My chameleon is Martha Gonzales. My aunt & I both grew this rose from ARE for many years. In the coastal zone 9 climate it was hot & humid, the water was somewhat alkaline & hard, the soil was rich black "gumbo" clay. Cuttings rooted from both plants matured to resemble the mother plants. It grew as a typical China, but the flowers were especially small. Bright red, just a bit more than single, quilled petals, white centers with occasional white petal streak, very little scent, lots of blooms, constantly. You could tell MG all over town from the distinctive little starry bright red, white-centered flowers. And even big mature plants tended to have dainty little smooth leaves. I hauled up 2 young plants I personally rooted from cuttings. This is a deserty area, alkaline limestone & caliche soil, alkaline water. Cool nights most of the year. One MG is throwing cupped near double blooms this year, much bluer color & they have a fair fragrance. Last year she threw the big, near-single, flat open, cherry red MG blooms you see in most photos. So did the 2nd plant. Both have "normal" sized rose leaves, not the little ones typical of the old zone. This year the other plant has scores of dark--more bluish blooms. Nearly single, but so dark you'd think this is a Dr. Huey. The petals stay a bit cupped, not the flat-open blooms of last year. Mild to no fragrance, still see a bit of white petal streaking but the white eye is very reduced. Nether plant quills its petals, which was so distinctive in the old climate. The two bushes look like different varieties, now--neither resembling the original plants grown for so long in hot sultry zone 9. I asked Michael Shoup about it & he said they noticed some variation especially in cool night areas. It surprised me because I am SURE of the provenance of both plants, they are planted in the same area, were planted within a very short time of each other, and I had grown the mother plants of both for many years in a very different climate & soil.

Found this old thread after doing a search for Far Reaches. We hope to make a visit there this coming Friday. I'm sure I read this thread back in the day as it was shocking and sad that Heronswood seemed to be going away, nursery, gardens, plants, it's people and all. It's interesting looking back knowing how things have turned out lately with the s'klallam tribe having bought and taken over the property, it's gardens and that Dan is at least partially involved in a restoration and expansion of the gardens. At least that's what he said at a Bellevue Botanical Gardens lecture by John Anderson, the Keeper of the Gardens at Windsor Castle. It was a nice talk that was at times funny and others a bit dry, but still enjoyable for this plant nerd. But I must say seeing Dan and hearing that he was still involved in the Northwest plant scene was one of my fav moments. We have been planning a trip to Far Reaches for several years and it always gets postponed as it is quite a drive and really takes an entire day. We have the day off and the weather seems to be cooperating and I have my eye on some epimediums, some Podophyla and some dactylorhiza and I'm sure a few surprise plants will catch our eye and drain our pocketbooks, I've been aware of Kelly and Sue's work for many years and purchased a few plants from them when their nursery was called Reflections Gardens. It was a rather small affair with not much in the way of display gardens and when we first walked up to the selection of plants to buy it seemed uninspiring. But as we walked the few aisles of plants we first saw one cool plant and then another and pretty soon we had a car load heading home with us. They've been settled at Far Reaches for many years now and having perused their catalog I know there are many gems to find.

granite girl, if you read the business terms (which you see every time you post) you will see that your link is in violation of those terms and considered spam. Your thoughts may have great value, and it's nice to see another professional share their experiences but no in the form of SPAM and not at the cost of violating GW's rules. Other posters have lost access to GW for the same thing. Now back to the real topic...No, I wouldn't do the same counter top in two different finishes. As Palimp says (a professional as well so she might even know something heh heh) it's most likely going to look like an accident or just really bad design. I certainly understand what you're trying to accomplish, but if you're going to use different surface types, I'd do a totally different color as well so it looks like a good design plan, verses a bad one.

A lot depends on the detail of the styles and rails edge at the panel and the panel itself. If it is simple and square edge and a flat panel it would have a more "modern" look. If it had a raised panel and more ornate edge it would generally be more traditional. Mixing the doors could look odd, or be a topic for discussion with guests at the dinner table.