If I understand your background, you have 5 years of retail nursery experience, have gone to college and have a degree, but didn't specialize/get a degree in horticulture or landscape architecture? If so, and from what you've indicated as your horticultural/landscape design interests, it sounds like you are somewhat limited in skill set to planting designs for existing garden beds rather than knowledgable about all aspects of garden design, including non-planting hardscape issues. Nothing wrong with that, but it tends to limit the scale of projects you can realistically take on, and what your perceived worth is in the market. Right out of school, I'd also suggest there is real value to be had from getting experience working for an existing more experienced firm, and absorbing the lessons to be learned about pricing services and materials, running a business, etc, rather than immediately doing it all on your own. You could always continue to do the self employed thing as a weekend job while gaining experience with a firm. I certainly agree with you that there are a lot of landscape installers, (I hesitate to even call some landscape designers or contractors), that don't raise the caliber of the profession. I don't much like Leyland Cypress for general landscaping myself, but find that fast growing and inexpensive plants may also have a suitable place in some situations. As far as positioning what you do as fine art, you may really have an eye for planting composition, but it is also about experience gained over time about how your designs hold up, and maintaining them to remain looking good as they grow. I would have to add that it is almost impossible to have that degree of experience and a maintenance perspective in just 5 short years. I'd suggest taking lots of pictures, returning at different seasons and following years to track progressions, and build up your knowledge set with more experience of how your designs mature/hold up. If your portfolio supports your opinion that you are an artist at what you do, and your client satisfaction supports you with recommendations and referrals, you may be on your way. It might be worth your while to do a display garden in a local garden show venue, or have your garden designs featured on a garden tour to get more exposure. I admire your enthusiasm and energy, but would also advise you to pay a bit more attention to reviewing what you write/blog for spelling/grammar/syntax, etc. before you push the send button; because your writing is also part of how you'll be perceived professionally. If it seems rushed and full of errors, some might judge your design work as rushed. Good luck with your career, and the shopping carts full of nursery plants is an interesting point of departure on your blog. It would be more interesting to have included progress installation photos and initial/ 6 month follow up shots of those plants in one of your designs. I hope you continue to find your own voice, and absolutely nothing wrong about being opinionated and passionate about what you do. Just be able to back it up, and document/follow up on your own work so that you'll have more experience. As an example of a really opinionated blogger writing about garden design and faux pas, check out Billy Goodnick on the web, he's got his own blog and has also written garden columns over many years in Santa Barbara, California. You might find him entertaining as an example of a similar passionate voice.

I e-mailed Nicole Sullivan at Gothic Arch and asked her if a lot of their materials came from Farmtek. I guess they sell some of Fram-Teks greenhouses, but not a lot of their stuff comes from there. Also, please do not make the mistake of thinking that a Fram-Tek GH will be the same Quality of a Gothic Arch. Farm-Tek GHs are good for certain situations, but it is like the difference btween a Ford Taurus and Mercedes Benz. They both will get you where you need to go, just not the same ride. This is the Reply from her. Laura: We do sell Farm-Tek greenhouses. We offer them for the same price as Farm-Tek though. The customer really pays the same either way. It is just a lot easier for a customer to deal with us than them. You can actually call us and get a real person on the other end of the line. Ha Ha. We really do not stock any supplies here. That is pretty much standard for small greenhouse supply companies such as ourselves because so much of our stuff is custom. That is why we have a lot of people that get exactly what they need in polycarbonate, film and shade cloth. No need to buy what we have in stock, we have it shipped from our suppliers - custom! Thanks for the heads up on FireFox. I will have to download that application to preview my site. And thanks for keeping me posted on whats going on at 'Garden Web". What a great place! I love to read what folks are saying about us and our competition. It is true that the customer has all of the power, especially when it is so easy to let others know what kind of experience you have with a company such as ours. Luckily everyone so far has had very positive things to say about us! Thanks again! Nicole Davis Sullivan Sales Manager Gothic Arch Greenhouses PO Box 1564 Mobile, AL 36633 800.531.4769 (toll-free) 251.432.7529 (local) 251.432.2655 (fax) gothicarch@comcast.net www.gothicarchgreenhouses.com

Sorry about that -- I didn' say who I purchased it from!! I bought them from homeclick.com Maybe a few people have had issues, but I checked them out I went for it. Call me crazy, but when I have three or four major things that cost lots of money, I do think it's worth some time to research online for the best deal. (Best deal means good price and good company -- needs to be a combo) My husband calls me the "Queen of Research" b/c I have saved thousands -- and I do mean thousands from a few phone calls and some hours online. I don't think that is too much to ask. Heck, a good search engine does the work for you. All the variables can make the toilet a little tougher to find what you want in stock and with a discount, but it can happen. Buying locally just wasn't an option, and I have NO problems buying online.

I actually do not agree about the "trade" prices. My contractor offered to get my kitchen appliances with his contractor discount, and his prices were still higher than what I found when I went to the stores and asked them to give me their best price. Also, the OP omitted the essential piece of information. What brands of appliances s/he is looking at. If the appliances are Wolf, Gaggenau or Miele, these manufacturers do not permit their retailers to offer discounts. There is no discount available on these. However, you can get your "discount" in non-cash ways with these brands by asking for things like free delivery and installation, or extensions on the warranties, or to throw in a microwave or disposal for free with the package (these high-end brands do not make their own microwaves, just re-badge Sharp or Panasonic, so no point in paying for the high-end name on the microwave). Don't expect you will get all of these non-cash discounts, but you should be able to get one of them. If instead you are looking at, e.g., any of the Whirlpool brands (Kitchenaid, Whirlpool, Amana, Jenn-Air), or the Electrolux brands, or Samsung or the like, there should be room for negotiation. If you cannot get the stores to go any lower on these brands, either try shopping on the internet for your appliances, or accept that you have the lowest price available. Remember that your appliance salesperson has to put food on the table too. Don't nickel-and-dime him/her down to the last penny.