I never have. I had the same experience as you; no matter how early I started plants I didn't get flowers until late summer. So I thought it needed warm temperatures. But then the darn thing kept blooming until November in central Ohio! I've heard that cobaea is naturally pollinated by bats, but that the bats we have in North America simply don't do that. Found a few articles that reference that, this from a UCLA publication: Bat pollination is especially important in certain families, such as Old and New World Bombacaceae, including the baobab, kapok, and floss-silk tree species. Classical examples of bat flowers occur in the Bignoniaceae, including the sausage trees cultivated on the UCLA campus, and calabash, among others. Cobaea scandens, a cultivated vine of the phlox family (Polemoniaceae), has flagelliflory and is bat pollinated in western South America. Although in Westwood we have some bat-adapted flowers, and these plants form fruits, we have not determined yet whether bats are responsible for fruit formation on campus. This sounds like a good nighttime homework assignment for a UCLA undergraduate student, one not afraid of bats and vampires. And from the Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Native to Mexico and tropical South America, cup and saucer vine is a vigorous, rapid-growing, tendril-climbing vine that typically grows to 30-40 in its native habitat. When grown as an annual, it can grow 10-20Â in a single season. The descriptive common name is in reference to its bell-shaped flowers (cups), each of which is subtended by a saucer-like green calyx. Flowers last about 4 days, emerging green but maturing to purple. Flowers have a musky fragrance. Blooms late summer into fall. Pinnate leaves have four leaflets. Also commonly called cathedral bells. Flowers are reportedly pollinated by bats. And this from the Encyclopedia Britannica: Certain highly specialized tropical bats, particularly Macroglossus and Glossophaga, also obtain most or all of their food from flowers. The Macroglossus (big-tongued) species of southern Asia and the Pacific are small bats with sharp snouts and long, extensible tongues, which carry special projections (papillae) and sometimes a brushlike tip for picking up a sticky mixture of nectar and pollen. The plants involved have, in the process of evolution, responded to the bats by producing large (sometimes huge) amounts of these foods. One balsa-tree flower, for example, may contain a full 10 grams (0.3 ounce) of nectar, and one flower from a baobab tree has about 2,000 pollen-producing stamens. Some bat flowers also provide succulent petals or special food bodies to their visitors. Characteristics of the flowers themselves include drab colour, large size, sturdiness, bell-shape with wide mouth and, frequently, a powerful rancid or urinelike smell. The giant saguaro cactus and the century plant (Agave) are pollinated by bats, although not exclusively, and cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) is the direct descendant of a bat-pollinated American plant. Calabash, candle tree, and areca palm also have bat-pollinated flowers. Somehow I don't think we can replicate this with a soda straw and long fingernails!

Karyn, I'm not surprised that you're having a difficult time. My home is being decorated in British colonial, also. Although CL has great furniture buys, it can be difficult to find the right style, the right price, and the right size. I looked for months trying to find the right counter stools here in Houston and finally gave up. Frontgate's Raffles counter stools met all my criteria and were a great price for the style. Many of the nice tables pictured so far on your thread are meant for a formal diningroom. For example, it seems to me your CL find would need a glass top to protect that fine wood. This defeats the idea of practicality for daily use. A breakfast table takes a lot of abuse, even with adults only in the household. Many folks probably went with a glass top so the table could be more formal yet the glass could take the wear of daily living. Frontgate has the Milano (indoor) table in different sizes and shapes. It has an iron base and a recycled hammered copper top. Frontgate has paired Clermont chairs with it which could work for British colonial. To me, their prices seem reasonable for the quality. This table may not work for you. If interested, see ironaccents.com and humbleabode.com as both also feature that table. Ironworks shows other types of tops for that table base and humbleabode discusses the type of wax that should be used to protect the top. Regardless, take your time, and perhaps save your money as others have urged. This post was edited by Texasgal47 on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 16:13

Yeah - I looked and couldn't find the c-channel I have bought in the past listed at any of the big box stores. Bummer! If you had a tanble saw, it would be no trouble to rip the long leg off + the little hem on the short side so you end up with equal legs. I like the channel because air can get under the it and dry up the water in the saucer, where things like mayo lids & stuff trap water under them or in them for extended periods, which can be not so good. Al

I'd actually do a grouping of Nelson bubble lights instead of just one, especially for a room that large with high ceilings. Funny, I was staying at a hotel recently and they had a great grouping that I took a picture of, below: Now, you don't have to do this many, but I love the effect of multiples. I'd go with an odd number, like 5. Hang them at different heights like they did here.