There is definitely a disconnect between many potential design clients and landscape designers. As already pointed out, it is reasonable and customary for many designers to charge for their consultation time, (I generally always do so unless the potential client was directly referred from a previous client, and if closeby, I may not charge.) The consultation fee is definitely part of the selection process, and does measure intent. You should be able to ask over the phone what that consultation fee will include, and I am often able to sketch out a quick design right on the spot during a consultation, and give ballpark estimates of what construction costs might be for various alternatives, at least on a square foot basis. Please don't expect to talk for half an hour on an intitial phone call, 5 to 10 minutes should be enough to get a feel for budget and client/designer fit, and be able to decide if you want to procede. Many, if not most, designers will also credit an initial consultation fee towards a design fee. Do your part before you get on the phone, and get a better idea of your lot size, amount of square feet of paving, length and height of desired walls, etc if you want to determine whether your budget is adequate. Another hint to potential clients, you can get more time from designers if you call in the down season,(generally winter in most markets), and are willing to schedule consultations in slow periods rather than the peak springtime market. Also don't expect that a good designer will be immediately available for your project, most will have scheduled projects at least 2 to 3 months in advance if they are well established, and some might be booked up to a year away. If you as a potential client don't want to pay for this experience, then you can always go to the library and research much of this yourself. There are plenty of magazines and books that are readily available that will help you estimate construction costs, material costs, and may help you decide on your own preferences as to style and materials. These are all topics that I would typically address as part of an initial paid consultation. For those potential clients who don't want to pay for a consultation and want to see local examples of my own work, I will generally give out addresses of projects which they can drive by, and let them decide for themselves if they are still interested. I would generally be very leery of taking on a client that balks at paying a relatively small consultation fee, as this often represents someone who doesn't have a clue as to what garden installation costs, and may have unrealistic expectations. As an example, concrete work can vary anywhere from $5 to $20 a square foot installed, and irrigation in California is generally estimated at $1.75/sf or more, with complete planting and irrigation coming in at $3 or more a square foot. Even new sod lawn installed without any real soil preparation will be at least $1/sf. Do yourself a favor and get some measurements of your yard, and rough estimates of amount of hardscape elements you have in mind. Just the few numbers I threw out here should be enough to give you a rough idea of whether your initial budget is adequate to hiring it all out, or whether it will need to include DIY efforts. . I certainly don't intend to be dismissive of your very legitimate concerns as a potential client, but if you want something for free, why not try calling the local college which offers landscape design/horticulture courses and see if you can get a student to come out? Someone just starting out will have a lot more incentive to take on work to get experience, a seasoned professional designer less so.

Years ago I ordered a lime tree from the same company. It takes them forever to ship out. I received the tree after about a month of waiting. Calling and giving bad reviews didnt help. When the tree arrived it was exactly what i expected for the price: a small rooted cutting. It was a great tree to practice citrus culture on because it was so inexpensive...I eventually killed it and learned from the growing experience. My current citrus are from Four Winds.

K, this bloom is exactly 2-1/2" across (yes, a tape measure is part of my garden kit!), but I imagine it'll get to 3" when the plant is bigger. The petals are thick and the flat shape is perfect. Should definitely have it on your list! The only disappointing thing is it looks like all three tips are only going to produce one branch each...weird. Mike, I don't have CA Sunset but I have Penang Peach and the two are very close. You're right: yours looks like two different plumies! Roxanne, all I know is I hook the cable thingies to the camera and the computer and the computer does the rest. Then I pick the ones I want for my Flickr account and it's pretty easy from there. Lord knows I'm not good with tech in general, but even I can upload pics! FINALLY, Greg, a plumie I have that you want, LOL! Our temps haven't been that high yet DS still made some gorgeous veining. And you know I loves me some orange! Yes, you MUST HAVE one! Peg and Laura, it is so wonderful to finally have some payoff from all that fretting and fussing! Thank you all for "listening" to me whine about how I had no blooms last year, lol.

I have never tried to grow B&B from seed, and have yet to even harvest a seed. I did overwinter 4 that I purchased last year, in my Florida room, which didn't get below freezing this year, surprisingly. I already purchased a flat of LIR and a half flat of Coral Nymph, which have been planted in windowboxes already. I went to the local nursery at lunchtime, to get my Gartenmeister fuschia, and asked if they'd be getting in B&B's, and he said probably next week, or the following. I'd rather go to a small nursery than Lowes, which is the only place I could find B&B for the last 2 years. Anyway, you might want to try Mail Order Natives for the Coral Honeysuckle. I ordered 2 plants from them last year, one honeysuckle, but it died. I believe it was my fault, since it was doing so well then suddenly died. I know Penny has ordered from them. Hmmmm, now I might have to order another, or two... Here is a link that might be useful: Mail Order Natives