Thanks, everybody! That would be Burgundy Iceberg, Ryan. It's one I'm really impressed with! It's planted in the sunny end of the Shade Garden, and aside from a bit of mulch, got no pampering last winter... and as you know, we had a very frigid winter! The Shade Garden is at the northwestern edge of the property where the two roads intersect. There's a wicked wind blowing through that area almost all the time. And there sits Burgundy Iceberg... blooming as though it were the ideal spot to be! The one I'm holding in my hand is Quadra... another beauty! To be honest, I've got so many rose names floating around in my head right now, I couldn't tell you what half of them are without looking at the tags! Roses have become almost as much of a passion as Hippeastrum bulbs! There are many that haven't bloomed yet... I'll try to get photos as they open!

This is what i have observed about the tidal wave petunias..nothing can out perform the way they grow and bloom..they tend to grow upward untill the weight of the branches or wind makes them start to fall ..then they resume their upward growth untill it happens again over and over..they fill the top of the baskets so they never look bare..I have a pink rave of the wave I kept cuttings from last year..it will mound somewhat but not as much as the tidal waves...the avalanch wave petunias are smaller and I thought mine looked somewhat like a sombrero hat last summer on the way they grew..lol..I have red and white ramblers this year and really like them..they dont seem to mound much but the red colour stays a true red..the white rambler seeems to have out preformed the red for growth and blooms..I also have a purple wave (not and easy wave)..it has grown very flat.for the most part the blooms are all at the bottom of the branches..I mixed the red+white ramblers with the purple wave and pink rave of the wave with bidens..and of course the bidens has out performed everything..lol...savona

Miac, You project sounds very interesting to me, and though I would be wary, I would hear you out if you approached me. But then I have been thinking of doing something similar for some time so I have thought about the issues you raise! I am a little pressed for time today, so I'll have to come back and add more comments but here are a few things to start with: Have you studied house styles (and local variants) enough to be able to identify them pretty accurately from the outside? Do you know how to winkle out the reported age of the structure from local property assessment records? Do you know how to do deed chains in county or town land records so you could trace the history of a particular building back? Do you know where there are old maps or photographs that might show earlier views of old buildings? These are all things that you might find useful in approaching homeowners and asking for permission to take pictures of the exteriors. Pictures of the interiors are a whole 'nuther matter, and I wouldn't hold out much hope there. The interior pictures would not only open people up to possible theft/burglary issues, but to be honest, many people have made upgrades that haven't been reported to tax officials and wouldn't want to reveal that! Plus it's an invasion of privacy, that I, for one, would veto on that grounds alone. There is one other slightly sticky issue (well two, really). Despite their apparent lack of interest, your local historical mavens may get their feathers ruffled if someone else independently begins a project on their "turf". I would try again to redefine your project, but work with them, not separately. The other potential sticking point is this: Your project which begins as a labor of love, a benign community benefit and your personal avocational interest will be misinterpreted by some people to mean that you are doing something that could be the prelude to taking away some property rights by imposing historic district regulation, etc. So they will be inherently hostile to it right off the bat, having heard urban legends about historical districts standards that regulate the number of plys in one's toilet paper. If I were you I would try to making some kind of patch with existing local historical folks; I would stick strictly to exteriors; I would try to have some additional data to offer homeowners when I first approached them (photocopies of old maps, deeds, etc.); and I would start very modestly, and not in a tight geographic area that might be seen as a historical district, instead I would start with particular class (age, style or feature of buildings), perhaps keyed to some well known local subject. If you go ahead, I would also do some advance publicity so at least some people might have heard or read about it in advance of you arriving on their doorstep; I would make up a one-page flyer of information about what you are doing to hand out when you visit, to leave behind if no one is home and to post around town on bulletin boards. I would make sure your town clerk or town hall knows what you're planning, as people may call there. I would also go to the trouble of contacting your local police and giving them a heads-up including when (days, time) you'll be driving around, what your vehicle looks like, etc. These days people may call 911 and report a suspicious car or person, and the cops will be happier if they can say they know who you are! And if you possibly arrange to do so, don't start with any well-known controversial issue, as that will connect you with people who are rabidly pro or anti some project and you may have to spend extra time untangling yourself later. By the way, what you are doing is called an historical building survey and is a familiar and well-documented activity in preservation circles. In New York, where I live, there are even official looking forms (in carbonless triplicate!) that can be used to collect and record the info. You may find useful things and help if you can contact your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO, "ship-o"). You might also find some additional info in that series of preservation briefs that I am always sending people to. I may be wrong, but I think there is one on doing an historical building survey. What state are you in? I wish you very good luck with your project, and stamina! Molly~

I am in Sacramento County. I looked at Swan Pool's website and photos and thought they would be a great choice for my pool. The sales/pool design guy, Dave, was great. I thought I would get a very beautiful pool and for $70k, my expectations were high. We were going to have an Acapulco ledge and I specifically said I wanted to put lounge chairs on the ledge [(it is supposed to be like a beach going into the water), a waterfall with additional "decorative" rocks around the spa overflow and the waterfall, a slide, and a spa, a slide, a spa, spa overflow, and obviously a pool deck (which was hideous, brown stain marks from day 1, that I was told would go away as it cured - they did not, and Tom didn't do anything about it). I stated that I wanted a tropical oasis in my back yard. I was not told that they use multiple sub-contractors, who are apparently not very skilled in their trade and don't care what the end result is - just that they get their share of your $70k. Tom, who is either the owner or the manager, does not appear to care either. His answer to the hideous brown stains in my pool deck, was that he can't do anything?? The rocks were NOT decorative at all! They are hideous! I picked out a beautiful tile to go around the pool, and I believe it should have been sealed or something and was not. It immediately developed a white film all over my dark blue tile, which even after multiple times paying the pool cleaner to fix this, the white film is STILL all over my blue tiles! The worst part was that the pool decking was all cement (nothing like the pictures on their website AT ALL!! ) My pool decking is all splotchy and brown!! Not only that, there are multiple cracks in this horribly done pool deck! Tom's response is there's nothing they can do??? How about re-do it?! I paid $70k, and it looks NOTHING alike what is on your website!!! To start with, we did NOT get an Acapulco ledge. I specifically said I wanted to put lounge chairs on the ledge [(it is supposed to be like a beach going into the water) but what I got was more like a kiddie pool within my pool and it was far too deep to put a lounge chair in]. I had checked in regarding my concerns throughout the job, and was repeatedly told, "yes, it will be shallow enough for lounge chairs" The rocks that were installed were hideous as well, with globs of grout or mortar thrown on them. It was as though they purposely picked THE ugliest rocks they could find! Our slide has continued to leak, despite them coming out multiple times to fix the issue and NOT fixing the issue! It STILL leaks! I have since, because of Tom's failure to correct these issues, and my frustration with their failure to address these issues ever; had to pay another $100k to take the hideous pool deck out and replace it with pavers, to finally get the actual result (at least for the hideous pool deck issue ONLY) that Swan Pools advertises as what they do?? For $70k, I should have received THAT At the beginning and NOT have to spend $170k!!!! Tom should have done all of this correctly to begin with, or refunded some of my $70k, and he should still replace the rocks and the leaky slide, and for the Acapulco ledge that was done wrong, he should refund money as that was done wrong and he lied when he kept telling me that it would be shallow enough for a lounge chair - which it is absolutely NOT. I would NOT recommend Swan Pools, hopefully you can benefit from my mistake. I wish I had not chosen them.