Well I'm in Michigan near the wedding ring on the mitten, so i'm in chill world..as for planting trees this time of year..i'd have to dig through a foot of snow..not going to happen. I have planted hundreds of trees on our property, it has gone from barren to nearly totally forested..in the 38 years we have lived here..and i plant more trees every year. I tried the trees from the county before, they aren't very good quality and the prices aren't that great here.. we do a lot of transplanting from our area..we live near a state land, and when the county grades the sides of the road they cut deep back into the edges of the woods and then they push them back toward the road, every year. We go in the spring and see what seedlings are in that loose soil at the edges of the road..we have transplanted from those (they'll die anyway if they aren't salvaged) hundreds of black spruck, red and white pine, canadian hemlock, maples, even found a few rare white spruce ..which is not a normal find in those situations. also occasionally we will pull up a tree that is growing at the base of a full grown tree, a 1 or 2 year old seedling, as it won't make it that close to the adult tree..but we are careful to not take things that are in protected areas..we have some that we can salvage from our own woods too, that are where they shouldn't be growing,and we do buy some trees, mostly fruit and berrie that we don't have native around here and some shade trees that are more beautiful than needed..like the pretty red leaf maple i bought 2 years ago and have smack in the center of my front property.. last year I bought about 15 fruit trees, and planted them all over my property, i had lost my orchards 6 years before and i've been putting in fruit trees every year since..and i will again this year..i have some ordered already as well as nut and berry trees and shrubs.. we put i a pond a few years ago and it is pretty barren around it..and i'm going to put things around it like elderberries and winterberries, and some trees and other shrubs too..i have put in a few things in the past few years already. this year my BIG projects garden wise are to completely redo a garden/orchard area in our rear which is 48 x 48 '..and has a few fruit trees i put in last year, some asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish and a few herbs and flowers..and some grapevines..but otherwise it is nearly barren..it was poorly maintained soil there..and it needs a lot of work also plan to work on the woods..project # 2

Dear Whitecat, Brooke, Thanks for you comments. I'm sorry I didn't answer sooner. I was trying to add photos to this post. I did succeed in the past, but this time it isn't working. Anyway, if you want to see a pic. of my latest acquisition (while it is still flourishing), I did manage, though, to post a photo in the Gallery. Brooke: Thanks for the advice. I'm just wondering how much this would apply to Jerusalem. We are at 32N latitude, 800 metres above sea level with a Mediterranean climate -NO rain whatsoever from mid-May till October. No, we don't have a south-facing window -thank goodness! South would fry people in the summer, not to mention plants! This east window gets four hours of direct sun in these late winter mornings(from 7-11 am)-much more in the summer. Our west windows are actually WSW and get a LOT of sun - I have to be careful that the phals don't burn. I suppose I really should change the plants around and place the phals East and the Epicatt West. However, I would like to wait until the phals finish blooming before I move them, and possibly enjoy the Epicatt. blooms while they last, because I need the bright yellow to cheer me up while I battle on at the computer. I can wait a bit for the next round of flowers. What do you think? Whitecat: I can see now that I wasn't all that clear. Irene's Flame isn't a registered name, was just invented by the people who marketed this phal. That's why it is a NOID. My comment about the flowing line was just a matter of nit-picking aesthetics. The nine flowers on the stem are all bunched up together and facing in various directions. They are still beautiful. Yes, spring is the nicest season in Israel. It continues till the last rains in May, then everything dries up pretty quickly. Summer is HOT, especially for tourists. The locals retire to air-conditioned comfort indoors. And would you know, it's snowing outside? No wonder everyone is sick. I always enjoy your posts, even if I can't contribute. I especially liked your thread on post-Valentine's day. Hope your latest addition is doing well. Judy

