I have a couple of peonies under massive pines, they get mostly afternoon sun and do okay, better than hostas under pines!! Peonies don't need or want too damp of a spot so the drier part shade works much better than wet part shade. Your plants probably will be a bit taller and not as full, though. I'm not sure about hydrangeas in that spot, mine require a lot more water than I can get consistently under pines. The only things that seem to not care at all is daylilies! MB does stand behind their plants, if yours don't come back in the spring call them--they'll certainly replace them. Same with Springhill, they're having a sale on Kirinmaru peony right now, with keycode 0442569 they're $19.95 each. I'm tempted but have ordered far too many already! It sure is pretty, though! Google it and see what you think.

Well, good news. Lowes carried 2 "cheapie" cabinet types, one actually pretty decent: 1) Pre-assembled ones which were stapled door sides, particle board sides and backs, and partical board shelves. The shelves were 1/3" and flexed on the 30" cabinets with just slight downward pressure. 2) And for the good news, cabinets in a box which the purchaser must assemble. They were about $10-20 cheaper than # 1. They are all 100% plywood construcion, no particle board, all dovetail draws and 3/4" plywood shelves. So they seemed sweet and bought them. So being they cost less to make due to no assembly and cost less to ship due to the whole cabinet fitting in a flat box you can get a decent cabinet. They are sold under the name Kitchen Classics Easy Fit Cabinetry. For a 30" wide double door wall cabinet, the cost was $116 (versus $126 for the particle board pre made version). The 30" base cabinet with double doors and drawer was $166.

Nightmare kitchen reno stories are certainy not just the domain of box stores. I congratulate anyone who gets a good kitchen they are happy with at a fair price by laying their cash down and just buying it without a lot of research and comparison shopping. I don't think many people have that experience and for the rest of us it's research, research, research. I found this thread really helpful in preparing me for the box store experience. My Mom in doing her kitchen started pretty cold at a Home Depot and found the experience less than pleasant. Design was poor and after paying $50 they didn't want to let her have the drawings to take home and think about. They were also quite indignant when she informed them she was comparison shopping. She walked away and I offered to help her navigate the process outside a box store. Now 6 months later we are waiting for measured drawings from HD so we can place our order. Part of the reason is that one of the HD's exclusive lines (in Canada) was the best constructed cabinet we looked at behind the doors in her price range that came in the colour and style she wanted and could be configured in her desired layout without too many major compromises. New Depot, new Kitchen Consutant who isn't a CKD but has a design background and has worked in kitchens in that store for 2 years. Store has 1 installer who has been working with them since they opened. He comes and does the measure and he comes back for the install. I asked to see his work and they made arrangements for us to see a recent kitchen (if things go well we would offer to do the same for someone ese). He gets paid the same to install her entry level product kitchen as he does Thomasville and KraftMaid and he has years of experience working with the product we are buying (not always true when you are working with a GC or a store with inexperienced installers). I haven't seen the labour quote yet but I have estimates from other companies so I will have a good idea how inflated it is. Basic design evolved from other consultations so we are not looking for a lot of layout advice and I plugged the product we are getting into my rough measure (I actually made a product list and had another Depot give me a price quote before we went too far). Once we have measured drawings from them we will verify the dimensions they are using as well as double check the order to make sure it is correct. They are frustrating to deal with in terms of service compared to dedicated showrooms but so far so good. My Mom will get 10% off the cabs and 1 year interest free by putting it on their card. We probably won't get the countertop through them as they sub-contract it and I can get it direct without their mark-up. I may yet end up here cursing them but I think each circumstance is different and people shouldn't automatically cross them off their list without seeing what is happening in their local stores. I'll update as we move forward.

Congrats on the seed pod! I would go nuts if I saw a seed pod in the store! I went to Home Depot yesterday and used the last of my gift card balance on a 2 gallon Mandalay. I couldn't find any information about this one except on JJ's own website. I decided to take a chance on it because the description states very strong sweet scent. I'm realizing that I prefer plumerias with scent versus pretty flowers without scent. This flower is suppose to be pretty too. The tag photo of Mandalay kind of reminds me of a darker version of Desert Sunrise but with less veining. I also saw a Thai Splash but I had to limit myself to 1 plant. I walked around the store and saw there was another display table with various tropical plants and I saw some plumerias on it. These were 1 gallon size and $15.98 but they were not Jungle Jacks. There were pictures of various flowers on the tag and most of them had a white flower circled. They were infested with spider mites. :( It reminds me of when I went to the Lowes in Vista. They had a great selection of JJs not often available but they were infested with thrips. Now, I always carefully inspect the tips and underside of leaves before I purchase.