hi laura i do cross stich to custom for a living so if u let me see the pattern ect... i can tell you how long it will take and how much too. My prices are not that high and i can usually come to an agreement if you think it is it is mainly dependant on the size and what materials i have to provide Hope this helps you jenny P.S if you want to email me the details that would be helpfull

You're not supposed to advertise on the Gardenweb sites.

My first stop at the airport is the bank ATM, which does not charge any type of fees. Some countries it's illegal. I use a Capital One Money Market account, which also does not charge a fee. If you are getting foreign currency out of an ATM there is a fee, if you are getting U.S. money out there probably isn't. Hidden on all of these exchanges is the spread (aka the bid-ask spread). Go to the ATM at the airport when you are leaving Canada and get money, then immediately turn it back in to your bank for US currency. The amount they took out will be more than you get back even without transaction fees. FWIW - My Capitol One VISA doesn't charge a foreign exchange rate. I don't understand what you are saying here. The market for currency works just like any other market. So instead of thinking of buying and selling money let's think about buying and selling apples. Suppose you are an apple grower and you sell your apples to the market for $1.00 each. Later you realize that you sold too many and return to the market to buy apples. However, the market is selling those apples for $1.10 because the market has to make money to pay it's overhead. Many people mistakenly believe that exchange rates are fixed, at any time you can trade one currency for an equivalent amount of another currency, but they are not, currencies are commodities. Just like apples, there are people buying currencies and people selling currencies and the market takes its cut every time. Some banks have a lower spread than others but everyone has a spread.

@gardengal48 I want to be clear that I am not making a statement that all individuals within landscaping fit into the profiles I was giving. The point was that most of the service providers are either simplistic maintenance people or doing large high-end projects. "Most" is not "all". I am going to supply evidence for that, but first let me make a diversion. It is very clear to me that you are not in the categories I described. You are a very special person who has a deep love of gardens. You have a lot of experience in the nursery side of the business, in operations and as a buyer. You obviously enjoy thinking about plants based on the quality and number of responses you give to questions here. But what I would like to suggest is that you are not common at all. It is very hard to find people like you, in most places. Now, as some evidence for my claims, please go to Yelp and search within two categories: "gardener" and "landscape design". For gardeners, you will find low-budget lawn sweepers. If any of these people have deep knowledge of soil and plants, they do a superb job of hiding that fact on their websites. Why would you hide such basic information if it was your core skill? The mix of services that are typically offered are weekly maintenance, hardscape installation, and tree services. My kingdom for a single profile on Yelp that talks about deep love of plants and soils and simple garden design projects done by the principal and not done by his "team" of guys he hired at Home Depot.... I mean I have done that exercise and finding just one person who does not fit the general category I described is very hard. For "landscape design" you find architects, many of whom are superb. But they are not going to support the operation and maintenance of your garden. So pass on that. You also find implementers. But call up these firms and what you quickly realize is they want large projects over $10K. They are never going to supply you with one knowledgeable person who can come over to your house twice a month and supply your plants and garden with some simple love. I am not making this up. I have called up every single one of the top 20 rated firms on Yelp in both of these categories and most of them simply do not provide the services of what you call a "fine gardener". If it is different in your area, then maybe I should think about buying a vacation home there. Seriously.