i bought it at lowes in florida before we moved to michigan. We had several of these cavendish in florida grow to 15 ft tall and i think this is the same plant. i have no idea why it drooped and died, the ones that died were from an online dealer that sells plants 12" tall, they all came with 3 or more leaves and they all died. The tiny plants i grew from scratch are all fine

You are embarking on a venture that will be years in the making. I started out with no idea of what I was getting into. I visited many gardens and ask for a few pointers and help. No one would offer. Now that I look back on that I now can see how difficult that is to do. There to many variables regarding peoples likes/dislikes, money, time and conifer availability just to name a few. Since you process a degree in Landscape design that is a plus. Do you know what you want your design to be. Do you want to go for the desert look of mulch and focal point conifers. Or do you want a more natural setting of rocks and companion plants in the mix. Either way is acceptable ..a matter of personal preference. Do a Google over head such as this for your place. Study it for design capabilities. Fit form and flow are your primary goals. Start with foundation and property plantings first. Give no thought as to what you will plant. That will come later. With those two in place you can later lock the interior design in place for flow and balance. Start your new planting areas with a foal point conifer. Color is important. 'Skylands' 'Hoopsii' Picea paviflora just to name a few. Everything will play off of it. Some areas can use two or three depending upon room. As you become more familiar with conifers it is almost a given that you will seek more desirable, rare and interesting forms. I always like to see what I am buying. Fortunately I have a nursery that orders the rare and unusual. I have ordered from them for years. Needles to say it has its benefits. I now have access to about anything I want to order. Feel free to email me any time if you have further questions. You will... Dave

Indeed, large hosta can start out with small leaves... in fact, unless you're buying from a hosta specializing grower, who sells divisions of a mature plant, you can expect it. Most hosta, especially in big-box stores, and even in local nurseries, are grown from a process called tissue culture. And that results in very very small plants for several years.

I haven't had experience with the pre-fab suppliers, but I did see a large number of counters at Tez Marble on the Peninsula, Liberty in South SF, Granite Expo and a few other places. Many of these providers provide "blank" counter sized slabs, without an edge. Thus, you can still pick the edge of your choice. They also offer flat edges, instead of the bull-nose that is so common elsewhere. The color section was pretty good, as well. The key here, I believe, is getting a qualified fabricator. Looking at your layout, you may be able to get by with a single slab, so don't give up on that option as well. I echo the need for a bs replacement, once you replace the counters. This will be more important than the floor and will make a big visual impact. That and the HW that you already plan to replace.