I've never grown these. Without your climate zone input may be meaningless. What does well in one area may sulk in another. However I have read very good reports on "Alpenview". This is what an experienced iris grower has to say. I linked to her photo since her images are quite accurate. [This image was added by Margiempv on Jan 28, 2007 10:00 PM "Another view of ALPENVIEW. Great branching, lovely form, good growth and increases. "] The same hybridizer (Keppel) also introduced "Crowned Heads" about 6 years before "Alpenview". I was awestruck by "Crowned Heads". Totally gorgeous deep color in the standards and wonderful contrast. But I have heard it does not perform well in all parts of the country. The other 2 I've not read about. Dave's Garden may have photos of them as well. Here is a link that might be useful: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/139626/

Thanks Pharaoh, and everyone. Prill, I had to go into the big city to get it. Natick Tile Showcase, to be exact. I tried to buy local, but just couldn't manage. Tonight, I have the feeling that I don't like the color of the counter with the tile. I have read about that initial shock response here so many times. I tell my clients to give it a few days when a new color goes on the walls. Intellectually, I know it will get better when everything is put back together. Right now, I am just tired and kind of sad. Everything was bliss with the last kitchen. Sometimes I feel like nothing has gone right with this one. Off to a hot bath...

Ha ha, nothin' like being paged! Almost makes me feel popular :-) I'm sorry I missed your request earlier. My mantel is from Brees Mantels out of Greenville SC. I do like it a lot- everyone who comes over almost always comments on it, but I don't like the disparity with the stone on the other side- so that's why I would do something different. It has presence at over 6' tall. I would think there are local mantel people who do the same thing where you are, most likely.

Oh - I have been asking the same questions for years and not found a good solution. When we redid out kitchen last year we decided to go for laminate (Formica) cabinets that we had custom made for us because we wanted the durability and ability to stand up to dampness. I planned to use large bar-type pulls on the drawers and cabinets and could hang towels wherever I wanted without fear of damaging the cabinets. Unfortunately, the cabinets didn't meet with out approval (a real problem with sight-unseen custom cabinetry) so I'm now using the DW handle (located next to the prep sink). This is fine for wiping clean hands and an wet apple or tomato after washing, but not good for drying dishes over at the clean-up sink - that DW doesn't have a handle. So I leave a towel draped over the dish rack next to the sink. I am mentally designing a towel holder that would sit on the counter or in the dish rack, similar to the ones you can get for hand towels in a bathroom. I don't want it to take up too much space on the counter and I don't want to drip on the counter so this is a challenge. We're redoing our kitchen, again, and will probably end up with wood cabinets. I am thinking about getting some sort of shield for the apron in front of the sink and the sink cabinet door to protect it from water from spills and a towel hanging there. (Now there's an idea for an enterprising inventor!) I might even choose a completely different door for that location, maybe thermafoil or such, and incorporate it into the "design." It's probably going to be my last kitchen and as for my body, I'm too old to worry about appearances. I'm more concerned about function than form!