Thank you MayBee (and everyone else) Actually, I could use some landscaping advice Here is a picture a bit further back, which gives a better sense of the small little space I have. The garden "strip" (for lack of a better term) wraps around the side of my end-unit townhome. Most of this is in the shade (faces north), but the front edge is a small raised bed which gets sun all afternoon. Originally, it had three ugly old azealeas (sorry azealea lovers, I find them to be very boring bushes!!). So I was just going to replace them with three roses (Iceberg is what I was originally thinking). Well, that was 4 years ago...Let's just say I have "grown" as a garderner I wound up extending the raised bed a bit, it was about 10 feet long by 4 feet wide, now it is 15 feet long. But I cannot extend it any further. I have a lovely maple at the end of that bed, and I am already planting a bit too close to that tree as it is. Across the sidewalk from the raised bed is a small "island", which is community property...it has the fire hydrant and the light post. Because of Jude's popularity, I got the blessing of my neighbors to pull the ugly juniper ground cover and put in roses. I have 3 Lavagluts in there (one on lifesupport, after some bad transplant shock), and now have added 3 Souvenir de la Malmaison. I have ringed all 6 of the roses with dwarf lavendar, which should fill in nicely as the summer progresses. The full list of roses is as follows (16 in all): Jude the Obscure: In the corner closest to the steps. He is my first rose purchase, and first love - now 4 years old. It just keeps getting better Molineux (3 of them) They sit next to Jude. I planted them last year, they didn't do much last year, but this year I have gotten a good spring flush and they are starting to grow a bit. They have a nice tea fragrance Jardins de Bagatelle (2 of them, view obscured by red Lavaglut roses growing in the island): These are new this year. Not much yet, but pretty blooms on the baby plants with a nice fragrance. I wanted 3, to replace 3 Ducher (China) roses, which were perfectly fine rose bushes (bullet proof), but didn't really put out nice flowers for cutting. I have a small garden, I decided I wanted more cutting roses. I could only get 2 JdB this year (Roses Unlimited), so I am holding a spot for one more of these guys for next, assuming they perform well Crimson Bouquet (1, behind Molineux). It's 3 years old now. No fragrance, but lovely bloom, long lasting, great for cutting, and it repeats really well over the summer. Maggie (1, next to Crimson Bouquet on the pillar trellis). This is brand new (Antique Rose Emporium), just a baby, and not really visible. It replaced a hybrid tea (Beloved) that was constantly getting blackspot. I have high hopes for this one...already putting out new growth. Pickerings 4 Seasons Rose - in a pot, not in the picture (further up the steps). Doing ok, but not as nice a rose as Rose du Roi. Blooms are pretty, not a heavy bloomer, but it is still young. A very lanky plant though!! Rose du Roi (1, in a pot, next to Jude). I acquired as a happy accident last year, an apology gift from Rogue Valley Roses for sending me the wrong rose. I didn't have space, so he went in a pot. This rose is really growing on me. It produced a great, very fragrant flush last fall. That damask scent was just WONDERFUL!!!! This spring's flush has been very nice, and he is starting to fill in a bit. I may try and squeeze him in at the end of the garden later this summer, just past the space for Jardin des Bagatelles, roughly where the little white sign sits (I would have to fill in some dirt) I don't want to run a big "pot ghetto" Souvenir de la Malmaison (3 of these on the "island" next to the light pole, on the right) - What more can I say. They are brand new, and I am already very impressed. Patrick & Lori who live in my area, love this rose. I find the fragrance subtle, soft, not a strong as Jude or Rose du Roi, but nice. The flower form cannot be beat. They seem very happy in their new bed! Lavaglut (2 1/2, on the left side of the lightpole): They are only 1 year old, but are already 3 1/2 feet tall. They bloom non-stop all summer, and stand up INCREDIBLY well to the heat (and we have HOT, humid summers!!!). Blooms are long lasting (great cut flowers, but no fragrance), and a pretty deep red. Disease free foliage. I wrote off one of these (now a 1/2 rose, sitting, partially obscured by the fire hydrant) that I had transplanted (to make room for SDLM). But I looked last night, and it is showing signs of life (2 live canes, and a bunch of dead ones). I will look again at him tonight, and trim the dead canes. Should I keep him or pull him? If I pull him, I could conceivably buy & plant 2 more SDLM (on either side of the fire hydrant) and have 5 of those ringing the 2 remaining Lavagluts (and all framed by the new lavendar plants I put in). Or.... I could try and put in 2 of the SDLM sport, Capitaine Dyel de Graville (if I can find it!), to get a somewhat darker shade of pink. Oh the choices one has to make with a small garden!! I appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts (since I am still very much a novice!!) Basil

I'm going to start with an apology - back after a long time and am startled/distracted by the interface. There are spacing issues - I'm guessing you're aware of those? An example is the seating on the island behind the dishwasher - actual all of those seats on the long side of the island. A person in a stool takes up 24" behind the counter in the aisle when seated WHEN a counter overhang has at least 15" of overhang. A person is the same size regardless of the overhang, but the over hang allows the person's knees and feet to fit under the counter. When the overhang is less, the person will stick out into the aisle more. At most, then you have an aisle (after a person is seated) of 20" except for the counter overhang on the sink side which will eliminate another 1.5" minimum - could be a little more. A lot of dishwashers these days are "tall tub" meaning that the door itself is usually taller which results in the door extending into the aisle further when its in use. Using a bosch 500 for an example, it's 47.25 inches deep with the door open (47.25 - 24 = 23.25" in the aisle shown) which means the dishwasher door can not be opened when the stool is occupied. If the dishwasher has a big handle it can get worse. The refrigerator ("standard" refs are around 36" deep), the aisle on the family room side, the pathway to the ref from the deck have spacing issues (imagine yourself carrying a tray of chicken). And the doorway to the laundry is now so small I don't think it will pass code. So, pic is an idea, not a finished plan. The island can be reversed (clean up in the upper aisle, but I'd think awhile about the cooktop placement as possibly moving to the island too. You might want to post a thumbnail type of sketch showing where the other rooms are...