I don't know about most of the country, but I have noticed a decline where I am locally. (Of course, I don't call planting a row of taxus in front of a house "gardening" but I digress). In my area of the neighborhood, I've spotted 2 houses who really have gardens besides mine. One woman actually paved over her little porch island of dirt!! I couldn't believe it! I fill mine with Caladiums. =x Down the street a lady has a beautifully tended area of rododendrons and spring blooming bulbs and transitions nicely to summer with rows of liriope and impatiens. Across from her, the plastic plants stuck in the ground around a mangled forsythia don't change. (The forsythia never blooms because they mangle it in summer.) Behind me, spring is for peony, summer blossoms with gladiolus and hollyhocks. Everyone else has a barely surviving lawn. Among my friends are the too busy, too poor, too tired, too frustrated, and too confused gardeners. When they try to garden, they buy big coffee table books about landscaping. After biting off more than they can chew, they melt in the summer and leave the garden to the weeds. April's freeze last year killed one of my friend's desire completely. (Though she wants me to prune her trees tomorrow), After losing all her indoor grown toms, she said, "I can't garden. Whatever I plant dies. I don't have time to waste on it." I remember driving down a new subdivision and being amazed to see how many flowers were sprouting in one persons yard. Soon though, it was gone. I asked about it. The lady said that the homeowner's association limits gardens to the rear. So in my experience what the article says is true. It's not likely to be true everywhere. (After all, I've seen gorgeous gardens in the most down trailer parks. I saw a trailer covered in purple flowers of Jackmanii and White Sweet autumn. The guy had strung fishing line over it. It sounds weird but under the porch purple flowers hang in your face. It's awesome.) But I'm afraid that for too many people gardening is a foregone past time.

i didnt read the article ... but from my experience ... there are only two aspects affected by shade ... first.. annual growth can be stunted ... and if you are working in shade.. one might presume you are space limited.. so who cares if it grows a little slower than it would in full sun ... things simply do not die in lack of full sun ... presuming of course.. we arent talking a dark cave under shade .... [if they die.. its more likely from water competition under the wrong kind of trees] and second.. color.. if it is sun dependent ... and if that is the case.. why did you pick it for shade anyway ... in other words.. i wouldnt try a skylands in deep shade ... otherwise it will be the green of plain old momma ... Picea orientalis if i get a chance.. i will read the article in the near future.. or.. in the alternative.. lose focus and forget... lol ken ps: being a hosta fiend ... in a prior life.. be sure to understand.. that shade is a very difficult term to define ... one mans shade.. is never another mans shade .... there is hours... how high the canopy is ... etc ... peeps used to measure such with an old fashioned light meter for a camera .... some shade required your camera be wide open .. aperture??? .. and other places.. near closed... same effect with eye glasses that change to sun glasses ... i have been in hosta gardens where my glasses remain dark.. and others where its so dark... the glasses go back to clear ... and mind you.. not much grows in deep dark shade .. and that is why in the forest.. its usually barren under the telephone poles .... there is just not enough light down there.. for even the weeds to thrive .....

That's my job - to read, write, re-write, re-write once again. My father would have nothing else! This is a guy who has an entire month with respect to each day and also with respect to each hour of each day, written-down. He was also the fastest man in Rock Island, IL @ one time during his life. Now he created me and I'm even faster.....! (excuse me, not anymore!) 33, fat, sleeps a lot - would be my personal ad! And, "conifer nerd." Dax

Most items were pretty good...but... Second sink Place it outside of the main cooking and cleanup zone so that a second chef can prep food, wash hands for dinner, or bartend during parties. Somewhat disagree: If you intend for the sink to be a prep sink, it should be in the Prep Zone and fairly close to the Cooking Zone. If you want it to be a sink for "outsiders" to use, then I agree. Bar-tending, etc. should be outside all three of the primary work zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup). The second chef can use the cleanup sink (ditto for someone wanting to wash hands). Allocating Project Costs Where's the 10% (at least) for "surprises"?! Keep your current layout. I agree with Rosie! It seems that most kitchens designed by builders or architects are not very functional, so when remodeling you want to fix the functional issues - first. (They even say this on a later slide!) Just replacing cabinets is a waste of money unless the layout is very good OR you don't cook! Blind Corners: Half-Moon Lazy Susan Blind Corners: Double Sliding Shelves Blind Corners: Pull-Out Shelves IMHO, avoid blind corners if at all possible. They are generally less useful than corner susans or drawers, waste more space, and generally the blind corner hardware is far less reliable/durable than susans or drawers. Drawers Versus Rollout Trays It's rare that ROTS are better than drawers - even for small items - use a shallow drawer. Drawer bases usually come in 3 and 4 drawer configurations - some manufacturers even have 2 and 5 drawers. I agree ROTS are easier for retrofitting, though. The Pros (and Cons) of a Pro-Grade Range [Con] Needs a 10-inch duct (versus the usual 7-inch) for a high-power vent hood to whisk away that extra heat. Most decent vent hoods these days require an 8" to 10" duct, gone are the days of 4" to 7" ducts. You've also got to match the hood to the range, both in terms of dimensions (a 30-inch range needs a 30-inch hood) Actually, 6" wider than the cooking surface and at least 24" deep is much better. If in an island or peninsula, then at least 6" wider and 27" deep is needed. Note that in most cases the power needed for venting is dependent more on how/what you cook than the cooking appliance you are using! Smoke/excessive steam/grease/fumes/etc. all require stronger cfms - regardless of gas (pro or not), induction, or regular electric.