycle living inside it. The plant nitrogen (waste) cycle is part of that too. Even in an anaerobic system that still goes on. I have apple and pear trees that are ten years old that have been flowering, fruiting as well. With no intervention from me other than water if I notice. That means no fertilizer either. The bucket design captures rainfall so that wasn't often. Oh, that's right there's another difference. Capturing the rain water is taboo for your form of hydroponics. I mean with all the measurements and such. Haven't needed to take a reading ph or other wise in more than 20yrs. As for growing something..a tomato. Really. Is that the hill you standing on. I'm showing Cashews, Macadamia nuts,, coffee, 3 kinds of Bio-Fuel. Apples, pears, Plums, peaches all growing happily in the system. I bring pictures of everything. There even Strawberries flowering this year that grow anaerobically. Let's just off the top of my head there are Norfolk pines, Fiddle leaf figs, Sago palms, cactus, White and Yellow Birds of Paradise, Orchids, Pony Tail palms, Citrus. All growing quite happily. Those pictures are already on here. As for water consumption on average each tight 5gal container holds about three an a half gallons. That water last between 45 and 60 days with out rain. If I get a good rain once a month I don't have to water at all.

I'll chime in as a fan of contemporary myself, and a not-so-much fan of country. Your kitchen definitely has a country look to it for reasons already posted. The natural color oak cabs unfortunately don't fall into any description of contemporary, but I would expect touching the cabs to be off the table. If you need canisters for practical reasons (e.g. storage), then consider stainless steel. I got a nice set from Costco for not much money, and Crate & Barrel also have nice ones. Your family room has a contemporary look to it (with the exception of the table lamp). If you look at the elements there in comparison to your kitchen, what you see are solid colors, clean lines, and a lack of nicknacks. Look at the window treatments in particular. Solid color valence, and solid color drapes. Also look at the artwork over the fireplace. Dramatic dark frame that matches the color of the fireplace below, complementary colors in the matting, and a repeating dark brown mat towards the inside. So ask yourself, "how do I bring these design themes to my kitchen?" Well, replace the window treatment with a solid color. I would recommend a dramatic color that matches some other elements in the room such as your counters. Vertical pleating such as you have now is more country. No pleating (like your window valence in the family room) or horizontal pleating (like in roman shades) are more contemporary. Although roman shades always have a summer beach house feel for me, but that's probably just me. For the stuff on top of the cabinets, you should replace them with repeating items in solid or repeating colors. For example you could use a dozen clear/colored art glass plates that again match the counters. The key here is to use multiples of the same item in the same or similar colors, whereas currently you have a mix of disparate items (plate, jug, basket, bottle, etc). Anyway you get the idea - repeating elements, repeating colors, simple lines, no clutter. Those things say "contemporary" to me. Good luck and I hope that helps a little.

Hello everyone!! Long time no talk!! I been offline from gardenweb for a while now. So... Any one ever heard back from Lisa??? Hope she is ok after hearing the news from her son... If It's actually the truth. But to be honest I feel scammed. Sorry just being straight out. Not by who I traded with but by Lisa because she disappeared conveniently right after the boxes were sent. Hmm... I don't know but please tell me what you guys think. And if she still around this comment gotta make her pissed if it ain't true and hope she communicates. Anyways I loved this group and hope we can move forward and continue it. So let's start a fresh thread and stay in contact. If you guys want to discuss anything about the disappearance situation please comment here so we leave all this behind and just start fresh in the new thread