Its kind of like a first blind date each time you meet a new client. This is the advice I give myself: 1. Relax and don't put pressure on yourself to perform and be yourself(sound like a date?). 2. Get the client on neutral turf, which is outside, as soon as possible (kind of like going out to a restaurant rather than dinner at her house ... I'm a little uneasy with using the word "client" in this analogy). 3. Have them explain their visions, listen closely, and ask questions when you have them, but don't go too far out of your way to think up questions. Do be active in the discussion. The clients will reveal so much about what they like, don't like, what they do, what they want to do, who else comes around,... Get answers to the questions that pop into your mind. If your subconscience wants an answer to something, it is most likely for a good reason. (this will keep you from talking the wrong politics or religion). 4. Let them know that you want to take in their thoughts first, if they seem to be waiting for you to tell them what to do. (its all about you, baby.) 5. When they have finished explaining their vision you will know so much more about them and their site before getting ahead of yourself. (now you can dance to the same music) 6. Now it is time to explain how you might realize their goals being careful to directly address specifics as they relate to what they told you (either directly or indirectly). This is the critical moment in selling design services. It is when they find out how much you understand them and how comfortable they feel about your interpretation of their vision. You can turn their whole vision upside down and totally reform it as long as you do it because you understand them, the site, and your craft and as long as you are able to make them understand that you do. (you're soul mates now and will follow each other to the ends of the earth) 7. Now sit down with them and show them the portfolio (kind of like showing your stock portfolio and pay stubs). Since you now know a lot about them, you can point out things that you know will be of interest to them as they thumb through the portfolio. This is the reassuring phase where you combine your company's track record and your undertanding of them and their project. (this brings us to the end of the evening - we don't know how it is going to end, but we gave it our best effort to find our 29 points of compatibility) My philosophy that keeps me confident and and stress free: Remember this. You represent a certain balance of values that is defined by the company you work for. The four major ways that they manifest themselses is vision, craftsmanship, volume, and price. Some companies will perform with a higher or lower level of design and layout (vision). They will each have a certain level of craftsmanship. Some will provide a greater or lesser amount of trees, shrubs, hardscape, and/or other physical elements for the same money. Each company places a value on their work such that the same job description has a different price tag on it. The company you represent is at a certain fixed balance of these four things. Wherever that is does not matter in as much as there are clients that match that balance. Each client has their own weighted set of these values as well. You simply can not sell a job to someone whose balance of values do not match up to those that you represent no matter how well you do your job. So do not get rattled when you don't sell a job to someone who is more interested in paying less money for a lesser quality tha someone else is offering, or more interested in the plan that is not as good but has 20 more shrubs in it for the same money, or something else that is beyond your control. Stay confident and focus on what you know and don't worry about what you don't know. Your clients know you have construction people that can put it together. What they want from you is someone who understands them, can organize their site, and apply the aesthetic qualities thay want. Finally, don't have a hangup about "giving away" ideas. All that you can convey verbally are concepts that might be pretty cool, but they are really of little value in that form. What is of great value to a client is someone who has these ideas rather than the ideas themselves. If you guard your vision, you hide your value. You don't sell plans, you sell your ability to process the client, his goals, and the site. The more they know of that ability, the more you are valued. If you babble some good concepts and don't get the work, you have lost nothing. If you do not babble those concepts, you lost an opportunity.

Very interesting discussion. I think someone said it best earlier on, but the world of Hybrids is just too big and too confusing to someone who only has the space for a few dozen orchids. Also agreed about the ease of culture...not that species are easier to grow, but rather that there is far more easily obtainable information on the culture of specific species (ie: Baker cuture sheets). My collection is about 80%/20% species/hybrids. When wading into the (for me) uncharted waters of a new genra I generally pick up a couple inexpensive (~$10) hybrids to see if they'll grow/flower in my conditions. If that works out I'll move on to the species. I think I myself would be more interested in the hybrids if I was also interested in hybridizing. I'm just not at that stage in the hobby yet, and certainly don't have enough room to raise the potentially hundreds of seedlings that could result. Tyler

