I wanted some gaudy (I do mean hot colors) cannas and didn't want to spend $10-20 each, so I picked up a box of mixed hot colors at Sam's Club -- 16 of them for the price of one at a nursery. I'm starting a "Hot Tropics" bed and have been digging it out below grade and filling it up with lots of composted manure and good soil. A vendor is sending me a shampoo ginger and a golden lotus banana as a trial for the quality of their products (a web co-op for a lot of small growers who can't justify the cost of having their own website and had been selling on ebay). They sent me an email about doing this and I decided to go ahead and help out these folks by writing an article after I receive the plants. I'm moving some of my own ginger and colocasia to the area and already have clumping bamboo and pineapple sage there. If I can squeeze it in, I'll add my brug to the space.

Darren, I wish I lived in FL, wife wont let me transfer (yet). Here are some tips I use when purchasing plants in Kansas. 1. Local nurseries are best for hardy varieties. RoS from 'proven winners' or 'monrovia' will be as ordered. With the swamp mallow vareties, I look for features that prove the plant versus what they 'say it is'. Look for the flowers, but when in doubt, know the plant. I.E. 'Lord Baltimore' and 'Royal Gems' have identical growth and leaf design. The difference is one has red veins in the leaf. 2. For tropical hibrids, local nurseries may sell inferior plants, and some growers/hybridizers may do the same. They are in a business to make money and although the flower looks great on 'paper', your heart drops when it dies or has 'issues'. 3. Personally, I only order from HVH or Dupont for tropicals. Detailed information is presented about the plant, plus I trust the growers. The product has that 'personal' care touch that can not be measured. Send me an email if you want more detailed info. Hope this helps, Ed

Lots of good advice here and it sounds like you have some of this stuff already covered but here's my advice. I go to a lot of garage sales. Signage: I would definitely put your address including number on the signs. Garage Sale - 1234 Elm Street - and an arrow is all you need. Definitely go with a color theme on the sign. A bright color poster helps people follow the signs from far away. Make your signs two sided so that people coming from either direction can read it. Starting time: Whatever starting time you advertise, be out there at least 30 minutes earlier to put your stuff out. By the time the starting time rolls around, everything should be set out. You'll have early birds no matter what but when I arrive at a sale at or after the starting time and they are still putting stuff out, it's annoying. I'm not going to stand around waiting to see what's coming. There are lots of other garage sales waiting for me and the good stuff is going so I don't want to waste time. Oh! and start somewhere between 7 & 8. Any later is too late and you will lose the early customers. Pricing: Price everything. I won't ask for a price. If nothing is priced, I leave. Be willing to haggle but the haggle should be simple. Will you take $1 for this? Yes, no or a counter offer. I don't care what you paid for it, what price it would be if I bought it in a store, how meaningful it is/was to you or any other information EXCEPT if you are willing to take the amount I offered or if you have a counter offer. The money you paid for the stuff you have is GONE. You will never have that money back. Now it's about what you can make today. And that is based on what someone is willing to pay. Price your stuff according to that, not according to what you paid. When people make an offer, depending on the time of day, consider whether you want to have it left over. First thing in the morning you can afford to be more steadfast, depending on the item. As the day wears on, keep in mind that the person making the offer may be the last person to be interested. Do you want to be stuck with the item or have the money? Haggle but don't argue. Once you've gone your lowest, if the customer doesn't want it at that price, that's the end of the conversation. Don't get into an argument even if they try to. It's a turn off to other customers. Smile and walk away. Lemonade: I wouldn't do lemonade, can drinks and bottled water sell much better. Put a bunch of cans in an ice chest and sell them for 75c. They go. Books: don't make me paw through stacked books in a box. Put them spine up so I can easily glance at the titles. Don't bother individually pricing books either. Hardbacks $1 and paperbacks 50 cents. Done. Put up multiple signs with those prices, depending on how many you have. Magazines, 25 cents. That's what they charge at the used book sales at the library so that's what I'd do too. Oh, one more thing, Please take your signs down after the sale is over. Won't make a bit of difference to your bottom line but it's the right thing to do. It's frustrating to follow signs to a sale that doesn't exist. Good luck!!!

I had two of them. Yes, I think it would be difficult to change the inserts and still have it look good, but that's just me. I can't reupholster a chair either. I stained my inserts. The stain did not take as dark as I wanted since the inserts are a polyester or something. Maybe you could try a thinned out paint?