You are right about clay pots. I didn't use them as much when I grew in NY because of that. But, there were certain plants that did terribly in plastic and I grew them in clay. In Florida, plastic doesn't work because the heat, humidity and too much rain during the summer months. I have moved most to clay and the plants in plastic are planted in rock. I'm embarassed to admit, my plants in clay pots, where the roots grew outside the pot and attached to the clay went into larger clay pots. When it was time to repot, I stuck the plant in the clay pot inside a larger pot. The roots were free to fill in the space. I would eventually wind up with very heavy plants where some were potted inside 2 or three clay pots. When I do move plants out of the clay pots, I soak the roots for about 1/2 hr and peel the roots off the clay. Many get broken but I always pot in Spring when new roots are just starting to grow. I don't worry about losing the older roots. They will either branch or just die off. Doesn't seem to affect the plant as long as you time it right. Jane

Purple is hard color to obtain with hydrangeas. It is a color that you get in a narrow pH band between acidic and alkaline soil. It helps if your shrub resists turning blue. To get the same results as the one in that garden, your soil needs to have the soil pH and grow the same shrub. You can ask the owner for the name of that hydrangea and also ask for cuttings; and -if the person knows- get the soil pH level there. Then determine what your soil pH is and make it more acidic with aluminum sulfate or garden Sulphur; or use garden lime to make your soil more alkaline. Then periodically measure your soil pH to monitor the soil pH as it gets closer and closer to the goal.

The full name is "Chinese Red Noodle", and as the name implies, they are of Asian - not Middle Eastern - origin. As pointed out by Jimster, they _are_ yardlongs (a.k.a. asparagus beans, or long beans), species Vigna unguiculata. There are some good threads about them in the front pages of this forum... including discussions of this variety. Here is a link that might be useful: L-O-N-G Beans

According to the site you linked it is called Fan Fair - Bronze. Unfortunately, the fabric may have been a special order for Loom Decor. Try using their contact form to ask for the name of the company that made the fabric for them. That manufacturer may be able to give you the name of another retail supplier. The chance is very small that the person who knows where to find this fabric is going to be on this forum at just the right time to see your question. If Loom Decor can't help you, I suggest you do a search for fabric stores, and go through their inventory. Choose Home Decor to filter out other fabrics, then choose Brown for color and Geometric for pattern. The print was also described as Art Deco so that might be a search tag. Good luck.