Thanks everyone for all the information. I'll Google all the places you mentioned. I'm in Buffalo NY so the Ohio & Michigan places sound like a closer bet. Mocc, my whole lot is 30x135' I'm putting a new bed between the garages that is about 8' wide by the length of a 2 car garage..It will be tiered in 3 stages with probably the med. in the highest tier, and then s/m next an then smalls.Each tier will be about 5' deep and 8' wide.. Mini's will go in front of the garage 8' x 2' deep. Putting Guacamole, So Sweet and Dream Queen in first tier. Also have space next to the fence about 4'x40', and in back of the house about 24' x 5' deep.Have a lot of space next to the fence on drive side for pots. Don't know how to put pics on the forum yet, but I could send you some via email. Have visions of a great Hosta garden, but my family thinks I've lost my mind to take on such a project at almost 80 yrs. But gardening is what I live for. Sunnywood, thanks for the endorsement for NHH. Think they give a 15% discount for early orders. Last but not least COLL- You were my inspiration for my new bed when I saw your tiered section in your thread "Same Old, Same Old", Have it on my "bookmarks" Just beautiful Thanks! Well thanks everybody for your advice and encouragement. I'll be on this machine all weekend looking at things. Better go now. Forgot to feed the dog until she nudged me to tell me to "get off that d--n machine and take care of me instead.

Esther, like you, I was leery of mail order hosta. My first experience 5 years ago, ended in disappointment. Here's what changed my mind: Last year, at the AHS national convention, I met Gary from Naylor Creek. There, I purchased several of his lovely plants and they all did wonderfully. So, I dipped my toe into the water and bought 3 from Naylor on the Hosta Library auction. They all did great, so over the winter, I decided to JUMP IN! I ordered from Hallsons (the best size plants for the money, and excellent quality), Naylor Creek (excellent quality, but smaller plants since they were newer cultivars), Jim's (decent size plants, but they were limp on arrival... all but one perked up to almost normal with an overnight soaking of the roots), Glenbrook (good quality plants), In the Country Garden & Gifts (plants were healthy, but small since they were newer cultivars). All in all, I am quite pleased with my purchases, though I do miss the thrill of shopping locally now. The one bit of advice I can offer you is this: Unwrap the bare root plants as soon as they arrive. Do not allow them to cook on your front porch. When you unwrap them, consider taking a rubber band and banding the tag to the crown. Have a bucket of water ready to soak them in overnight. This will remind the roots to start actively taking in water again. At this point, I chose to pot mine in potting mix with HYDRATED Soil Moist crystals. My beds were too wet to plant in at that point and spots weren't prepared yet anyway. I put the pots in a slightly shady location and made sure they stayed moist. I started planting them this weekend. They'd been potted for about 2 weeks. So far, they look great. I do think the key is the overnight water soak! But do NOT allow them to stay in their wrapper at this time of year!

As a person who grew up in Stonington, CT, if you choose one of the more popular tourist spots as your home, plan on it being overrun with tourists from May to September. It's kind of depressing. You wait all winter for the nice weather, and then when it comes, you can't get around easily. Beach traffic is another thing. If you end up in RI, plan on knowing alternate routes to places in the summer. Sounds like you're looking for more of the inland rustic places, so that's probably not a factor for you. As a gardener, I don't know if you'd want to factor zone into your choice. I currently live in Milford, CT. I'm near the sound and am usually putting in my vegetables and tending to my garden a good 3 weeks before some of the folks in the inland cooler areas. As far as CT towns go, I've lived in the following ones. Stonington - beautiful town, big time New England charm, salaries do not keep up with home prices, about a 15 minute drive to get to shopping, and it's crowed with tourists in the summer Bethel - (up by Brookfield/Danbury area) Very nice rural town, plenty of shopping just around the corner, but you're pretty much in NY. The stores carry Yankees and Giants stuff. Stamford - If you like traffic, lots of ordinances, and a hectic lifestyle, this is the town for you. Plainfield - Deliverance country. Very quiet and a lot of house and land for your buck, but you're far from everything. They don't call it the quiet corner for nothing. I like the Litchfield hills area for visiting, but again there's not enough shopping around there for me. It's beautiful in the fall and close to plenty of good skiing, but I consider it a visit place rather than a live there place. I'm actually liking Milford despite it being a little south of the Williams/Dimagio line. The town is zoned in a way that most the residential areas are separate from the shopping areas. I'm on a nice quiet street, but only 5 minutes from 2 major highways and all the shopping I could ask for. The people are nice, but again it's affluent folks mixed in with blue collar folks who park their cars on their front lawns. It's also on the sound and has very nice beaches. It may eventually turn into a Fairfield county suitcase type of town, but so far it's retaining a New England feel. I went to college in NH. It was just way too slow for me. There was nothing but deer and snow where I was. I haven't spent much time in VT or ME. I've always liked Massachusetts, but some of the towns have since lost their industry and many are shells of their former selves. The mill towns in particular are still fighting to stay afloat. I like the area near Foxborogh. There are a lot of very nice towns around their that have retained their New England charm, but still have a large city not too far away for jobs. By the way, Mets fans are perfectly welcome We've got no problems with them.

You are 100% right, thats why you have to have somewhat commen sence when you choose a contractor. Ask him where he was trained / classes. how long doing it. what happens if you do the install and its not working right. what has to be done to correct the problem.