Thank you PV for your post all all great tips:) My balcony is facing north and there is a bit of sunlight in the front of in usually by noon. Then its all shade for the rest of the day...Lemon trees seem to be doing fine so this will be an experiment with herbs. I didn't know about carrots that they will not grow without full sunlight (too bad was excited for some sweet young carrots) but i will look into lettuce! Your basil is amazing. what kind of basil do you have? i bought seeds of sweet basil but saw some other kinds and had a little bit dilemma of which one to choose so went with sweet one. I like growing from seeds - more fun to watch and more satisfaction than buying a grown plant. Does growing broccoli or cauliflower require a big container? I might be interested in that but I don't have room for a big container on my balcony. Fortunately I am the only person who will be using herbs for cooking and veggies (if that works out for me) so I don't need a lot. I guess just a bit of everything that I like. I still want to get some dill seeds. I bought 2 new containers - one smaller one medium and will have to figure out what to plant there.... Thanks for tips on plants and flowers! i am interested more in once that will live longer than one season... and that will add some color to the balcony. unfortunately its more of a concrete balcony and I don''t have any railings to use for attaching a windowbox. SO I am left with whatever pots/containers I put on the floor i guess. I am excited to expand flowers/plants on my patio. It's probably not he best time of the year for it -fall - but in I live in San Diego so another 2 months should still be quite warm before it's around 45-50 degrees in the winter. I also attached below pictures of how the balcony looks like and other ones in the building (it wasn't a sunny day so actually it looks a bit more gray than usually): Magda

Altadena, thanks for the thumbs up on the mag. coco -- what michelia are you growing, by the way? Here's my take on wrightia -- to the best of my knowlege, it has a long history of cultivation in gardens and containers in Southeast Asia, and a shorter history as a tropical bonsai species, but was pretty unknown in North America until about 4-5 years ago. Somebody imported it because it's fragrant, pretty, compact, takes pruning well (but see Supannee's post above!), and blooms in flushes on new growth, and suddenly it became "the legendary wrightia religiosa" -- gotta love a botanical name like that anyway -- and so I naturally took the bait and ordered one. Here's the catch: I ordered a three foot high specimen from a company, Bloomin' Good, that no longer does mail order! Some nurseries sell small starters, and I suspect they're harder to grow because they don't have extensive root systems -- it's really a tree, not a woody vine like most true jasmines. Mine has been very tough within limits, it takes full sun and loves the heat, has survived night temps down to the low 50s with only some leaf dieback (I wouldn't leave it out in anything under 50 degrees), and has survived spider mite attacks in winter. The flowers look like single fuschia flowers, and all hang on roughly the same horizonal plane in a cluster, so several clusters open at once look very elegant. The scent is not, I'd say, quite as wonderful as a sambac jasmine; it's not as heavy, and slightly less rich, but it's very nice, again particularly when you've got a lot of flowers. I don't seem to have a picture of it right now; if I get more blooms soon I'll post 'em! Elaine, I'm pretty sure "Cottage pinks" is just a name for a group of carnation cultivars, not one particular variety. Check some seed catalogs and Flower Scent Gardens online to see if you can find some good ones! Jim

Hi Asovey, How great that you're at the beginning of the process--it's a blast! Top of my list is an open, light, bright workspace that's beautiful--a place where I love to spend time and can easily work. Under this category fall an excellent KD and cabinetmaker, great lighting, natural light, and in my case white cabinets and white marble counters (personal taste...) Second is an excellent, quiet vent hood (I have the 54" Best by Broan with inline attic-mounter blower). I tore out an entire section of perfectly good kitchen in order to be able to install this with the custom wood hood around it. Third would be drawers, drawers, drawers. Deep pot drawers, plenty of drawers for utensils and wraps, etc. They're the best thing since sliced bread...literally :) ...in the kitchen. Fourth is a spacious, well-lit, easily accessible pantry. Fifth is pull-out sink faucets and a veggie sink in the island or main prep area. I love my new higher-end appliances, but I was pretty much just as happy with my Kenmore rangetop as I am with the new Wolf range, my Viking fridge is nothing to write home about--the previous Jenn-Air was just as good and quieter, and although I love my Miele DW, it's had so many problems that it was replaced by the company after 16 months. Never had a problem with the previous Kenmore. My point is that in my case and IMHO, form, storage space, layout, construction quality, and lighting are more important than my appliances. Have to agree with the 48" Wolf in the island being a potential problem. Your island would have to be massive to accommodate the range and still leave room for landing space and everything else that goes on around an island, that space could easily lose the intimate feel. I also hear people with in-island ranges complaining about splattering guests and family members while cooking, and always having a big mess in the main gathering area. It looks great for cooking shows, but ask around and see if people with that arrangement like it IRL. Personal choice, of course. Good luck, and enjoy the process!!

Oh NO! I've been gone so long I didn't know Patti had been ill, or even that Harry had passed or she moved. :( I was looking for her when I asked about the" I'll share my recipe if you'll share yours" Patti was such a kind hearted lady. She will be missed much.