Hi Billie Rae: My ZZ, which I've had for eight years, give or take, has been in a west window for the last 5 years, and has really taken off. (That spot in the kitchen is temporary; Mr. Z is going back to the west window when some of my other plants go out for the summer.)The new stalks do grow more compactly in a high light situation, but since even my west window is not that all bright during the dead of winter, I do tend to get long stalks. Mine seems to need water every ten days or so, since it is usually in a high light situation, and is almost potbound. (I'll likely repot it this summer, when I can do it outside. Big heavy plant equals big mess at repotting time.) Plants grown in low light do need a lot less water. It's kind of amusing, since the topic of the conversation is the "myth" of winter dormancy, but ZZs do go dormant and lose their leaves during the hot, dry season in their natural habitat in East Africa. Since the area by the west window gets hot in summer, I am especially attentive to my watering then, since don't want my ZZ to think it is time to sleep. In a low light spot, that wouldn't be a problem, since the dormancy seems situational--I've been told that plants growing in the cooler, somewhat less dry parts of its natural range don't do the dormancy thing. Josh, that Christmas cactus is absolutely gorgeous! And Gobluedjum, your ZZ is lovely.

I've only been working on my current collection for 2 years now 'cause I keep having to leave behind my collections 'cause I used to move alot, but this is what I've got so far. x2 Sansevieria trifasciata (one regular, one laurentii) Spathiphyllum wallisii Chlorophytum comosum variegatum Cereus peruvianus Hoya carnosa Podocarpus macrophyllus Dracaena marginata x2 Codiaeum variegatum pictum (one regular, one Golden Star) Ficus diversifolia x2 Howiea (some say Howea) belmoreana Hypoestes sanguinolenta (had 3 colors, red, white and pink but for some reason the red didn't make it) Dieffenbachia picta Exotica x2 Zygocactus truncatus (one with white flowers, the other with salmon) African violet (grew from a cutting) Schefflera actinophylla Citrus paradisi (grapfruit tree from seed ^_^) Echinocereus pectinatus Lobivia famatimensis Lemaireocereus marginatus An uknown cactus that looks kind of like a Lobivia but yet not...but I call it my snowman cactus 'cause they way it's shaped it looks like a snowman without a head. Philodendron scandens Sedum morganianum Saxifraga sarmentosa Beaucarnea recurvata Aglaonema Silver Queen Tillandsia cyanea Kalanchoe tomentosa A succulent whose leaves are bluish green and fuzzy and slightly pointed at the ends. Thought it may have been an Echeveria setosa...but those leaves are waxy...not fuzzy. Sedum pachyphyllum Aphelandra squarrosa louisae Sempervivum arachnoideum Coleus (just a little seedling) Araucaria heterophylla x2 Hedera helix (one Glacier, one sagittaefolia) Coffea arabica Gasteria liliputana (one of my personal favs) Lavandula heterophylla Radermachera sinica Dracaena deremensis x2 Pteris (one ensiformis victoriae, one cretica albolineata) Zamioculcus zamiifolia (the infamous ZZ plant, another one of my favs) Crassula perforata (probably not a good reason to buy a plant but I bought it merely for it's common name...string of buttons!) That's it, that's all. 14 of the plants on that list were added just this month! >_I have a few seeds I'm waiting on too though. Fuschia, Cactus, Salpiglossis, Strelitzia, Passiflora, Musa, Dracaena (forget exactly what it is), Lithops and a Succulent.

The travertine was sand set, I don't have a picutre of the prep before the pavers were laid. However, we do have Woodridge quartzite already on the summer kitchen and veranda. I really didn't like the Woodridge (too orange for my taste) and so I didn't want to continue it around the pool. So we transitioned between the Woodridge and the travertine by having travertine on the step tops and Woodridge on the risers. Here is a photo, nothing has been washed yet so the decking is still very dirty: Here is the fire pit: They are putting the rock around the back of the waterfall today and getting the in floor cleaning system operational. We have to decide what to put around the fire pit where the concrete is, they have suggested landscaping, travetine facade or spray deck to match the travertine color.

Hello Friends, I went to two tile stores yesterday. The first one, which I had high hopes for was a failure. I came home with two tiles, both by Sonoma's Stellar series, Toast and Krazy Krackle. Krazy Krackle showed up almost a neon white/pale yellow and Toast was a tinge too orange. The other tile store was so sweet. They are where I have been getting most of my samples from. I came home with SIXTEEN sample tiles. Yes, 16! I brought home every cream tile that we thought might have the possibility of matching my granite as well as some greys and even two black tiles. Hey, I was desperate! I was depressed. I was teary eyed. None of the new colors worked. So I put them away for a while and did something else for a while. Then I remembered, one of the sample boards I brought home was from Adex in Sand was still in my car. I had brought it home just to see as the lady in the store said it did veer on the pink side (in real life she is correct - evvvvver so slightly there is hint of a pinky undertone in certain lighting but I had brought it home a month or so ago and it's what first got me on the thought of a crackle subway so I took the chance again) HOWEVER when I put this BIG board up against my granite vs. the just the smaller tiles flanked by existing icky backsplash, it showed me something! Having a light tile makes the light areas in my granite POP like they are popcorn! ADEX tile: Can a light cream ceramic subway work for me after all?!? So I dug out the samples of Rixi Crema and propped them against the Adex in Sand. Definite difference, the Rixi is creamier and warmer. Both in the daytime and at night. So I am just not 100% convinced that the tile guy was correct. Am I crazy? Probably...but I can't shake the feeling that this tile just might be a contender. I spent some time today retaking pictures of the Crema in various areas of my kitchen, different shading. lights, etc. I blocked out the backsplash with an extra cabinet door so it didn't interfere. I also took a picture of it with SW Kilim Beige which is supposed to be a warm beige. The Crema Rixi is similar in shade value (??) and to me, up against the paint, the tile looks even warmer. What do you guys think? Ignore the accent tile in the pic - I was just playing. More pics at the link, please, please check them out!! Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Grazia Rixi in Gardenwebnewbie's kitchen