Most of the time I am an organic gardner but not over iris borers. When I spot them I dig up the clump and cut out all rotted areas and trim the leaves to healthy parts and fungicide them. It postpones bloom for a year with some irises but not others. I do not dig up all the clumps not showing a problem however for most seem healthy and usually I do not get the borers back again for many years. What is bothering me this year is slugs and snails all over the iris. Never had that problem before and that might be from rain, rain, rain so I stomp, stomp, stomp the offenders.

Oh, that's wonderful Summerfield! I wish I could just build that almost as you have drawn it! Unfortunately, I've got some restrictions I have to work within due to the lot I have and city setbacks. I've been reading "The Not So Big House" book (loving it, thanks for the recommendation minneapolisite) and was looking at some new ideas from my original layout. **This is pretty rough** and there's a bunch I really don't like on it just yet, but I wanted to give an update. What I like most about my latest update is more windows in the main living area on the south side of the house and all three living areas having direct windows instead of the dining room being sandwiched into the middle of the house. I also like the shared entry so that the 'nice' entry doesn't end up being for guests only. I hate the way I have the pantry laid out, but I do like the idea of a good sized pantry with room for the chest freezer (currently in the basement in our house today). Also, this opens up the living room for a bit more space. My favorite things about the plan you've drawn, Summerfield, are both of the bathrooms, laundry and master closet. Those are the areas I'm struggling the most with. (as well as the whole bedrooms side of the house...) We may have a small television in the kitchen, and temporarily in the living room, but once the basement is finished we would only have the kitchen tv. So no need to build a dedicated spot for it on the first floor. Site Plan:

Hey there, Frugaljon....welcome aboard. I wish to recommend to your pleasure a video on YouTube about the Hanging Hosta of Hampshire. Ever heard of them? I've watched the videos innumerable times, trying to note details of how they manage so many hosta, and what happens when winter comes, you know, just looking and dreaming. I link to one such video below. My hosta garden is 25 x 100 and is in coastal Alabama (near the Gulf of Mexico), and my zone is considered 9a or at best 8b. We have an undependable winter here, but we manage a few freezes and cold temps enough to make dormancy possible. Get ready to join the fun day after Christmas, when the Hosta Alphabet series begins. Until then, similar threads exist for last last several years. Wonderful resource. Here is a link that might be useful: HANGING HOSTAS OF HAMPSHIRE video

Thank you Anglophilia and mojomom. We are pretty set on having the extra bedrooms in the basement. As mojomom said, this is very common where we live , even in high end homes, and I have no qualms about it whatsoever. Mushcreek, I am glad you chimed in. I have followed some of your threads and really respect and admire what you have accomplished. We will also be DIYing some of our build (although not nearly to the degree that you did). rrah and mushcreek, I'm glad to hear that you enjoy your deck space. We will have to think about what will give that space the most utility for us personally. jannicone, thanks for answering my question. These insights are helpful. chisue, I appreciated your post. Good point about living spaces. I hesitate to use the word "forever home" but we really do plan on this being the last move we have to make. Obviously life could throw some unforeseen circumstances at us, but barring anything really really surprising we plan on staying here. Again, this is a very rural area, and people just don't buy and sell to the same extent that they do in the city or even larger towns. To me, it's almost a foreign concept to buy/build for every stage of life. I'm trying to stay away from the idea of building the "perfect" home. We do want a well built and thoughtfully laid out home. If that doesn't work perfectly for every stage of life, that's okay with us. I've seen the small farmhouse that my dad was raised in. He had five siblings, and they also took in his grandparents towards the end of their life. Looking at it now, it would be almost inconceivable for even a family of three to live there, but they obviously made it work (although I'm sure it was far from ideal). Standards of living sure have changed! I also think that's one of the big advantages of a forum like this. As we move through the planning process, I may not necessarily know what we'll need for those different life stages, but people here who have been through that can hopefully offer some insight and advice based on their personal experiences. chisue, I also thought it was interesting that you said "You don't want to spend your children's growing up years concentrating on creating The Perfect House to house them." That's a great point, and also one of the reasons we're not building yet! Our children are young, and building a house is a big commitment. We're doing okay where we are for now. We plan to GC our own build, and also DIY a portion of it. I know that's going to take a lot of time and focus, and I'm not prepared to take that away from my children right now. When they are a little older they'll be a little more self-sufficient, and also able to contribute more to the process.