just like the Lennox, it would depend on what Trane models he would be proposing. Trane is very good as well. Chances are, I will put in a Trane system and not Lennox. They also have some good rebates currently or financing options. 4500 sounds about right for the units and items needed for install. 5-6k would be around what you would be looking for if paying someone. I would talk with him about issues you could have after the install, and how willing he is to help you out. Depends how good of a friend they are. I like to help friends out as well, however know when I want to avoid being responsible for something or taken advantage of. A lot of factors come into play with install quality. you can have the best system they sell, and with a bad install, you could be a very unhappy camper. Maybe approach your first quote and request a break down of the numbers? See how much they are charging for units, time, etc. Any contractor/installer should offer you this without issue. If they are hesitant or do not want to...walk away and do not trust them. Chance are they are trying to pull one on you. Being and architect, I deal with this every day with change orders, etc. I ALWAYS request complete break down of prices.

Yeah, this looks like two different planets. :-) Fortunately, that's workable and yeah, I've seen it before. It happens if soils were from two different sources originally, or were treated differently. No biggie. ME 21/16: Both pretty similar, and both probably silty or having a small amount of clay. Once fixed, the soil will tend to stay put and only require testing every few years. pH 6.0/5.6: Both a tad low, but not severe in either case. We'll fix that under Ca, Mg, and K below. OM 8.2/4.6: Excellent/Good. With your ME, no more is required, although mulch mowing is always a very good idea. Sulfur 13/5: Normal levels for the OM (higher OM equals more sulfur). Phosphorus 1500/500: High in both cases, but not a problem. In both cases, however, I'd avoid phosphorus sources. The front is extremely high (but not going to cause issues). The back is just high. Calcium 67.4/51.6: Optimal in the front, a little low in back. In back, we'll use calcitic limestone (Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime) to fix this. Recommendations below. Magnesium 10.2/12.4: Although a tad low out front, it's not worth fixing and not a problem. The back is optimal. Potassium 1.4/1.9: Quite low in both cases. We use potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) to fix this, which you can get at most garden shops or landscape stores--or they'll order it for you. Minor Elements: Bermuda isn't particularly demanding, and most are fine. Boron is a tad low out front, but ignorable. It's rather low out back, and I'd rather not ignore it. Boron 0.52/0.35: We use Milorganite as a carrier and 20 Mule Team Borax as the boron source. You can purchase 20 Mules at the grocery store in the laundry section. In a wheelbarrow or the like, dump the Milo. Spraying very, very lightly with water (I use a spray bottle like the kind people use to damp their clothes when they iron) will help the boron stick. Add the recommended amount of 20 Mule Team Borax and stir, spraying occasionally to get the stuff to stick to the Milo. Then apply over the recommended area. So if going for bag rate Milorganite (1 bag per 2,500 square feet), you'd add 10 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax. Recommendations: April 1: Apply 9 pounds per thousand square feet of calcitic lime to the back only. April 15: Apply 4 tablespoons of 20 Mule Team Borax per thousand square feet to the back only. May 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate to front and back. September 1: Apply 3 pounds per thousand square feet of potassium sulfate to front and back. October 1: Apply 9 pounds per thousand square feet of calcitic lime to the back only.

Yes, I understand that the immediate intention for the play area is not to install a play set. But it's coming eventually and do you want the planting scheme to do dual duty by working now and also be ready for the future without any major alterations? Or do you want to subject yourself to the possibility of making a lot of changes when a play set is installed? A year is NOT a long time. As the play area develops, it is divided from the planting area with a bed line. The bed line is something to be figured out now, on the plan (as information about the play set/area becomes known.) The bed line divides places where people could possibly walk ("floors": lawn, low groundcover, mulch-only) from places where they couldn't ("walls" & "furniture": shrubs, perennials and tall groundcovers.) Trees ("ceilings") could be located in either areas Another possibility with the pitts is to cut them down and do a total rejuvenation -- where you control/shape their re-growth (which will happen very quickly since they already have developed root systems) -- and trim them so as NOT to reach way out into the yard. Let them grow as a much narrower hedge which is later trimmed into tree forms and reaches and screens above the fence. Based on some of the prior discussion, I'm going to speculate that one potential problem that could come up is not devoting enough depth to the planting beds (that are likely to surround most of the yard.) In general terms, this bed(s) ought to be allowed 6' depth as an average minimum. There are usually instances where it can easily be deeper, and possibly some instances where it can be shrunk to 4' when sacrifices must be made. Plants require space and trying to maintain a bed that is too skinny/shallow is not only difficult & more demanding of maintenance, but it doesn't look very good either. That's something to be mindful of.

I don't grow golden Celebration, so I can't say for sure, but I'm inclined to think it will not blend in well with lots of pastels. I don't know if you can get some of Austins more recent roses--if you can, definitely look at Olivia Rose Austin--she is a lovely pastel pink, not a large rose--about 3.5 ft tall but only 3 ft wide. Very healthy. ~ But if you need to look at the older Austins, here are a couple wonderful lighter pink ones. Queen of Sweden--about 5 ft tall, narrow and upright, exquisite blooms, very healthy. ~ Scepter'd Isle--more graceful, relaxed form, 4ft tall by 3 ft wide, good disease resistance, totally charming, loves to flaunt her yellow stamens. ~ Another light pink but somewhat shorter--maybe 3 x 3--is Anne Boleyn--very pretty and delicate looking.: ~ As for Lady of Shalott--I do love her, but I don't see her in a pastel garden at all. Her color is quite variable--judge for yourself: LOS--nearly yellow ~ LOS--more apricot with golden (and slightly peach) overtones ~ LOS--more pastel apricot ~ LOS--lots orange mixed in with the other shades And just to round this all out, here are a couple of my Munstead Woods--which I love so much that I'd figure out a way to insert it even in a pastel bed! Lots of prickles--you are forwarned--but oh that gorgeous bloom. MW--dark and moody MW--lighter, but still a dark jade/purple ~ Hmm--I see we are still limited to 10 pics under this new format also. Oh well, that's enough to give you something to think about, Lola. Looking forward to seeing pics of your garden as it grows and develops. Kate