Hi Lou: Below are two photos of Texas bald cypress trees taken on August 17. Photo #1 is portion of a single species grove of about 75 trees. Photo #2 is a close-up of one tree with a yardstick to show growth. I estimate 1.5 feet of growth since they were planted in March. You can see the red bark in both photos. I have a few other BCs purchased locally. All have rough, reddish bark that peels a bit. That's why I was surprised that the NC bald cypresses had smooth gray bark. Could they be something else? But what? Bald Cypress Grove Bald Cypress Re: your question about Nanjing Beauty hybrids. No, I don't have any Nanjing Beautys. If I understand correctly, Nanjing Beauty is a hybrid of T. distichum (bald cypress), not T. mucronatum (Montezuma cypress)? NB grows faster than the typical BC, and Montezuma cypress also grows faster? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to understand the distinctions. The Loquat Leaf oak (Q. rhysophylla) looks like a cool tree. I've never seen it here. Do you know if it is available for purchase? Would I need to grow it from acorns? You are probably the sole source of acorns. ;-)

There are a gillion or so good fact sheets about the care of poinsettias on the internet. It would be a good idea to take advantage of Google and read a few. That way, you'll be much more comfortable with the whole procedure of re-blooming. I'll attach one of the good fact sheets for you, but let me list a few reasons why people fail with poinsettias. 1. Remove it from the plastic sleeve, which catches the excess water, but allows the plant to sit in that water for days on end. Result? Root rot resulting in wilting and plant death. 2. Avoid warm or cold drafts, but a coolish room is nice. 3. Many people are loath to prune the heck out of these plants....don't fall in to that trap. 4. As spring approaches, check out the root system of your plant to see if it needs to be repotted up one size. Choose a coarse, fast-draining potting medium. 5. When the directions call for 'uninterrupted' dark cycles, they mean it! You cannot do that without artificial intervention. Even street lights beaming into a darkened room could make a difference. So can a flashlight. The reason that poinsettias are considered a disposable plant is that once away from the growth regulating sprays of commercial greenhouses, they can get very large and leggy. People can't seem to find enough light in their homes during the summer, or enough room. And getting them to rebloom is a real challenge in the average home. Here is a link that might be useful: Fact sheet

I have a delimma. My daugters room and ceiling is painted Ben Moore Pink Corsage. she wants a parisian french theme. so far we have the following a Charcoal pin tucked duvet in a satin finish A white faux fur throw Black Furniture with silver leaf I do not know what colors to use for the bedskirt euro pillows rug window treatments. Should I use a pattern or should I stay with solids? I thought about a white organza bedskirt but don't know how to pull the window and euros in I am open to wallys fabric covered wall anything Just NEED HELP!! redecorating her room was a christmas present and I am a little behind any advice wil be greatly appreciated I know what I want but do not know how to put it together.Benjamin Moore Pink Corsage

Here is the orginal layout (Note we replaced the other powder room with a laundry in the master closet, just works better for our family). Ha! Maybe I made all of this worse and I should just go back to this version? :) Okay here it is redrawn with some of your suggestions not sure why the grid lines look like crap, if you click on it it should take you to photobucket and it will look better. here it is without the gridlines: Lyfia thank you so much for redrawing that for me! I like what you have done but we are trying to not move exterior walls (it is not a total custom builder) so moving exterior walls costs $$$ (I think they have their set floor plans and those are most efficient for use of materials). We will consider it if nothing else can be done but I would really like to avoid it. I did scooch the fridge over (I actually made a mistake on the first drawing and the opening wasn't 5 feet into the back pantry) but I did get more island space I think. My questions are in red, what do I do with that blank space after scooching the fridge over and having it be recessed into the wall so it is counter depth? Fire extinguisher? Put an outlet back there and have a coffee pot. Shelving? What about that 6 inch space to make the back pantry wall line up with the scooched back wall? Little spot for a broom? Make the pantry bigger? I am torn on having upper cabinets at all (I like the look with none) so I wasn't sure if I should nix the window in place of more upper cabinets. Shown in gray I have a 5 foot long pot rack that I will be using in this kitchen (I know there are a lot of differing opinions on this one) but I have beautiful cookware that I use daily and have had a pot rack for 12 years now and cannot imagine not having it. So I drew it in. I will not be needing a large drawer to store my cookware. I am 5'9" and I measured the distance to my pots now and I would be able to reach them as placed. I don't really want it over the Island blocking the view. I also own a Hoosier cabinet and was considering nixing one of the pantries to house it but not sure. I use it now as my coffee/tea station and I don't know that I want it that far from water and the nook where I will most likely be enjoying my morning cup. I need to keep one of these corner pantries because I have an antique stained glass transom window that is going to go over one of them similar to style in the picture below. Well not that I couldn't put it some where else I guess, but just what I envisioned in my head. Revised layout Transom above corner pantry