Beautiful! I have Cerulean Warbler but it is new and doesn't look nearly as good as yours. Next year it will be better. Black Forest Depths looks very interesting - love those colors. I had Joan Senior when we lived in the country, as well as all the latest and greatest tet whites, but they did not compare to the absolute whiteness and purity of it. Unfortunately I had to leave it behind, but am thinking about squeezing it in somewhere in our new garden. I had even thought about buying the tet conversion but I understand it isn't as white. Nancy

So a little education on flood zones - simplified for understanding: The important ones are "A" "V" or "X" based on FEMA's FIRM maps for 1% chance, aka 100-year-flood or base flood. X means not in a flood zone. I have a friend who is waterfront seawall on the west side of Tampa Bay and his house is X (although his pool is in the flood zone). So you can be waterfront and not in a flood zone. V (and variations beginning with V) are the coastal zones where there may be wave action and unobstructed winds. These are the "stilt homes" found on the barrier islands such as the Outer Banks or St Pete Beach (and elsewhere, but that's the familiar site on the news). If you enclose the stilts under the house, you have to have breakaway walls or vents - basically the requirements are different for V homes. My neighborhood has one row of "V" homes that are on the outside of the canals, facing west across a big bay, so they are subject to the higher winds and building waves coming across. A (and variations beginning with A) are the other flood zones, more along the lines of rising water. Building code is set for the maps at the time, so that the lowest living level (determined by your elevation certificate) cannot be below your BFE (base flood elevation from the FIRM). In my county, you can be miles from the water and still in an A flood zone - you have to check the maps. The big problem is that the FIRMs change all the time so you might not be in a flood zone one year, and then the next you are suddenly in one because the lines were re-drawn. They are not obvious. My home is -3 (my lowest living elevation is 8' and my BFE is 11'). In the 50 years these canal homes have been here, the water has never risen over the seawalls. In the 7 years we've lived here, the water has risen just awash over the dock a few times during tropical storms - and our dock is about 2-3 feet below the top of the seawall and 6-7 feet below our lowest living level. So it's difficult to believe that flooding will be an issue here, but that's the same thing that those folks in NJ and NY thought during Hurricane Sandy - although if you live on a barrier island, well, you should know what you're getting into. So, the issue that came up with the flood insurance homeowner's protection act during the past year, is that a lot of homes were built to the current code at the time, before the FIRM was in place. The maps were drawn and new flood insurance rates reflected homes not built to current code. While some people say that their prior rates had been "subsidized", I say that we were "grandfathered" because there are lots of "old code" issues that we don't correct every time a house sells and gets insurance. We grandfather the electric, the pool safety equipment, the roof, etc, so I think it's fair to "grandfather" the elevation, too. I make this argument because of the randomness of the FIRM - each year, more folks suddenly learn they are in a flood zone and need to buy flood insurance that they never needed before, and it sure would be nice if they were grandfathered based on the building code when the house was built. (I don't think anywhere is hardly ever un-designated flood). Even if you are already in a flood zone, you may find that the new FIRM has raised your BFE and now your flood insurance may double or triple (or worse). Also note: The NFIP flood insurance max is $250K. I'm not sure what the point is for a $1.8M house (back to the OP). Another note: FEMA flood zones ARE NOT the same as hurricane evacuation zones. I've had plenty of people say they are fine because they are in the "B" zone, and I know they're talking about the evacuation level, which are labeled "A" for the first evacuees, then "B" and "C". Evacuation zones are based on travel routes and other factors, so that the barrier islands evacuate early due to bottlenecks at the bridges and such. Those with direct access to highways will evacuate last. Those have have to drive through "worse" flood zones to get out will evacuate early even if their homes are on high ground (like my friend in the first example - he's an "A" evacuation even though his house is X) Tierra Verde, where the $1.8M house is located, is an "A" evac zone.

I agree with that, Marti. Today I was getting estimates, and I think a 8 x 8 x 16 container will give us plenty of room for even my garden stuff, plus a couple of BIG ROCKS.....sigh, I do so want some rocks..... The SAM did not go to Mobile, so I'm leaning toward the PODS. I KNOW those are all over Mobile, because they have been on my side of town especially since Katrina. And, folks who are redoing houses are now tending to store building materials inside a PODS on site. Much safer than leaving it inside the house or outdoors. The smallest PODS and the largest PODS are the only two sizes which they give for long distance moves. The 8x8x12 is only a storage, local moving I suppose. And between the two sizes, there is only a $300 difference in ultimate cost. So why not the bigger one if I can get DH's tools and his riding lawnmower and my garden stuff included as well. We cannot take all the good furniture yet, because we must "stage" the house here to sell it. And of course, next spring DH will be back here to wind up several projects. Like a new roof and new carpet on the remaining floors of the family room, the study, and the two upstairs bedrooms. Today I heard a bang-bang-bang-bang repeating for about 20 minutes, and I went to a window to see what it was. A hole in the soffit beneath the gutters was being dug out by a small red-headed woodpecker. Quite diligent he was too. But do they nest in holes for the winter? It is not a mating season climate now. Very strange. But yesterday DH was measuring the existing hole to make a repair, and I told him he might better remeasure before cutting the patch. It is now somewhat BIGGER. We could not figure out what did the hole, but now we know. I bought a cake of suet to hang outdoors for this little guy. I worry about the poor birds who stay up north for the winter. They say it won't be exceptionally cold this year, but it will be very snowy. So maybe we'll get our shot at the white stuff in Alabama as well. Our last snow was Christmas of 1997, when it was a powder coating on the grass but not beneath the trees.

I hit em with Houston Rose Society Fertilizer--its 28-14-10, also contains chelated iron. I have to pick this up when I'm in Houston and use it right after they bloom. I think it's one teaspoon to gallon of water and I use it as a soil drench. Works well. I especially like the high N for right after flush as I mulch heavy and the mulch breaking down affects N levels in my beds. Then in the summer I use John's Recipe from Lady Bug. Its a 3-1.5-2 mixture and contains Emulsified and hydrolized fish emulsions, seaweed extract, cane molasses, humic acid, magnesium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc chloride. It works great.....stinks to high heaven when you are mixing it with water but it works good in the summer. I hit em in late may and depending on the weather maybe July. Last batch of ferts for the year is hitting them with Mills magic in the fall. Just a little top off at the end of the season. This fert schedule works really well for me. Works even better when I have the frequency of watering on target for the soil type they are growing in. Bottom land flood plane soil is a lot easier to figure out then sandy hills, but I'm getting there.