I just wanted to report my results of my experiment. I did containers for the front of my house with carpet of snow alyssum and white cosmos. Only the alyssum germinated. I put all my Cosmo seeds in these containers so it looks like I am going to have to buy white cosmos this year. I did containers for my back patio with petite yellow marigold, cosmic orange cosmos, and royal carpet alyssum. Again only the alyssum germinated. The same marigold seeds that I sowed in separate cups germinated just fine. So I will transplant some of the marigolds into these patio containers. I've never seen the orange cosmos at the nursery, so I will have to look for something tall and yellow/orange to add to the containers. On the bright side - I will not have to buy alyssum.

Brock, if anybody is guilty of writing too much, it is I, appreciate your input on the matter. I believe you are correct, it's Chinese or Japanese roof iris aka crested iris (did some googline). I did see zone 5b somewhere which is the colder limit for them, and I definitely think there is a difference b/t 5a and 5b, but I might be able to squeak some things through anyway. Now that is distressing that they may not survive the winter. I just set them out this afternoon, new area where there is no protection, and will have to mulch (or something) for the winter and expect to lose them. There are too many similar in this class to know exactly what to expect. If they make it through the summer, I could pot a few up and bring them inside, but that defeats my purpose as I have enough already to winter inside. They look so nice with that pretty foliage. Yes, I could move some, but I've got scads more plants waiting to be set out. Yes, I agree that some, not all, mail-order retailers exaggerate the zone business because they would lose sales. A topic for another time, tired after setting out 24 plants, used my bulb planter which made things go a little faster. I think I had my tiller set to till and not cultivate, oh well, it had gotten so bad so fast, it needed the extra power, but I'm worried if I could have compromised the roots forming on the Austins I set in there ealier. They should recover.

Hi Virginia, I grow several varites of Colocasias. I have left the Red Stem ones in a raised bed for a couple of years and they come back. I always pour a load of mulched leaves on them every fall. I dug up my babies this fall and potted them up in the unheated GH so I'm hoping to have some to trade in the Spring. I've got "Black Magic" and the "Red stems" and am going to get the burgandy and green leaf one soon. I also put a pot of "Frydek" in the GH that I will get to divide next year. I'm going to take atleast one of each and put them in one of my beds and mulch heavy to see what will happen to them. I really don't like having to take them in. I did learn something a few years ago with non-hardy amaryllis. I planted a few around a big old oak and several in one of my garden beds. The ones around the oak still come up and bloom each year. The ones in the bed, froze into a big glob of mush. So, the soil definetly stays warmer when there is a structer or tree close to the plant you want to plant. I had no idea it could make that much difference. My neighbor has one of the huge red and white Amaryllis that she planted 4 years ago in the corner where her house meets the sidewalk and this thing is huge!It had about 20 big blooms this year. I'm going to try to convience her she needs to divide it! This plant came from the florist and it is not supposed to be hardy. We've had many nights in the teens and that thing just keeps on growing in her mini tropical area close to her house. I guess all the concrete and brick act like heaters in the winter. S0, even if it's not supposed to live, if you pick the right, protected spot and add your bubble wrap, you should have some nice plants next year. OH yes, do not completely cover the plants with this like every0ne said. It will act like a stem bath on bright sunny days and you will have soup! Love to you all, Mona

Thanks, Lyfia and LavenderLass! At first I nixed the idea of relocating the sink to the opposite end of the kitchen, largely due to cost reasons (I'm ok with shimmying the sink over a few feet, but wasn't sure what the costs are associated with moving it across the room. Still, though, I started mocking something up in my software and I kind of like how it's evolving! My concerns are: 1. if the fridge moves to the opposite wall (where we fill in that pesky column), when you round the corner from the living/dining room, it sticks out right in your face. I thought nestling it into the old doorway was clever, and I lose that with this layout. Also, it puts the fridge a few more steps away from people hanging out in the family room (admittedly, not a huge deal, but something to consider). 2. Keeping a window cutout in the old doorway means I lose some upper cabinets. I think I can squeeze more continuous prep space out of this one, though, and my base cabinet storage potential increases, which is a HUGE plus. Here's what I have so far (please disregard what is going on in the dining room with these pics ;-). In both cases, the microwave is next to the fridge (shown as an OTR that isn't located over a range): Layout 1: Nestles the fridge into the old doorway. Note the extra 5 foot run of upper cabinets above the sink. My corners aren't very functional in this one, but I'm totally open to suggestions. Garbage pullout is "south" of the stove in this layout, in the middle of prep space. Layout 2: Keeps a cutout to the family room (reflected as a window above the sink), moves the sink to the opposite wall. Really like how the fridge wall is shaping up with this and that I can get a susan in without sacrificing drawer space. Garbage pullout is just "north" of stove, on the edge of the slightly more expansive prep space. In either case, with the 24 inch sink base (which is what I have now), I'd try to squeeze in as large a sink as possible, hopefully a d-bowl with the faucet off in a back corner. With Layout 2, I could probably go up to a 30 inch sink base and shorten the bank of drawers next door from a 30 to a 24. That base cabinet is where I was thinking of storing dishes, and I think it can all squeeze in. I should mention that due to cost, I'm probably going with Ikea cabinets or Barker depending on cost, or perhaps a combination of the two if i'm finding I need a lot of special sizes. What do you think?