"What is the merrit of container WSing? Why wouldn't you just WS in the ground vs container. I think that in the ground(garden) the seeds will germinate and sprout quicker, since heat is always coming from down below and they will be kept warmer than containers." Cyrus, the answer to your question is simple and one word "control". When you direct sow, which is what you are thinking of in terms of WS in the ground, you are at the mercy of mother nature. That is, you sow the seeds in the ground and then mother nature is totally in charge and so are the critters for that matter. Birds love your seeds, so if they are ones that are tiny and need to be surface sown, (poppies, rose campion come to immediate mind), the birds will have fun with them. Mother Nature will do you in with weather. Rain, snow melt, sleet, etc. will move those seeds to who knows where. One thing for sure though, is they will not stay where you want them to, at least many of them will travel all over from downpours etc. Those that don't travel have to fight with the birds for survival and the rest of the elements that mother nature will throw at you. If they are larger seeds, the birds will find those too, and the chipmunks, squirrels etc. Now, take those same seeds and put them inside containers with covers. The birds and critters can't get them, and Mother Nature and all her curves of weather, will move the seeds around in the containers, sometimes and sometimes not, but they aren't going anywhere. They are "stuck" in their protected container, in their nice little "home and greenhouse". Also, the soil will be warmer in the containers than in the ground, and will also warm up more quickly than in the ground. Ground soil warms up from the top down. So the direct sown seeds may possibly germinate a little more quickly and grow above the ground more quickly than in the containers, but their roots are slow to grow and form good solid root systems, because the soil below the seeds is still cold and thawing down. In the containers, the soil is warm all the way through. It heats up more quickly because of the greenhouse environment that we have made. The seeds grow more slowly above the soil, the stems and leaves because they are far too busy growing good, strong root systems because the soil is warm all the way through the container. When seeds are allowed to germinate naturally on their own in the perfect environment of warm soil all the way through, natural light and natural temps that mother nature intended them to have, you get strong healthy root systems and plants that she intended. WS provides all of the natural germination requirements with just a little helping hand from "us", those covered containers to keep the seeds exactly where we want them to grow and give them that little bit of extra boost in warm soil that the "mini greenhouses" we created provide. We are giving our seeds every natural advantage humanly possible, yet we still let mother nature do her job. I hope that helps explain why WS if far better than direct sowing. ROSELOVER, there are really very, very few, if any, seedlings that I plant out as an individual plant. Most plants look far better when they are planted in mass clumps. Even if I have some that are growing as a single plant, I put them in a wide hole all together when I plant them. Mother nature has a way of weeding out the less viable seedlings and leaving the healthy one in the hunks to keep growing. The few plants that are individually planted are 4 o'clocks and I still put 3 seedlings in a 12 inch pot, morning glory that are going to grow in a hanging pot, dahlias I grow from seed, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, snowpeas, and that's about it. Karen, I sure do remember you as a newbie. That's seems so long ago, doesn't it? Bonnie, sounds like you should keep your seedlings in part shade and let them get a bit larger and use the old rule of thumb that my farmer grandpa taught us. Nothing gets planted in the ground before Labor Day, Labor day being the original date of May 31st, unless its something like peas that need the cooler temps. I've gone by that date all my years of gardening and that's more than 30 and it's never failed me. We get those late frosts into may as well and can get some horrible spring flooding rain as well. May 31st is my date except for my peas and everything is fine. I always so a few extra seeds whenever possible of everything that I sow. Just have to be safe and in reality, not all seeds will germinate. Fran

Lauren will do great, she is lucky that Alex went first and I'm sure picked up on some stuff. I was going to ask about Alex! That is sooo awesome he is doing a double major! Is he still also doing engineering?!?! Living & working outside this country will be great experience for him as you know. I wish I had had guidance going into college, thru out college and beyond. I am happy with how things worked out but sometimes I envy kids going into college now with all these opportunities ahead of them! Start finding time for yourself now and the things you have put off doing! ~ liz