Hi, Kim, Welcome to the forum. Many of the experienced growers will give information about AV culture that is aimed at growing the best possible plant you can, using optimal growing medium, pots, fertilizer, lights, etc. There is not usually just one way, so you have to gather the information and pick what works for you. However, a lot of the wheel has been invented, and some 'standard' practices have developed over the years. You certainly want to remove the suckers, for they will distort the shape of the mother plant, which is very pretty, by the way. I find it much easier to do this after knocking the plant out of the pot. I use an x-acto knife on larger suckers, and large tweezers on smaller suckers. If there are no roots on the sucker, I remove enough leaves to give me a stub that I can put into my potting mix to root. I do cover them to increase the humidity. I do not use any rooting hormone. If necessary, I will 'stake' it using toothpicks to support it in position. About pots.....plastic is most frequently used for several reasons. They are cheap, come in an infinite variety of sizes, and they don't absorb fertilizer salts. A general rule of thumb for size is to have the diameter of the pot be 1/3 the diameter of the plant. Try not to get caught up in the idea of having the plant grow into the pot. AVs prefer to be rootbound to bloom their best, so if the pot is too big, they spend all their time trying to fill the pot with roots, instead of blooming. Also, since they are a shallow rooted plant, the use of a 'squatty' pot is better than taller pots. In a worst case scenario, the soil may stay too wet in an oversized pot, and the roots may rot. Clay pots can be tricky. They absorb water and fertilizer salts will build up on the rim, burning any leaves touching the rim. They can be hard to clean. As the water evaporates through the pores of the pot, cooling occurs and can affect the roots. Three ounce solo cups with drainage poked in the bottom work well for small plants, leaves, and suckers, and are used by many commercial AV growers too. A word about potting mix....a sdtandard mix consists of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite, in equal portions. You will see this referred to as a 1-1-1 mix. There is no commercially available mix of these proportions, unless you buy it from an AV vendor such as Cape Cod Violetry. But, if you can find the ingredients, it's very easy to mix yourself. Or, if you have a mix such as Miracle-gro, add perlite and vermiculite to it, treating it as the peat ingredient. If it has fertilizer in it, don't add fertilizer for about 8-10 weeks. Good luck, and thanks for posting the pictures. Barbara

You need to figure out what exactly you need these lights "to do". If they are going to be for year round growth (not seedling or low light requirements) you're going to fork out some serious dough to cover that large of an area with LEDs. For example most "reputable" LED grow companies have fixtures that cover around 3'x3' and are around $250 - $500. You will save money vs HPS or MH when it comes to power consumption though and they last a long time without needing bulb replacement. I use a lot of Fluorescent fixtures and a couple of LED UFO cheapies from eBay. The results with the LEDs alone were pretty significant for me, enough that I want to go full LED. I use my cheap LEDs right now to supplement or to grow from seed with my Fluros. I think the LED topic NEEDS to be brought up regularly as the technology seems to change monthly. Junk fixtures that use to cost $500 years ago are going for under $100 now. One complaint I have about LEDs is the color they put out. My grow room is habitable with the Fluorescents but when I turn on only my LEDs it's not easy on the eyes and I can only spend a few minutes in there.

Hi Nadine, I like the last picture, especially the depth of the foundation plantings. It's a good start, and later you could decide to expand the bed somehow. Have you considered using the small space between the new drive and the house as a potted herb garden (potted only because you probably don't want to eat herbs from a garden with lots of new driveway runoff)? They would be right outside the door for you to grab when you are cooking, and they smell nice for passerby. I would change a couple of things. First, I personally can't stand Bradford pear trees, mainly because the flowers smell really bad, but also because they have soft wood (from being fast growers), so they are prone to breaking branches. Also, they have become so popular in commercial plantings that I am simply tired of them. Personal opinion, sorry to anyone who has one and loves it. For something like a tree, I would take my time and do some research before deciding. I do agree that spot cries out for a tree. If you want a flowering tree, some to consider (that have the necessary weight, or texture, to help anchor your house) are kousa dogwood, flowering cherries, yellowwood, magnolia or crabapples (although I don't think a crabapple would get tall enough to be ideal). Alternatively, a maple like 'Autumn Blaze' would grow relatively quickly and add shade and nice fall color. Another option is a Katsura tree, which have beautiful foliage and grow quite tall. One question - - are those power lines directly over where you have the Bradford pear situated? If so, plan for something short. Have you considered spray painting the fence green? I have a chain link dog fence in my back yard spray painted dark green (with special metal paint), and it blends in so much better than the bare metal. In front of the fence (on the street side), I would do something simple for now, like a row of tall ornamental grasses fronted by echinacea, daisies and/or black-eyed susans - - carefree and don't need much water. You could get those cheap or even free at a swap, and with just a few starter plants you could divide them every year and expand the beds for free. On the back side of your fence, facing your house, I would do a row of shrubs, perhaps lilac (depending on sun), which get quite tall and full. Again, you could plant one at a time as your resources allow. Also, unless you are planning to change your trim color, I wouldn't go to the expense of changing the shutters. I think they are fine the way they are, and changing them will simply highlight the brown trim. Instead, I would focus on planting a couple of gorgeous trees to add the necessary color and depth to your yard. I agree that Gordon Hayward's "The Welcoming Garden" would be a great resource for you. It's all about building a front yard garden, which will apparently be your focus (and is also mine). Another great book, and my favorite, is "The Well Designed Mixed Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust. She gives very concrete advice about colors, textures and types of plants and great combinations. She is a zone 5 (pushing 6) gardener, so the plants she uses work well in New England. I took "The Welcoming Garden" out of our library and read it. DiSabato-Aust's book is one I purchased, because I use it as a constant reference. Good luck and take my advice for what it is worth to you!

I like the Ikat pattern but then I love lots of pattern layered together in a room. That DR (one of my faves too) has 3 radically different patterns standing out in the room & a 4th on the chairs, so if you want that feel go for the pattern. You've already determined that you would like to use a solid grass cloth so that's taking out 1 of 3 bold patterns in the inspiration room. For me #2 is too sedate for the look you're going for. Don't get me wrong, option 2 and solid grass cloth will still look very pretty put just not following the same almost Bohemian Farmhouse feel of Sarah's room. My pick would be the Ikat #3. It's really pretty! This post was edited by TheFoxesPad on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 21:31