Leaflover...I'm so glad I asked you! Seeing is believing...the progression is phenomenal! Your GUac leaves look like they have greater substance than usual but it could just appear that way due to the darker green colour. Don, doesn't that just do it for you? BTW...your Inniswood caught my eye, you enabler, you! LL...it sure makes me crazy, knowing I have to wait at least, what....till spring? to have mine leap? lol. Just kidding around...but really drooling here! I definitely noticed your exquisitely coloured and shaped Fagus as I have a propensity for ANY dark leafed plants but you're right...my eyes "boing-ed" out at that hosta-on-steroids specimen. Stunning. :-) Just so we're clear...you're telling me that my humble version of Guacamole is REALLY gonna look like that any time soon???? Really? Promise? Lol Don and Moc! Notice the two FAT seed pods hanging on the scape? Yepper, I just graduated from Kiddiegarden! Now I'm into another new realm....I don't think I'm ready yet, not by a long shot. I'm just gonna sit in my classroom seat and learn me some more!! This post was edited by josephines67 on Fri, Sep 27, 13 at 1:04

Okay, here's my list! As you can see it's a real mix of veggies, herbs, and annual and perennial flowers. :-) (BTW - the formatting of posts sure leaves a lot to be desired in terms of flexibility and formatting it the way you want to! Oh well, hopefully it's legible.) AMARANTH Golden Giant Greek ARTICHOKE Imperial Star Purple of Romagna BEAN, FRESH Kentucky Wonder Empress Contender Asian Winged Red-Seeded Asparagus BEAN, SOUP Hutterite October Tiger's Eye Jacob's Cattle Gasless Speckled Cranberry Cherokee Trail Good Mother Stallard BROCCOLLI Packman De Cicco BROCCOLLI RAAB, Zamboni BROOM CORN SSE mix CARROT Scarlet Nantes Chantenay Thumbelina Purple Dragon CAULIFLOWER, Early Snowball CUCUMBER Lemon Crystal Apple County Fair Hybrid Mexican Sour Gherkin Early Fortune Richmond Green Apple Poona Kheera Thai EGGPLANT Fairy Tale Hybrid Rosa Bianca Japanese White Egg Thai Long Green Thai Dark Round Green ORNAMENTAL Gourd Mix KOHLRABI, Kolibri LETTUCE Black Seeded Simpson Salad Bowl Mesclun Mix MALABAR SPINACH MELON Noir des Carmes Delice de Table Early Silver Line Charantais Ambrosia Ananas d'Amerique a Chair Verte Tigger Collective Farm Woman MUSTARD, Southern Giant ONIONS (thanks to Dawn!) PEA Sugar Snap Oregon Giant Oregon Sugar II PEPPER Blushing Beauty Garden Sunshine Golden Bell Jupiter Sweet Banana Orange Bell Purple Beauty Tolli's Sweet Italian Bounty Hybrid Fat 'n Sassy Giant Aconcagua Giant Marconi Hybrid Golden Marconi Socrates X3r Hybrid Sweet Spot X3r Sweet Cayenne POTATO (all they had at the feed store...) Red LaSoda Yukon Gold PUMPKIN, Small Sugar RADISH Cherry Belle French Breakfast SPINACH, Bloomsdale SUNBERRY SQUASH, SUMMER z. Italian Harvest Multipick z. Eight Ball z. Black Beauty SQUASH, WINTER Waltham Butternut Potmarron Lakota Queensland Blue Buttercup Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Sweet Dumpling Gold Nugget Buttercup Rouge Vif d'Etampes TOMATILLO, Dr. Wyche Yellow WATERMELON Moon and Stars Crimson Sweet Blacktail Mountain ORIENTAL GREEN Shanghai Green Choy Extra Dwarf Pak Choy ANNUAL & PERENNIAL FLOWERS AMARANTHUS (ornamental only) Autumn Palatte Magic Fountains Coral Fountain ANGELONIA BACOPA BEGONIA Show Angels Mix Nonstop CALENDULA Triangle Flashback Flashback Citrus Smoothies Apricot & Oranges Pink Surprise Chrysantha Citrus Cocktail Porcupine CLEOME Violet Queen Rose Queen COLEUS, Giant Exhibition COREOPSIS COSMOS Cosmic Orange Bright Lights Polidor Mix Sunrise Yellow Garden Redcrest FOUR O'CLOCK, Marrakesh GAILLARDIA Arizona Sun aristata mix GAZANIA, Daybreak Petticoat Mix GERANIUM Inspire Appleblossom Horizon Rose Ice Orbit Salmon GODETIA GOMPHRENA, Strawberry Field HELIOTROPE Mini Marine Blue Wonder "garden" (heirloom) HOLLYHOCK Fig Happy Lights mix Single Mix Spring Celebrities HYACINTH BEAN VINE IMPATIENS, Fanciful Mix Improved MILLET, Foxtail White Wonder NASTURTIUM Caribbean Cocktail Alaska NICOTIANA langsdorfii sylvestris Tinkerbell Marshmallow Lousiana Piroque NICONDRA, Splash of Cream PETUNIA, Aladdin Nautical Mix POPPY o. 'Coral Reef' p. 'Angel's Choir' Danish Flag Imperial Pink Heirloom Corn poppy RUDBECKIA Cappuccino Spotlight Autumn Colors Goldstrum Cherry Brandy Prairie Sun RUELLIA SALVIA f. Victoria coccinea Coral Nymph SUNFLOWER Van Gogh Mix Arikara Mix Italian White PRAIRIE SUNFLOWER Ox Eye THUNBERGIA TITHONIA VERBASCUM Southern Charm Snow Maiden Copper Rose YARROW Summer Berries Love Parade ZINNIA white star Apricot Blush Whirligig profusion, Apricot profusion, Coral Pink profusion, double golden profusion, deep apricot profusion, white Bennary's Giant, Orange Bennary's Giant, White Bennary's Giant, Salmon Rose Bennary's Giant, Lime Bennary's Giant, Golden Yellow Bennary's Giant, Coral Bennary's Giant, Bright Pink Starbright Mix Old Mexico LADY'S MANTLE, Thriller HERBS - BASIL Genovese Sweet Poppy Joe's Thai Holy Kaprao BORAGE BRONZE FENNEL CATMINT Felix blue carpet Select Blue CATNIP CHIVES CHINESE CHIVES CILANTRO CULANTRO aka Vietnamese Coriander ECHINACEA White Swan Magnus Bravado Yellow (native wild) Prima Donna Deep Rose Prairie Splendor THYME English (vulgaris, sometimes also called German) and creeping LEMON GRASS PARSLEY SAGE common white broad leaf SUMMER SAVORY GREEK OREGANO Here's looking forward to it all going great guns and a happy planting season! Ada

