This week I'll review my experiences with Stanley and Sons nursery. ***************************** STANLEY AND SONS ***************************** Stanley and Sons Inc. is a Wholesale nursery located in NW Oregon. They have specialized in rare and unusual conifers and Japanese maples since the mid-1970s with some ten acres of nursery grounds and grafting/offering more then 2000 different conifers. While they are 'wholesale', they do occasionally offer their wares to avid collectors, provided you meet certain requirements. Since Stanley and Sons is a wholesale seller, often the prices of the plants are unbeatable. To acquire such plants, retailers or collectors usually must have a retail nursery or membership into the ACS - American Conifer Society. Also, orders must contain a minimum number of plants(depending on the size of the plants). www.stanleyandsons.com Inventory: ***** S&S has the largest overall offering of conifers that I'm aware of online. Offering some 2,000+ conifers, including new ones every year from Holland/New Zealand, they offer both common plants you might find at Lowes, to very rare plants seldom seen in any but the most exclusive online nurseries. They also offer large stock supplies of many of their conifers, with some conifer inventories listed in the thousands. For the retailer, S&S offers a gigantic selection of very well priced conifers covering both large and small. I have friends who run a landscaping business and they have recently pledged future funds in return for unique conifers to provide their customers landscapes. I have also found S&S to be an extremely reliable source to find rare and unusual conifers - particularly 'large upright' conifers that I've had a very hard time finding online. Stock quality/size: **** S&S offers many sized plants, but the overwhelming majority of plants listed for sale are 4" pot and 1 gallon sized plants. S&S does offer 3-gallon and 10-gallon(or larger) plants, but these are much less common and are also sometimes too large to ship via UPS. The size of the plants varies from small one-year grafts to large, overflowing plants that are 3-5 years old or more. I've ordered a half dozen plants in three gallon sizes and I was impressed every time. Generally speaking, the 4" pots are 'starter' plants, often very recent cuttings. Where the size might be lacking is more then made up for in quality - Stanley and Sons offers some of the healthiest looking plants I've experienced from any nursery online. General experience/Customer service: *** Stanley and Sons has an impressive packaging/shipping routine. Every conifer is well labled with size/habit details and every box is extremely well packaged. Shipping for me here in the Northwest is both inexpensive and very quick, usually overnight. Of course I live within 3 hours of S&S nurseries, so East coast travel times may be longer. Stanley and Sons is a WHOLESALE nursery, so they operate much differently then other nurseries you may have experienced. From what I have seen and read here on these forums, it can be difficult to contact them directly and they may even scold customers from calling/asking specific details. Really, any collector/conifer enthusiast should be happy enough if they are offered these conifers in the first place. Complaints/pestering, etc. are not likely to be well received, especially given the huge discount you're already looking at on very fine plants. Orders are usually placed online with a pre-given CC# and confirmation of the order is usually given in 24 to 48 hours. Sometimes stock may not be present even if it shows on their availability list - again, another aspect of the wholesale industry. I've never had a bad experience with Stanley and Sons and would recommend them for anyone with retail needs or looking to add to their collection. Just keep in mind that they are wholesale, so being able to even shop from them is a huge perk. Value: **** Unquestionably, S&S offers some of the least expensive plants I have come across. I've purchased several dozen plants between $7.50 and $15 that have thrilled my landscaping friends. Though they aren't 'instant gratification plants', the rarity of some of these plants gives them top value. While other nurseries offer older stock, S&S has the best prices. This of course is an uncomfortable point - Stanley and Sons is WHOLESALE, and their are ethical questions whether or not 'retail consumers' should even have access. It's not one I'll argue either way as I am just a small fish and new to all of this - just keep it in mind if you're considering placing and order - and certainly don't be upset if you're denied access. Personally I have found many nurseries to have redeeming qualities when it comes to their own offerings, and I have and will continue to place orders with other nurseries, but for the conifer enthusiast on a budget, S&S really is sort of your holy grail of nurseries. If you have more time then money, it is probably one of your best options. In the end, whether you're a retail nursery owner or a very avid conifer collector, Stanley and Sons offers an extremely reliable, inexpensive way to further increase your wares. It's impossible not to recommend them. A typical 'cart' of 15 4" pots. Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Confucious' 1GAL - $7.50 Cryptomeria japonica 'Black Dragon' 1GAL - $7.50 Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans Compacta' 1GAL - $7.50 (Huge plant for 1 gallon sized) Picea abies 'Chrudim WB' 4" POT - $10 Picea abies 'Hildburghausen' 3GAL - $25 Pinus nigra 'Gaelle Bregeon' 3GAL - $25 Psuedotsuga menziessi 'Valdstejn' 1GAL - $15 Next week: Cloud Mountain Farms and Girards Nursery. Will

I'm in the Portland Oregon area and we had ordered a VentaHood under-cabinet model NPH9 with a chrome pot rail from our local dealer, Standard TV and Appliance. Because of the pot rail, it was considered a custom order. The initial shipment arrived on time to Standard's warehouse. I went to pick up the hood, only to find - no pot rail. The shipping box was properly labeled with our custom order number including a description of the hood with attached pot rail. After four (4) days of discussing with Standard on how to reconcile this mistake, we were told a new unit had to be re-ordered and would arrive within 4 - 6 weeks. It's been 2 months since then. We finally probed deep enough into the problem (called the Seattle distributor, Luwa, as our Standard sales rep and manager were of no help) only to find another hood had been shipped, but was lost somehow in the delivery. We are now on our second (2nd) re-order. Moral of the story, if you're looking for one of their standard models - it shouldn't be a problem. Be careful if you want something custom. SIDENOTE: This is the second VentaHood I've installed. One of the first that I installed had a very minor manufacturing flaw (sheet metal didn't line up and created malformed corner). We didn't catch it until after we had installed the hood and stood back to admire our work. So look very close at your hood when it arrives. In the future, I will most likely go with an alternate product.

"Does anyone have any experience buying this quantity from an online retailer and is my ~$2,000 possible savings better invested in "insurance" of not having to deal with the delivery and possible return hassles?" I bought my toto ultramax toilet in a custom black color from homeclick 3 yrs. ago. I had NO problems whatsover. And I also SAVED A BUNDLE. I had other delivery problems with a hansgrohe showerhead from them, but the toilet was on time and on schedule. Remember, your manufacturer of choice has a lot to do with delivery from Homeclick. Sometimes, Homeclick can only deliver what the manufacturer will deliver. I came out ahead. When ordering from online, you can only win. However, you must order well ahead of time to be sure that you'll win. In my state, sales tax is 9.5 percent. Online, I don't pay sales tax. Homeclick runs holiday sales that are 10% off. Add that to the sales tax savings for my state, and i get nearly 20% off with free shipping. Since the big box stores charge shipping and delivery, obviously I save with Homeclick.

Thank you for the nice comments. DH and I designed our own house and FIL drafted the plans. We took many trips to Greenwich, CT and took hundreds of pics of stone and clapboard houses (think Stepford Wives). We started building our (much smaller) version in 2005 and are now in the decorating phase. We're missing a lot of moldings (crown, chair, wainscotting) but they will come in time. I'll take a pic our our exterior tomorrow and post it. The focal point inside our house is our kitchen with large mantel and double islands. I'll post those pics when the kitchen is a little cleaner. :0) Eating Area of Kitchen Foyer view from entry Foyer view from Living Room DH built the staircase himself totally from scratch. He did all measurements, bent the handrail, and even made all of the treads and risers from the scrap wood leftover from our flooring. We're both house fanatics and the funny thing is, you would never guess we live in this house if you ran into us on the street.