I am very proud of myself because when I was going into Wal-Mart last night, I noticed that they were having a 50% off on a lot of their stuff too. Mostly dianthus, but I happened to need some, and while they looked a little dried out, they did look salvageable and here's why I'm so proud . . . I didn't buy anything. They were 1 quart plants for $1.75 and I didn't buy them. I still have 10 hydrangeas to plant, 1 crepe myrtle (from my Mom who potted it up for me and it's now roughly 18 inches tall and 2 feet across), 10 Mexican petunias, and a few begonias and daylillies hanging around. Oh and did I mention, I still am waiting on my order from Bluestone??? It's definitely a sickness!!! But please, nobody call a doctor, because I'm just having way, way, too much fun!!!

Hi Guys, First off, I am truly saddened by the closing of Chalk Hill. I have purchased quite a few Clematis from them, and always recieved good service from them. Out of my 50 or so Clematis I bet I have purchased 45 of them from private growers[Brushwood, Silver Star and Chalk Hill).And the other 5 from HD, or Lowes or Hy Vee Grocery store. What the heck does it matter where I purchase my plants? If I like it I will buy it, no matter where it is. I think this is the U.S. right? I've been observing these posts for awhile now and It occured to me that certain negative elements on these posts, remind me of my 9yr old son who creates negative situations to focus attention on himself. As I read earlier, there is probably very limited knowledge of Clematis, but just a need for attention. Kinda sad and silly but also kind of funny. Anyway, I to took advantage of the great prices at Chalk Hill and now have to find spots for 17 more of my friends. Have A Great Day! And stay positive!! Tracy

loris and garden4wildlife, I've bought alot of things from Forest farm. I've always been satistified with my plants. I guess I didn't pay that much attention to what all they sell. I've always looked for the native stuff or viburnams. I can't remember now how I stumbled upon Possibility Place, but I do have it bookmarked. It's pretty far from me, I can't tell from the directions, but it looks like north of Chicago. Would be a nice drive...I don't like how they sell items. Meaning, you order in the spring and pick it up (I was not aware they did mailorder?). It's not your typical nursery, where you can go and look, pick out what you like the best (which plant looks the best) and go from there. There's another nursery, the kind where you look around and pick out what you like, that's in St. Charles. Again, the Chicago area, but I like the set-up better. I realize you can't do that with forest farm, but I've always been happy with what they sent me. G4W, you do make a very valid point of them selling exotics and invasives. I'm thinking in my head, not really trying to excuse them, but do you think they sell the invasive stuff because it's not invasive in some areas? Pipe dream? I like to give people the benefit of the doubt....:) I've seen nurseries around here that sell barberry, porcelian vine, hall's honeysuckle (and lots of other jap honeysuckles), english ivy...you get the picture. Somebody sold privet and purple loosestrife, because I've got them here! Loosestrife is coming out....I've got monarchs and some other butterfly/moths that are attracted to it...if I pull it up now, I won't have them...I know, I know....pretty stupid of me. The yard here was not taken care of at all, and if this thing reseeded, I'd have them all over. I was told it was sterile. Yes? Gosh I hope so....it's hard starting over and not having flowers or shrubs big enough to bring in any wildlife...do I make sense? The privets also will come out when the other stuff gets bigger...or should I do it now? Again thinking in my head...I'd love them gone now and the 4 we took out were really easy to pull/dig up. Same with the spireas....I want them gone soon..I've got 2 vib. ready to plant. What kills me is I can't find the "weed" plants...sneezeweed, butterfly weed, ironweed, the straight joe pye weed...I bought a joe pye, even though he's not the "wild" one. Maybe he'll revert like the chocolate one I had years ago did?..... I'm getting a personal tour of a greenhouse and the main headquarters building in a couple weeks (burbs of Chicago). I'm going to ask opinons on coffeetree or tulip tree....I've been wanting both....had tulip tree in TN, planned on getting coffeetree....boy I ramble....lol...not feeling good today....:)

I'm not sure why you aren't considering the Toto Aquia II dual flush toilet. It's under $300 on-line and is TERRIFIC, plus it has the skirted bottom which is totally the way to go - all toilets should be like this! (And if women were the designers, they would be LOL) We put in an Ultramax in 2003 and loved it, but the Aquia literally (pun intended) blows it out of the water. The seat's another $60, though! Pay attention to the install instructions with the clearances and line requirements; they're different than the standard install. Don't skimp on the toilet or the tub. Like your kitchen sink, they take a lot of abuse, and penny-pinching on them usually ends up biting you in the a$$. You can save lots of money on sinks, cabinets, lights, accessories (towel racks, TP holders, etc.) and flooring if you shop carefully and rigorously. Always remember that hired labor is your biggest component: my sheet vinyl flooring was less than $200 for the highest quality level, but the labor to install it was $500. Check granite stores for remnants if you want a touch of stone bling for your countertop. Use Moen or Delta or American Standard in the mid-price lines and you'll hit the 'sweet spot' for reliability, cost and performance. I have a $30 Waterpik showerhead in our main-floor bathroom that is superior to the $300 Hansgrohe showerspray in our master suite in every way. The Hansgrohe is a huge disappointment; it is simply not worth the extra money for the name. The Hansgrohe is connected to a Delta showerfaucet, the latter of which works very well and saved us another $300 for a Hansgrohe faucet. I mean really, can anybody look at a showerfaucet handle and tell who made it? Of course not. So skip the very cheap and the very expensive, and stay in the middle for your plumbing fixtures. Don't forget stores like Target or even dollar stores for accessory stuff. And hardware stores like Ace and OSH often have great sales on homeware in January and February. If you use acrylic or fiberglass for a showerpan, MAKE SURE the bottom is properly supported. A lot of people skimp on this and it's the worst thing you can do. These two materials can't take any flexing so it has to be solidly set. Make sure you pay attention to mfg's instructions for approved cleaning products. Using the wrong cleaner can strip the top gloss layer off and you'll never get the material to look clean again for long. Easy to replace: - bath cabinets - sinks - faucets (like to like only) - countertops - lights - showerheads - exhaust fans More costly/time-consuming to replace: - anything that needs a plumbing or electrical change - Tubs - Shower stalls and pans, depending on material - flooring