Thanks everyone for all the compliments. My floating baskets aren't doing too good this year. Don't know if it's the weather or my koi (now that they are bigger they are able to tip the basket with their body just enough to nibble. They remind me of deer they don't eat the whole plant just enough to stress it out). I heard a rumor it could be my water is too clean. Pond is in it's third year so it may be fully cycled now. Don't know if any of you read Nosambos (Lisa's) post earler this month so I am linking it to mine. She is so creative she can turn anything that floats into a planter as you can see from her post. I just love visiting her pond because I never know what she has created that is going to surprise me. I got 4 large sheets of styrofoam pads from work. They are about 3 ft long by 1 1/2 ft wide. I am planning on connecting them together with computer cable ties. I am going to try to make a large floating impatiens, watercress island out of them by cutting holes in the pads and placing punctured styrofoam cups in the holes (hopefully this will make them koi proof), then placing impatiens and watercress bare root in the styrofoam cups. It may work unless my koi decide to tip it over. (They completely destroyed one floating basket of watercress in a day). I will post pics if it does work. I am just wondering if I should surround it by pond noodles to make it more stable. Only problem will be getting it in and out of the pond. My pond is in full sun and my fish have no shade other than the floating planters you see in the post here. As they are getting bigger their shade is getting smaller. Jenny Here is a link that might be useful: Nosambos floating watercress idea

and they could have been dead or nearly so before they were planted due to improper care somewhere between the grower and being planted - ie: some big box stores. I have a friend who is a seasonal manager for a big box store and they have contracts with some suppliers for which they don't pay for plants unless they sell them - so no real need to take the extra time(labor cost) and material(water costs) to make sure the plants live. My thoughts on buying from big box stores is to buy the day the truck delivered the plants - otherwise it's a crapshoot. Marshall

good work steve ... bottom of the pdf at page 9 bottom, per the steves link, and it specifically addresses sieboldiana: Variability in Veining Count. All species show some variability in the number of veins and so the count given in the descriptions is the average, maximum number of principal veins normally seen. Occasionally, this number may be exceeded by one or two, and, while the younger summer leaves may produce fewer. It is best to make a count on one half of a leaf to arrive at a number of vein pairs and make the count on several, mature, vernal leaves and then take the average count of vein pairs. Abbreviated Veins. One significant point must be made: The outermost vein or veins are often abbreviated and do not extend to the leaf tip usually terminating at the leaf margin between a third and half way up from the petiole intersection. Although these veins end at the margin and are thus incomplete they must be counted. In some cases they are hard to detect on the upper side of the leaf so it is helpful to search for them on the underside, where they are typically more prominent. In the taxa belonging to section Helipteroides (H. sieboldiana) these outer veins are usually submarginally connected (conjoined) and appear to merge with the next vein, but close examination shows they actually terminate and are merely cross-connected. Conjoined Leaf Veining (W.G.Schmid Photo â Hosta Hill 1988) Abbreviated Leaf Veining (W.G.Schmid Photo â Hosta Hill 1988) 10

You are getting lots of good advice especially from kellyeng, teacats and egbar. I had a fabulous realtor couple when selling my last home. We interviewed 3 full-time (don't go w/ a part-timer) experienced (at least 5yrs) real estate teams (2-3 people so you're covered ) who were good sellers in the area and who seemed to have good marketing skills. One team clearly was not up to par and we selected the best. They hired a pro photographer and paid for a stager to come in after we had things clean and decluttered and somewhat staged. I wrote, or tweeked, quite a bit of copy and made a sheet listing highlights of the property and recent improvements. That was well received by our realtor (who shared the goal of selling) and buyers. The realtor did a great job of marketing to other realtors and managing showings, feedback, offers, etc. We sold fairly quickly in a tough market. I have also sold 2 homes in more rural areas w/o a realtor but working with an experienced real estate attorney who provided me with appropriate forms for disclosure, offers, etc. Of course, I did all of the marketing. One was sold to a neighbors sister after we had an open house (not common in the area). They were not even looking to buy a house! I would expect your agent to do an open for agents and another general one shortly after listing even if it's not customary. I also made sure the house was presented well -- better than the norm. Clean, decluttered, and simple repairs and staging done. It sounds like that is what you have done and it should make your home sell quicker. But there is a time to say "enough" and get it on the market. It sounds like you are at that point. Good luck. Choose the best of the lot, don't sign a long listing so they will have to continue to earn your business, work with the agent on getting marketing set up then let them do their thing.. Mutual respect will go a long way to achieving the end you both want--a sold house.