I also think it is old-school gardening to cut everything back in fall. Some perennials, like Monarda, should be cut back to prevent disease, but many do not. Leaving perennials be provides food for birds and butterflies (which pupate on dormant perennials). Many perennials (wildflowers in particular) do not decay and get messy during the winter. I do believe in removing decaying leaves and flowers and other nasty stuff that could harbor pests and disease. Tender perennials definitely need to be left up to ensure the best chance of survival. Mums have drastically higher overwintering rates when left alone. This is all personal preference for the most part; there isn't a right or wrong. Some cut everything in winter and do fine. Some don't touch anything and do fine. According to Tracy DiSabato-Aust, you should do your cutting down after several hard frosts or you risk the plants putting on new growth from carbohydrate reserves intended for Spring and then losing the plant altogether when the hard freeze finally hits. She also suggests cutting plants down to 2-3" from the ground but no lower or you risk crown damage. Her book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is an excellent investment for information about all of your pruning questions. She even lists plants that she prunes for the winter and those she does not.

It is not always cheaper to buy yourself, as your contractor will likely pass on his discount to you. One thing to look at is whether the subs will do the same. For example, the plumber my sub uses buys the fixtures at his discount (which it also happens I can receive through my mother as a designer), and then marks them up 10 percent. I bought all the faucets because of this, but he ordered the bathtubs (one was an expensive air tub) so he still got compensated. The tubs were something that were time sensitive so he did this. I am also purchasing all my appliances, mainly because I want to put them on my AMEX and receive the extra year of warranty. My builder is fine with this too. We are building a more expensive house so these small bits don't amount to a large commission reduction to him. One tip I can give you is to suggest the landscaping be taken out of the construction contract. My builder actually suggested this because he said there was no reason to pay someone to install it and for him to get his percentage on top of that if there was someone else on the job to manage the installation (we have a landscape architect involved who will manage it). Like any of us, I know you are just trying to get the best value for your money. As a particularly well heeled friend of mine said, I want the best and I don't mind paying for it, but I just don't want to pay the dumb*** price ;). I felt the same, and wasn't going to pay the plumber over 1000.00 more to order faucets for me that I could get quickly online . . .

Where are you located roughly? Here in NJ, I am not a big fan of automatic covers. the things that can go wrong with them outweigh, at least in my opinion, the positives. Yes, they can, when used on a daily basis, improve safety and reduce chemical and heating costs but on the negative side, the mechanisms can break, leaving a cover 1/2 rolled up, often aren't configured for use with salt cells, cost plenty when the cover fabric needs to be replaced periodically (average life is less than 10 years), and aren't as strong as most safety covers used for Winter. The chemical usage isn't that big a cost, certainly not enough to justify it. Heat can be saved with a solar cover at night for a lot less. Automatic covers can have snow loads play merry hell on tracks and cover material. Rain will carry debris into the coffin and clog its drain. Unpumped rain will seriously wear the spooling mechanism because of the weight so an automatic pump needs to be set. A hole in the cover will let pool water out. You still need a fence for the yard. There are added installation costs such as stainless hardware and extra bonding needed when a salt cell is used. The costs will vary with the size and shape of the pool. Here in the Northeast, plastering, regardless of the material used, is best done in the Spring. The cement used hydrates, raising the pH. Left unmonitored over the Winter, scale is far more likely to form. The more time you have to monitor it, the better. This process slows with time so the more time you have to monitor it, the better. The Sun provides all the UV you will need with an outdoor pool. Adding it to the return flow is more money in their pocket only. Nothing reduces the amount of free chlorine needed in the water. You can only augment it. Chlorine kills everything. Yes, there are a couple things that can take some time but residential outdoor pools have such a small risk of being contaminated, it doesn't make sense. Large, public indoor facilities and water supplies are at a greater risk because of the lack of exposure to the Sun. UV cannot be used as a primary sanitizer. It doesn't leave a residual in the pool which is where its needed. Go with the MasterTemp 400HD. Its just bulletproof, unlike the Raypak. I prefer the Quad series of filters over the FNS Plus series. They are typically a bit larger and easier to clean. All finishes use cement to bind. A big part of cement is calcium. Water can draw calcium out from the cement. The less cement exposed, the longer the finish lasts. Plaster dust also has calcium. It tends to be softer too. Quartz can improve things but is dependent on how much is used in the mix. Pebble finishes tend to have the aggregates more exposed and thus last the longest. Compaction needs are dependent on the type of pool and construction method used. Six inch lifts are expected usually. Scott

I wouldn't worry at all. My Red Bhut plants looked exactly like that last year. Very low and bushy. They didn't get too much wider. By the end of the season, they were close to 5 feet tall. Don't forget to stake them up, or use tomato cages. By the time you realize they're not strong enough to support themselves, it might be too late! I also agree with Mecdave. I'd trim off any leaves touching the soil. Looking good so far! Good luck. Mike