I built my own house, so I ca't answer all of your questions, but I'll try a few. There are so many ways to build a house, it's hard to give one answer. Many of them will be 'It depends'. 1) Most houses in regular subdivisions the contractor (or someone else) owns the land. Many times, on custom builds on larger plots the homeowner may own the land outright. 2) If the land is included with the house, you don't own it until the final closing. 3) That would take a book. 4) Yes 5) You can try to negotiate anything. 6) Oddly enough, it seems like builders expect the customer to pay for their mistakes. I would have it strongly worded in the contract that the builder is responsible, period. Would you buy anything else that wasn't right? You can always opt to let it slide if the mistake doesn't bother you. 7) Another book. 8) There are many, many ways to build a house beyond 2X's (stick building) Our house is ICF. There are a number of methods that way out-perform stick built, and there are also many ways to dramatically improve the performance of a stick build. A lot depends upon your location. Extreme weather calls for different methods than a balmy, calm climate. I recommend you research various construction methods, and try to figure which one you like, and which one(s) are appropriate for your climate. 9) It does usually save some money, and saves a bit of water. 10) Many are now going tankless. Look into other options, too, such as heat pump water heaters. 11) Geothermal is hard to justify based just on cost savings. There are tax savings. Your climate will affect whether it would pay or not. It also depends upon what other options are available in your area. Natural gas, for instance, is pretty cheap heat. 12) Not sure. 13) It depends. In a typical tract home, the builder buys everything, and some don't allow for the customer to buy anything. There are other variations, all the way up to DIY, in which case you buy everything. Personally, I would want some say in what went into my home, and the flexibility to shop around. 14) HVAC vents can be in the floor, wall, or ceiling. I mostly see them in the ceiling. There are other options, such as ductless mini-splits, which we have and love, and radiant heat with the heat built into the floors. Whatever way you go, don't let them put the ductwork, if you have any, in the attic unless the attic is insulate and considered 'conditioned' space. I've been reading here lately of houses where the HVAC system wasn't designed in, and they are now having to try to adapt it to fit. Not good. 15) There are a lot of ways to screw up a foundation. It must have appropriate footings. Everything should be plumb and level. There are a number of stages to a proper waterproofing and drainage. Too much to post here right now. 16) Solar is getting close to worth it in many parts of the country. It depends upon your power demands, available sunshine, etc. Again, there are tax credits, I believe. I haven't seen summerfield on here in a long time. I hope my replies help a little. You have a long way to go if you want to be really informed on building a house. I would recommend starting to look into all of the construction techniques. Greenbuildingtalk is a good forum to start researching the various methods, and you can get detailed info based on your climate, budget, and end goals. I also recommend researching each of your questions seperately, and ask those questions. Your list is a little daunting!

Sheila, AnnT has a wonderful recipe for a buttery apple cake. Torta Di Mele Al Burro (Buttery Apple Cake) Source: Savoring Italy by Michele Scicolone 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 Apples (Golden Delicious) peeled, cored, and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest confectioners sugar Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan. In a large frying pan over low heat, melt the butter. Pour 6 tablespoons of it into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Add the apple slices to the butter remaining in the frying pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a small bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl beat the whole eggs and egg yolk until blended. Add the 6 tablespoons melted butter, the vanilla, the granulated sugar, and the lemon zest. Stir in the flour mixture and the apples. Spoon into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until the cake is browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto a plate and lift off the pan, then invert the cake again onto the rack and let cool completely. Just before serving place confectioners sugar in a small sieve and dust the top of the cake.