I am coming out of lurkdom here because I attended Jason's rose class last year and saved the handout. Here is why his roses are so compact: "The pruning of Old Garden Roses is far different from that of the modern hybrid tea. Removal of all dead canes and clippings no more than 1/3 of the remaining bush is a good rule to use. This encourages full foliage, and heavy bloom without destroying the vigor and natural form of the plant....varieties which are everblooming can be lightly trimmed or 'tip-pruned' several times a year to encourage the new growth on which they flower. Once-blooming varieties should be pruned after they bloom." My notes: "Hard prune after first bloom. This is when Japanese beetles come and this way you avoid being troubled by them." "Climbers cut side branches 6-8". Side branches trim 8-12" Don't reduce # of canes." "Shrub roses reduce height 1/2 to 1/3 and make dome shape. Don't thin." I was at Petals from the Past yesterday and inspected his roses and they were beginning to bloom and were a mannerly size. I remember he had some growing up poles and he demonstrated to the class how he would prune them in the spring so they would grow up the pole in a demure way. I hope this helps and does not confuse anyone. Petals does have a web site and they are very wonderful about answering emails too :-) Sharon

Thanks Teresa.... Well by looking again at the leaves of the plant I photographed and comparing them with those that show up on a Google image search of Ageratum, I see that they are both very similar.....roughly heart-shaped and serrated, whereas the spirea leaves are narrow and lance-shaped. I noticed there are also quite a few different hybrid cultivars of ageratum so this one probably belongs to that family. Closeup of the bush I'm questioning: I guess I can always go back there and ask those gardeners lol. SharonCb

Golly, I love all your stories! Some of your comments remind me of my own love affair with books, & one of them, 'We lived within walking distance of a branch of the NY Public Library', sounds like pure heaven! 'I can still remember how proud I was when I got my own library card when I was 5.' I was older, but I do remember that card! & the big steps up to the big door & the big balistrude (or some such) where I could sit & read until my mother came back to pick me up. the ceiling fans in the cool, hushed lobby area. the smell of the date stamps & the waxed linoleum floors... I read the "Black Stallion" series starting, I think, when I was in 2nd grade. read 'em all. The very first one "The Black Stallion", was an orange hardback book with the silhouette of The Black on the front. I loved that book. About 3 years ago, I bought a bunch of books that a library nearly 60 miles from my hometown was discarding, including an orange hardback copy of "The Black Stallion". When I settled down to re-read it, I found that it had been stamped in to the Ferris library in the 1990s, but it had been stamped in my hometown library in 1957. It was 'my' book. 'Oddly, I haven't done a lot of reading in the last couple of years' I've noticed that I too go through 'spells'; sometimes I read all the time, sometimes I sew all the time, sometimes I have to re-aquaint myself with the concept of 'books' & sometimes I have to make friends again with my sewing machine! Life takes us down different roads sometimes, but our old loves are always there. Sue, try audio books; I listen to them all the time, at home & in the car. I love 'em! 'When I was in first grade, I filled out a little tiny order form for a set of Brittanica encyclopedias and sent it in. A salesman showed up at the front door.' Bingo! I filled out one of those cards in the doctor's office, for a children's set of 'encyclopedias' of Bible stories. The sample book in the doc's office was a bright sort of turquoise marine blue with a technicolor-bright illustration of Jesus & a crowd of children. Out of that one card, I scored the Bible encyclopedia, the Book of Knowledge, & Lands & Peoples, an encyclopedia about different countries around the globe. The Book of Knowledge was my favorite; besides informational articles, it had stories & poems. "The Arab's (Something-Song? Call?) to His Steed" marked the first time I'd ever heard of Arabian horses, & they're still my favorite. My brothers & I were very lively, & the only way my mother could get us inside to take naps was to read to us from the Book of Knowledge! When she broke up housekeeping, my mother gave the Bible stories to her church's children's dept, & I don't know what happened to Lands & Peoples. I still have the Book of Knowledge.

Overly - Your tiles look GREAT. However, I think the Heath person you spoke to gave you the wrong information or at least a non-detailed recommendation. On the Heath FAQs on their website, they state that 1/8" is the recommended size: I really do not like the way grout looks. Can I install with a very tight grout line and not the recommended size of 1/8" (3/16" for 12" modules)? Possibly, however it depends on whether or not the natural irregularity in tile size and shape allows for a tighter fit (typically easier with smaller sizes). It also requires a much more skilled installation to get a good end result. If the grout line is too tight the tile could chip at stress points while the grout dries. Your tile installer should have a grout selection kit with the many shades of grout available and there will likely be a choice that blends in with the tile rather than creating contrast. Gglks - Here is a really bad, upside-down pic of our hood. It has some extra trim pieces on the sides for carrying purposes. It's a really simple look - not exactly the look I had wanted but close enough.