Confessions Of An Over Planner: When I moved to this climate I bought an enormous roll of burlap and a buttload of floating row covers because I was afraid of cold weather. I already had many cheap, large garbage cans I thought that I could use for the same thing. In addition, I have been collecting outdoor string lights during January sales for years. I also had a collection of small bamboo stakes and scored the motherload of bamboo when I picked up three huge bundles of very large ones a neighbor put out for trash. And finally, I have a roll of chicken wire and a bunch of short fenceposts with which to build cages. I have yet to use any of it and it will be five years next month. That said I have it if I need it. When the big one comes I will use lights on those most precious (I intentionally placed my tropicalesque bed close enough to run cords to a power source) with a teepee of one of the cloth substances. Others will just get teepees. And yes, my garage is full of things I have never used. But I have them on hand and that itself is a comfort.

Agreed! Mine almost always get spider mites indoors, but outdoors they seem much happier. English ivy (Hedera helix) and Algerian ivy (with the much larger leaves, H. canariensis) both do well outside here. Berridge Nursery in Central Phoenix always has a nice selection of different types growing outside. I know other places have some too, but they're often grown inside humidified greenhouses and get all shocky when grown outside. I never buy plants from cooled/humidified greenhouses. Anyway, let us know what you do and how they work out! Happy gardening!

Are these in pots or in the ground? in your zone the rosemary may not be winter hardy so either bring it in in a pot or cut plenty for drying in case you lose it to the weather. Sage may be hardy for you but dry a supply because it will get pretty scraggy in winter and the smell/flavour will not be as good as in summer. I would pot up some chives but leave some outside too. They will die down but reappear next year. The indoor ones will probably get weak because they will not have their winter rest and may fizzle out. Lemon thyme is less hardy than plain thyme so again I would hedge my bets and put some in a pot as well as cutting for drying or freezing. The basil will die in your winter so freez as much as you can. i have tried getting basil through the winter in a pot but the low light levels have killed it off. I now consider it as a seasonal treat and just grow it from seed each year to enjoy it when it's at its best.

I am a plumber so I will offer you the same answer here as I would in the plumbing forum....LOL Your installer is correct, the discharge line from a dehumidifier is required to discharge outside the structure or into the house DWV (drain, waste & vent) system by means of an approved indirect waste connection. To make an approved "indirect waste connection" the discharge end of the hose may terminate into a utility sink, floor drain or sump pump pit, but when doing so, the termination point of the discharge line must remain a minimum of 2" above the flood level rim of the receptor. The simplest method to make a code approved discharge point would be to drill a hole through the wall and extend the line outdoors as suggested, however whe doing so, the discharge end of the line must be a minimum of 6" above the average finished grade below the discharge line. Generally there is not much concern about frost closure on the line because in the coldest part of winter when freezing would be a problem the ambient humidity is well below the operating parameters of the dehumidifier so we would expect a minimum amount of water discharging from this line; assuming of course that your laundry dryer and showers are adequately vented to the outside as well. If you do have concerns about freezing there is a method to minimize that. Typically the discharge line from a dehumidifier is a small 3/8" plastic tube. You could install a 1/2" or 3/4" copper or PVC pipe through the wall at a steep angle of say 20 to 45deg downward from just inside the wall to the termination point outside, then stub up a 3 or 4" section of the copper or PVC vertical inside the house and put the end of the dehumidifier line into the vertical stub. With the 3/8" line just stubbed into the 1/2" or 3/4" vertical stub that will allow air to vent into the pipe, thus insuring a rapid velocity of flow as it passes through the wall thus minimizing any ice buildup on the outside end of the line. My concern would be in putting the line into a window well. During the rainy season in spring & fall your dehumidifiers may generate 3 to 5 gallon of water per day. It would depend your local soil conditions and what type of drainage they have for your window wells. If there is no adequate drainage I could see your window wells rapidly looking like aquariums when viewed through the basement windows.