It is one of the technical rather than one of the aesthetic issues involved in landscape and garden design. The technical issue is, in fact, that you can and must facilitate the design through the client. I like the panning for gold analogy. It could be only a matter of shaking out the sand and gravel from that pan that is handed to you to find if there is any gold there. Or, you can be proactive in determiming what goes into that pan before you start swishing it around. You have to use your clients dirt, so to speak, and he has to put it in the pan. He might not have put much into that pan and it might not have much potential in it. If you swish that around, you won't have much to show him. No one wants to pay someone who can't get any more gold out of the pan that he can on his own (garbage in = garbage out?). Instead, you have to use your experience and knowledge of the subject in order to get him to the gravel that is more likely to have gold in it. Then you have to get him to put it in that pan before you swish it around. Then you will at least show a bit of shiny color in that pan. Now you have his attention. He wants more gold, realizes that you know something about how to find it, that he is an essential part of the process, and that you are competent in controlling that process. Other than that, we would be doing nothing but arranging flowers or drawing other people's visions. There is not a lot of value in that. You won't get paid much if no one sees much value. The second part is What Rhodium hit on. Efficiency affects cost. Cost affects whether or not you can get a design job because the client has to value your design work at least as much as the amount of money you are asking him to give up to have you do it. It may be ideal to have a ton of color renderings, construction details of everything in the design, and a whole lot of design spec's. That can, in many instances, push the dollar amount beyond the potential client's value on the project - sometimes less is more.

Another update! 2 more 30 gallon Mutablis went into the ground last week, so the four way intersection in the cemetery now has a large Mutablis on each corner. They're all starting to fill out with leaves! Of the roses already planted, the two Duchesse de Brabant from my collection are putting on new growth and so is Cramoisi Supeurieur! Hopefully they'll make it through the summer and on to be big next year! This week we are planting even more roses. I received a very generous donation from a lady in Waco, and will be planting a 30 gallon Ducher thanks to her. I also had a friend of mine donate to the project, and so 3 more roses will be added from his donation. I'll be planting: Ispahan Ducher Fortune's Double Yellow Katharine Zeimet Jeanne D'Arc (Noisette) La Marne (Thank you Bluegirl!) Busy day! I'll post pics! Josh

Hi: Mangos you get at the store here in Florida are usually monoembryonic, at least that is what I have read. So, the source of your seed can tell you a lot about the type of mango you have. Do you know the variety of mango your seeds came from? Q1. Does each stem belong to a separate plant, or are they attached (i.e., can I pull them apart or do I have to cut them apart? A1. If you have polyembryonic seedlings you should be able to pull them apart, that is, they should not be attached to each other and they should have their own roots. 2. Is it safe to separate them at this stage? A2. I am not sure if it is "safe", but I have done it before with plants that were about 12" high and lost 1 of four seedlings. It is hard to untangle the roots without damaging them. 3. Should I dig them up and plant them separately, or is it better to pluck out the little ones and try not to disturb the big one's root? A3. If you only want 1 plant, you probably should just plug the little ones and let the larger plant grow. Usually the larger plant in the bunch is identical to its parent. 4. Should I wait until the warm season to do it? A4. I would wait for sure. Mangos get enough stress from the winter already. Now, if you decide to plug the other seedlings, you are probably ok doing that now...

Jon Im in 6b and mine have been outside since the end of march. Looking back at the weather for Long Island it looks like you could have brought yours out early to mid May and been just fine. April had a few frosted nights but overall probably just fine for taking yours out during the day. Thats the other thing. if you have warm days during winter, fall or early spring say 60F+ you can get away with taking them out for awhile and then back in for the cold nights. I do this all the time. The sun could still burn them but since the angle is low its not as risky.