Olga, I'm just going to sit down before I faint. What a beauty you're growing! It's great to see Alchymist when it's been sprayed. I don't spray and the blackspot isn't really terrible here in Washington, but oh, what a pretty sight to see the perfect leaves. Your blooms are so soft and the colors simply stunning! Ours is loaded with buds once more, very tightly packed, but no color showing yet. I'll post pictures when it blooms. Meantime, I think I'll borrow one of your pics for my desktop background if you'll say it's okay. By the way, I saw Karen and Jeff yesterday at the Heritage Roses Northwest meeting and they were so pleased to have been able to see your garden last fall. I think they're heading in your direction again soon, probably hoping to catch your spring flush. I wish I could take a walk through your garden but for now will be happy with a vicarious visit. Thank you again for being so gracious! Sue

I move plants all the time. I'm almost always wanting to change the site of one plant and so I would move them many times over. With the hostas - it's probably going to be a good time to make divisions as well as transplanting. Water them well before digging them out of the garden. use a shovel and dig them out completely. Take a serated knife and start dividing the plants into smaller plants. Replant and water well. no fertilizing. With regards to the rose of sharon, it all depends on how long the shrubs were in the ground. The longer and larger the shrub is, the harder to transplant them without damage. Water well and dig a large root ball. Make sure you have dug up the new hole before you even dig out the shrub. You want to dig out the shrub and immediately tranplant it. However, as I said, the risk is higher when the plant has been in the ground longer. (like many years). So my advise is to wait till fall when the plant goes dormant before digging it out of the hole and transplant right away.

That is one VERY cute baby, a very thoughtful look, too. I was so wrapped up in what I was trying to do that I didn't comment. Annie, Sam does look a good bit like Sean Connery but wasn't thrilled with all the picture taking that was going on, I think. Basically he's a happy, fun-loving person to travel with. Ann is my best friend and we've known Sam for years and traveled together numerous times. Neither of our husbands like to travel but don't mind if we do, so it works well. You're on the countdown with the wedding now and I know it will be beautiful and I'd say fun, too. You've put in a lot of hard work and I can't wait to see the pictures and hear all about it. jude

In general, I have a problem with stores that offer to price match. We priced windows at Home Depot and told the salesperson we were going to continue to shop around. He said if we got a better price on the same windows to come back and he would match it. I told him that no, if someone quoted us a better price - they will get our business. You only get one shot. My thinking is that if Home Depot could give us a better price, why didn't they do it in the first place?? Don't waste my time, and offer to undercut a competator who seems to be at least trying to price things more fairly. Furniture I might think differently about, if there was warranty to consider, etc. In our case the windows were the exact same manufacturer.