I've visited L'Hay only once (late June, 2001). I was simultaneously impressed and disappointed. The issue for me, I think, was that my fantasies of the place were unrealistic. I concluded that the overriding (if not singular) mission at L'Hay is preservation of the collection, with little concern for providing a dazzling garden experience for the public. Even tho my visit was anticlimactic, I encourage people to go there. It's L'HAY, for God's sake! If you love roses and are in the vicinity, you MUST go. How can you not? Not terribly far from the town of L'Hay-les-Roses there are other, lesser-known rose gardens that definitely do not disappoint. On a 2010 trip, a Belgian friend took us to two garden gems, La Roseraie Jean Dupont in Orleans, and La Roseraie des Terrasses de l'Evêché in Blois. Both are meticulously tended. Jean Dupont is planted exclusively with OGRs, including some quite rare ones (rare, at least, to U.S. gardeners). Other than the wonderful roses planted at Terrasses de l'Evêché (esp. the climbers!), that garden is memorable for two things: (1) Its elevation, which provides stunning views of the ancient town and the Loire Valley; and (2) the fact that EVERY rose plant is carefully labeled (I've found that labeling is a hit-and-miss proposition in French gardens). Closer to L'Hay, another antidote to any disappointment is the Parc du Bagatelle. Bagatelle is always a happy place, even when the roses aren't strutting their stuff. Last year I posted a link to some Bagatelle photos. Below is a link to that thread. BTW, I'm anxious to learn about what's going on at Malmaison. A couple of years ago there was much excitement and chatter when Piaget (the Swiss timepiece & jewelry firm) and others funded a major restoration of Josephine's rose gardens there. Does anyone have an update on that project? Here is a link that might be useful: Parc du Bagatelle Pics

Although I am planning a much reduced WS project this year ;) I have made a start. I lost my source for the 2L bottles that I like to use, but am slowly gathering some here and there. I am planting as I get them. I got two more yesterday with a promise of another one in the next few days. So far I have WS: columbine-dk red--(four year old seed) butterfly bush-white butterfly bush-dk purple allium karataviense-ivory queen gaillardia-burgundy gaillardia-goblin ligularia-marie crawford I also have a few things inside-hate to do it but some things require starting early. I recently read that if you plant joe pye weed in January, you could get first year blooms....we will see :) I also plan to start the rudbeckia cherry brandy for the same reason. As soon as I can find the night blooming jessamine (which seems to have disappeared), I will start that inside also. So who else is planting and what have you planted?

I think that one thing you need to do is discuss the whole situation with a really good construction attorney. You don't have to let your builder know you've hired a lawyer or anything, but I think you need to understand exactly where you stand given your specific contract, signed change orders, and the new unsigned change orders. And I think a lawyer should read through any letter before you send it, just to make sure you're not accidentally obligating yourself to something that wouldn't otherwise be your responsibility. I wouldn't worry about the builder talking about you in an unflattering way. It sounds like he's pulled this same "pay me an extra 50k" stunt at the end of other jobs, so frankly his credibility isn't very good. If you haven't closed yet, I think you should also consider delaying closing until at least the larger problems (plumbing etc) are fixed, and holding back money to cover the rest. I also would worry about the photovoltaic array being left in the flood setback area - maybe it's no big deal, but it just seems like something that might come back to bite you when you go to sell the house. I actually like the idea of bringing your realtor friend along. It would be a good reminder to him that his actions will affect how other clients and potential clients view him, without you having to spell it out quite so bluntly. It sounds like you've been on top of the details during your build, and that will be a big asset to you now. Keep your head in any phone calls or meetings, and don't feel obligated to agree to anything on the spot. And hang in there!

Hi, I read your post with interest as we are in the process of taking on our 20 month old Grandson. His Father (our son) and Mother are both on drugs. Our Son is currently in jail and is back to being a normal person who you can have a conversation with. He doesn't know we are taking on his son as he has no contact with him and becomes very angry about the situation. He would dearly love to see him but before being in jail his girlfriend (the Mother) and he had a very volatile relationship and the 3 children were taken by child protection services. The older two (different fathers) were placed with their maternal grandparents, who thought it would be short term. Unfortunately their daughter is still on drugs and only maintains spasmodic contact, which is getting less. Our grandson was placed in foster care, he was 3 weeks old at the time. He is with a lovely family who have two teenagers and two other foster children aged 6 and 4 and our grandson 20mths. We didn't take on our grandson at 3 weeks, hoping the parents would come good. That is obviously not going to happen for the mother and my son would have to jump through hoops to prove he has drug taking and anger issues under control. My questions are "how important is it for my grandson to be with family? Should he be allowed to stay where he is happy and loved? (my fear here is he will become part of the "foster" system and be parcelled around). If we don't take him will he grow up thinking the family didn't want him? We will have him before he turns 2, are we being selfish to take on a toddler at our age ?(54) We just want what is best for him. The overall question I suppose is "how important is family ?"