Thanks everyone for your replies! Snooper, I called Concord Nurseries and they don't sell this tree anymore. He said the demand went down for it. He said that demand goes up and down for all trees and that the Globe Norway Maple is a great and hardy tree and good luck on finding it. Ken, I understand what you are saying about monocultures, but this is not a garden. I am lining one side of my property with the trees, not making a garden or anything close to it. This is our taste and just as I am sick and tired of seeing Crimson Kings and Red Maples up and down my road, i have to respect such property owner's taste. We happen to love the look of this tree and we also are happy it doesn't get too tall because of power line issues. I found a nursery in a nearby county who will be able to easily get the trees for me come spring. He said he sells the trees from time to time and that he personally likes them but their popularity waxes and wanes. I am very happy to be able to now put this tree searcg anxiety to rest. lol I am sorry to hear that you have had trouble locating items for so long. I am sure me griping about a few weeks must have come across as petulant and I apologize. I have never even planted a flower before so this is all knew to me. Just last week I planted grass seed and today saw some grass start to perk up through the grass seed. I felt like I had won the lottery. lol Hey, it's a start? Thank you for your link. I called them and they had 4 of them, but I need 5. One of the four was "bushier" than the other too she said. We want 5 from the same grower as I have heard that is better instead of buying one here and 3 from there.... Brandon, I will be babying these trees like you wouldn't believe; already looking at tree shelters and protectors for them. lol I won't let a pest issue even begin, but if it does I'll be on top of it so it won't get out of hand. I have been reading it is a pretty hardy tree.... rhizo, I can't believe more people don't love this tree, but people in Oregon and Canada (about 2 hours from here) are growing this tree all over the place so there IS demand somewhere, especially when the several places I called in Oregon only had a few left. We love the tree. It's the shape that makes it so beautiful imo. Everyone around here has the exact same thing so we look forward to providing a little variety for people. Misshenry, I called ForestFarm and yes they told me $39 for the tree and $85 for delivery for each tree. Considering the prices of some other trees we had earlier considered from nurseries around here, that were running $170-300 a tree, we considered FF's price, even with shipping, to be a bargain. Bboy, tell me how you really feel about the tree? lol You think it looks like the end result of mal pruning? Yikes. If you saw the moncoulture of all that is in my area you would long for something different. I think Crimson Kings and Red Maples, all Oaks, and Christmas trees grown for privacy, which is done all the time around here, one of the most yawn-inducing things you can do to your yard, but like in all things, your mileage may vary. Thanks again, everyone, for your replies and help. I was directed to nurseryguide.com by a grower which led me to a grower in OR which then they gave me a list of growers in my area that ordered from them and the rest is history. Now the hard part is the wait til spring....Have a good weekend everyone.

Heather I think I garden like you do. I started out planting herbs. The cats started eating my herbs. I started planting flowers for hummingbirds the butterflies came. Now I just have a modge-podge of plants. No plan just plant it where I think it will grow. I do try to have some structure. I am planting every host that I can find for the butterflies that are native for my area. Started with parsley, fennel, Queen Ann's Lace, and milkweed. I now have dutchman's pipevine, pawpaw trees, and citrus trees. Natives that grow around me that I know are wild cherry, willows, tulip poplar, laurel, bays, sassafras, mustard, mistletoe, maypop, violets, clover (red & white) and ash. There are probably many other hosts around me that I am not aware of. I am blessed to live on a farm with other farms around me. There are plenty of woodlands, pastures, creeks, ponds, and little rivers all around me.

LOL Hey, Marlon. [g] I think you have more drive to have new and different than I do. I ripped out everything in my back*yard because it was old, overgrown and were full sun plants that were now in too much shade. So we started over again six years ago, so basically everything was new and different to me since then. Still, I could very easily be searching the catalogs every year for something new and different, except that I've already gotten burned a few times with 'new' plants that failed to live up to expectations. I've grown to distrust the hype of hybridizers. I was dying for some different colored echinaceas and after buying expensive plants two years in a row that didn't survive the winter, I gave up on that. I find things that others find boring, make me quite happy. Like Hollies, that someone mentioned are boring to them. I had a book out of the library by Beth Chatto about woodland gardens and she had some magnificent hollies and very attractive combinations with surrounding shrubs and perennials. Just loved them. I also always wanted to have hollies that I could harvest branches and berries for C*hristmas decorations every year. I was out today looking at the hollies in the yard and I like everything about them. The shiny healthy leaves, The berries just starting to form. The way they respond so well to tip pruning. The dependability and predictability. I feel happy just looking at them. lol The other thought is that some of these plants that get overused and boring get that way for a reason. They are so easy to grow, so dependable to bloom, so healthy and pest free. If you are not always having success with things that you grow, then you try to look for things that will. Successfully growing anything is often exciting in and of itself. :-)

I live in a '50's house that had a severe leak this summer with our 14 plus inches of rain. I learned lots because I had to. 1. If we just seal the cracks, what happens to future rains that fall on clay soil with homes so close together? >>>>>>>>>>>Sealing your cracks will do nothing to stop your problem. (been there, done that). 2. Do we attack the outside and put in a drainage system only (fixing the grade on 2 sides as well)? >>>>>>>If you get estimates from people who install sump pumps, they will tell you that this is the only way to go. It MAY fix your problem, but it is not going to fix what is causing the problem (water coming in from the outside). If you get estimates from landscaping companies, they should give you a detailed estimate explaining how/why what they do will work. In general, you have a problem on the outside that needs to be fixed. Re-grading should do the trick. 3. Do we add exterior drainage and improve grade AND seal from the inside?>>.>>>No. 4. Do we need to pour new concrete in the basement? Can we get by with just patching the cracks? If new concrete is needed, how do we deal with the transition from unfinished to finished floor? Yes, new drywall walls are in place. No. I discovered by talking to a contractor that I trust with my life, that when these older homes were built, the walls of the basement were put in first, then the flooring was poured. Companies that built them, probably used watered down sealer, and it is now worthless with time. You also have a crack around the edge of your basement where the floor and wall meet, that's where your water is coming from. 5. What kinds of companies deal with this? Now that it's Dec. 1 and we're in the Chicago area, do we deal with this now weather-wise or do we wait til spring? I would get three estimates from a landscaping company and three from a company that installs sump pumps, just to get started on educating yourself. Sump pump companies will try to scare you into getting one of these things, but they are not in my opinion what you need. Don't be pressured into signing a contract or anything. Also, research the subject to death. You may also have improper gutters and down spouts (that I discovered are just as important as gutters. My house had both that were to narrow for the roof. Additionally, if you have very large bushes, trees, etc. planted along your house, the roots dig into the ground, and when it rains, the water follows the loose soil along the roots. A landscaping company should tell you what to do with all of this. Don't say anything, just ask them how they intend to fix the problem. Good luck! SG