I too am in search of a source for this plant. It boggles the mind that it is no where to be found in our retail nursery catalogs and garden centers. I grew up in Illinois where my mom had it growing in her little "woods" garden. We were poor, so all her plants came from neighbors and friends as trades or pass-alongs. It also boggles the mind that the creepy crawly variety is so available and this neat, tidy and well behaved ranunculus acris 'flore pleno' goes virtually unknown to many and as elusive as hen's teeth. I have started contacting every mail order nursery I can think of and am pestering for it. Maybe if all of us who are interested in bringing this precious plant back to our cottage gardens contact our garden centers and plant sources we will eventually be heard. The squeaky wheel just may get the buttercups.

Don't know about the best source, but there is very little variation in T5 lamp specs, certainly between all the branded lamps. Your main choice in 4' tubes is between the standard output 28W at about 2900 lumens, and the high output 54W at 5,000 lumens. You will of course be wanting the 54W tubes if you need T5s. If you don't have high light plants then consider either the standard output 28W T5s which are more efficient, or use T8s which are much easier to find and cheaper. Lumen maintenance will be about 95% on all T5HO tubes, lifetime will be 20,000 hours or so, CRI will be 85-ish. There is a very small difference in specs between some unbranded T5s and the best branded ones but not a lot. Using a good programmed start ballast will also make a small difference. Shop around, the best deal will probably be the one with the cheapest shipping.

Does it have to be Craftmade? I just sold two perfect ceiling fans on Craigslist for $20 each. I started the price at $50 and no one wanted them, I just kept lowering the price till someone finally took them for $20 each. I noticed that there are a LOT of really good ceiling fans on Craigslist. If you're looking for a bargain, it might be a good place to start.

If you are positively sure your husband can do the installation, our Habitat for Humanity Restore store always has lots of Plantation Shutters available. Many are removed from brand new construction. Plantation shutters are tricky when it comes to fitting them correctly. I would get a price from JCPenney's custom window treatments (or Naffco if you are close to Tampa). ML