OH, OH, OH, Oh, OH!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! It is a WOOD ROSE!!!!! I remember now I had some seeds from years ago and I stuck some in with a bunch of other seeds not expecting them to do anything as they were old. Now I can look up the care on them. They did look like a nut and I think I soaked them before planting. What would I do without you guys???!!! Thank you for the pictures too! It actually is very sturdy and the stem is hard. That Stictocardia beraviensis vine sounds beautiful! I love pink and hot pink especially! I will look at the link. Thanks! David...those are great tips! I think I am going to compile a file of all these tips so I don't forget them. Thank you! Kristy, I am glad John did not fall off that cliff and I can't believe your dog ate it...at least he was kind enough to spit out the seeds!!! LOL!!! Were they still viable? Karyn, my last post did not come out right. I cut the stem like you said...threw the leaves away and then the very tips that were thin I decided to try rooting in sand, log style. Although I read later it works better on woody cuttings. Oh well...live and learn. Thanks again for your help! Thank you again! I am so grateful for your help! Hope I will be able to reciprocate someday! Joyce

Gracie, It is OK. Perhaps, if we are successful, we will help you grow into a gardener. You know, as beautiful as any home is and can be, each home needs a lovingly planted and well-maintained landscape to showcase it to its' best advantage. If you are in the Oklahoma City area, you are in zone 7. If you have clay soil, the absolute best thing you can do for your plants before they are planted is to amend the soil so that it both holds water well and drains well. To do this, add the following to your soil: peat moss OR compost, composted manure and finely shredded pine bark (or cypress) mulch. You don't have to add tons and tons, but at least 2 to 4 inches as a minimum. Till it into the soil (if you don't have a tiller, perhaps you can rent one or borrow one). Then, rake and level the soil, and plant. You will notice that the improved soil is mounded up somewhat higher than the surrounding grade, and that is a good thing. Improving the clay even a small bit will help your plants to grow faster and to maintain good health. If you want to go one step further and make the area low-maintenance, cover the prepared soil with a cloth-type landscape fabric mulch. Peg down the ends of the fabric mulch with the landscape staples (U-shaped metal things) or plastic pegs (usually green, they look like large green plastic nails). Cut an "X" shape in the fabric and plant in that spot. When you're done planting, cover the fabric with the mulch of your choice. This extra step will repay you many times over by making that area low-maintenance. The plants will benefit because they won't have grass or weeds competing with them for moisture or nutrition. Now, about the plants. In order to decide what you want to plant, figure out what you like. I'd rather plant shrubs and vines that have a look to them that I like seeing, and not just a plant that someone recommended. If you don't know what you like, go to local nurseries or to the Botanic Garden or to the Myriad and look at the plants. When you see one you like, try to find out what it is. (Hopefully the plants are well-labeled.) BEFORE you buy, research the plant and make sure you understand its' needs. For example, some plants need full sun, some need full shade, others tolerate partial shade/sun and some (especially the holly family shrubs) can grow in either one. Also make sure you understand what the plants mature height and spread will be. It can be tricky. The red-tip photinias, as Randy and I have already said, can get very large. I have seen them get 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide in less than a decade. Since most people plant then only a few feet from one another, they begin to crowd each other out. Pruning them works for a while, but after several years of that, you have pruned them back to the point that all you have are huge limbs with lots of stubble covered by leaves. They are also overused, and I like using plants that aren't as commonly used. Your clay soil may be a faster-draining clay because it has some sand or loam, or it may be a heavy, thick clay that bakes brick hard in summer and holds pools of water in spring. Take the type of clay you have into consideration when choosing your plants. Last year,I compiled long lists of clay soil-tolerant plants for Emily. I'm going to go to this forum's back pages and find those and bump them up to the top for you. You might find some additional ideas there. You'll know them when you see them as they are titled "A Tree List for Emily....", "A Shrub List for Emily..." etc. Good luck and keep communicating with us. We'll do our best to help you. Dawn

Oh, I totally understand. I know your eye for color though just from being a "lurker" to the boards. I really would appreciate any help at all with this. I am painting my old, worn-out vanity "Bittersweet Chocolate" by BM and this picture just "hits me the right way"... I cannot tell you how many sample pots I have in my bathroom right now :) I know everybody loves SW sea salt and I thought that was going to be the winner until I put it on my wall. It really is baby blue. I did change the light bulbs to "Reveal" but it really doesn't help. I am looking for more of a green and the Sea Salt did not go anywhere near green for me. I also tried a color from Behr called "Pale Lichen". It is "mostly" nice but looks a bit "minty" in spots (the brighter lit areas). UGH! Why is paint so hard to get right? You get this picture in your head but that doesn't mean it is going to work on the walls.... Sorry for rambling. I am definitely in paint sample h-ll right now! I really do appreciate your help in anyway. Your best guess is the best guess that I could get !! Thanks! Cheryl

I had to do the same thing...but your pool sounds more complicated and not as far along as mine. Didn't have an in floor cleaner...but typically the plaster'er cuts the pipes and installs standard fittings. It would be your job to get the eyeballs and the popups for the in ground cleaning system and install them into the pool as its filling up and the plaster guy has left. You can actually wait to install these but then you would need a wet suit probably. Some cities require pre-inspection of the electrical as a separate inspection others making the electric a part of the final. You will need to check that out beforehand. You might also want to double check the plumbing is ok and was pressure checked and passed inspection....this is really hard to fix afterwards. All of the inspections and all the work including electric must be done before plastering and should all be done together. Plastering is the last step. I would run enough electrical for the spa heater as well since you plan on during that in the future and make sure the electrical inspection will pass and the inspector knows it must handle the load of the heater as well. I would scrape up the money to go with an aggregate finish myself over plaster thats what we did. Why? Because if the gunite was done poorly, it will hide defects better. Ours had a lot of cracks and was gunited thin in a few places on the floor as well as a part of the screwups the PB made when they redesigned the shape of our pool. Take a look at Stonescape is cheaper than PebbleTec and just as good in my opinion. If you have never had a pool before, you need to hire someone for startup and/or be fully knowledgeable about what to do with your pool when water is in it. Its not a good thing for a brand new pool to set for 2 weeks while you learn how to take care of a pool.