According to the literature that comes with the gel, the product "provides the right concentration of rooting hormones, suspended in a sterile gel medium that protects cuttings from pests and pathogens. Cuttings root speedily without damping off or needing water and you can watch progress every day. This new system has received rave reviews from the Royal Horticultural Society and English Garden magazines for ease of use and reliability." I can vouch for the fact that you can watch the roots grow, which is fun. The only thing that never grew were Geranium leaves, and I'm not sure if I was doing that right. What I mean is, I'm not sure you can propagate from just sticking a Geranium leaf in anything. Below I have left a link to the site where I found the gel if anyone is interested in looking it up. It's called: Gel-2-Root. Anyway, I'll have lots of cuttings to play with, so perhaps I'll do "half and half" -- put half in the gel and dry out the other half. The plant I'm working with is so HUGE that I'll probably end up with more plants than I want anyway, which is what usually happens! LOL! MacThayer Here is a link that might be useful: Kinsman Company

My rambling... I first tried gardening (on a very narrow balcony) a few years ago and was delighted to find that I lived dangerously close to the city's oldest nursery. It was great--a huge place with a good variety of well-tended plants, their own branded fertilizers, and so on. Well, about a year later, they closed, and I'm still mourning it, especially as I've recently been working on my balcony again (after I left it largely ungardened during that time). I can still picture that store...sigh. So I've been stuck with the big boxes, our garden-only equivalent of a big box (even bigger than the independent that closed but a chain), and a small independent that had very little but at least had the plants I wanted (but wasn't otherwise overwhelming, even though the owner was friendly)...I'm not sure what else is good yet. My trouble is that I want certain specific plants, and the big boxes are hopeless for things like that (well, unless I actually want what they sell). I don't want to drive all over. I definitely think it's good if independents specialize, so if I want a [genus] [species], I know I can go to the store that sells all of that genus. I will absolutely pay the price for that, too. I mean, of course, I'm not going to blow $100 on something I may very well kill, but I'm not a "$2/4-pack or GTFO" sort of person, either. One of my big boxes (I forget which is which, as they're basically the same store in most respects) has a knowledgeable employee. I've not spoken to her myself, but I've overheard her answering people's questions, and I think when people overhear her, they come over to ask her things themselves. They both seem to use consignments, too--one of the representatives was actually greeting customers the other day when he passed them--and while they occasionally have iffy plants, most of the stock is fine. It's just that again, when you're wanting [genus] [species], unless it's a common petunia or what-have-you, no dice. The big boxes aren't always cheap, by the way. That big chain center has no-name plumerias for a show-stopping $90. Admittedly, they're about 6 feet and pink, where a no-name potted plumeria will often be 3 or 4 feet and white or yellow, but still...$90?

We bought a new construction house in 2008 that has all Newport Brass fixtures and decorations. - 5 bathrooms, a three sink kitchen, and 2 wet bars. And I mean it is all Newport Brass - sink handles and faucets, towel bars, toilet bowl handles, etc. And here is what has broken, starting in less than one year: bathroom tub diverter handle, kitchen sink mixer cartridge, shower head, bathroom sink faucet connector, another shower head, shower temperature mixer valve, and another bathroom sink faucet connector! The parts are insanely expensive to replace, it is difficult to make sure that you have the correct model, and even harder to make sure you have the correct finish. The most frustrating thing (and why I am writing this up) is because one of the broken bathroom faucets is now discountinued, and I am stuck with the a bathroom that has a dozen plus Newport Brass installations that I will not be able to match. Ever! The "help" that I have received from Customer Service is a joke. They cant help identify part numbers or finishes, and dont seem particularly interested in the fact that there stuff keeps breaking. I have taken to proactively switching out parts, especially shower heads, with stuff on Amazon and which I feel is better quality and much, much cheaper. Do not dare install this overpriced garbage in your house!

Flyleft--Years ago I had a wonderful brownstone which we rehabbed. My first experience. We had a good architect who planned the whole thing and I didn't ask too many questions. I basically picked the bathtub I wanted, with a skylight over it hehehe, and focused on the kitchen. When the bathroom vanity went in the sinks were so small I spent the next 8 years hating those sinks. Also, they were low and undermounted. Since then I have a special bug about bathroom sinks -- they need to be big enough and high enough to be comfortable. I was very careful when we did our reno this last time. For me, the important part is the bowl size, followed by the deck. You'll laugh but when I googled your sink I went right to the dimensions. They are generous, the bowl is deep enough. I really do like vessel sinks. They are beautiful if they are large enough and work with the faucet well. Even the slab one could be a good idea for a his and her in a very modern bath. But whoever is designing this stuff needs to know what they are doing, which isn't always the case. And sometimes things are styled for magazines and not really functional -- then people fall in love with the look and actually install it. Oy.