You're right: Go ahead & plant 'em. Even if they don't bloom, they'll make food to store for next year. If you *don't* plant them, they'll use up their food just surviving & will be less likely to have enough stored to last until next year.

mjlb, I am by no means an expert in home or modular construction but I am happy to share my experiences. For the most part, modular homes can be customized to fit just about any design, subject (as always) to budget. General constraints include: - size of module: most modules can be a maximum of 16ft in width and up to 60ft in length (exterior dimensions). When designing a modular home, one has to be careful as not to have certain structural items in between modules. As an example, while it is possible to have windows/doors/stairs in between two modules, it is not preferred. You would also not want to have bathroom fixtures or kitchen cabinets between two modules - Because the size of each module is constrained, adding a few feet of dimension in one particular direction may add significant cost. In my design, I have maximized the width of each module. If I wanted to make the foyer bigger, I would have to add a whole new module and incur additional transportation and assembly expenses. However, once you add a module, the incremental expense to make that module larger (up to maximum dimensions) is not significant. Essentially, there are step function costs. - When you look at my plans, you may be able to figure out that I designed my home to be built with five modules. There are two modules on each floor going "east to west" and one additional module for the kitchen nook I chose modular for two reasons (1) consistent quality and (2) predictable cost. The quality is consistent because the house is being built in a controlled environment and as a result can be built inside out. Also, the same person does the same thing every day � meaning the person who installs sheetrock does the same thing every day on the factory floor or the person who installs trim does that function every day. Of course workmanship is still predicated on the skill of the individual, however the tasks done in the factory are generally not that difficult. The cost is predictable because buying a modular home is like buying a car. You order the options and design you want and you are provided a fixed price that does not change. I know exactly what my cost will be for construction upfront. Having said that, once you finalize the design, there is no changing. Unlike stick building, it is difficult to make changes mid-process and you don�t have the benefit of seeing how things transform from paper to framing. In stick you can get a feel for the room at the framing stage and make changes at minimal expense (e.g., move a door, or window). There is still some level of "skill" to completing a modular home. The house is delivered to the site ~80% - 90% complete. In my case, hardwood floors, tile, HVAC will be completed onsite. This gives a homeowner the opportunity to introduce some customization into the process. I�m happy to answer any specific questions you may have. Overall, I�d say I am very pleased with the process so far. While I have had to compromise on certain design issues, I feel it has forced me to be discipline and stay within a budget. Lastly, If I were looking to build my dream home that required significant customization or tailoring for a challeninging home site I would still go with custom route. Best, Shakeel

Ludwig Lady, The competition in screwbase CFs today is ferocious. Most brands have given up making their own because they can't compete on price with the Chinese CFs, and purchase price is the only measure that most consumers care about. Thus, the majority of CFs regardless of brand are now made in a handful of Chinese factories. They are all in a race to the bottom in terms of price - and quality. Consider that an electronic ballast for a linear fluorescent fixture sells for $15-20, and good T8 lamps run about $2.50 each. Now, how is it possible for the screwbase CF manufacturers to sell a decent quality lamp and ballast combination for 90% less money? The answer is that they can't. A good CF costs between $10 and $20. These are the ones which are likely to last their rated lifetime or more. Cheap CFs sell for a fraction of that amount, typically around $2-4. But they're becoming notorious for a large premature failure rate, dying (sometimes spectacularly, with smoke shows and even flames) at a few hundred or a few dozen hours. This happens because the components used in them are run right at their electrical limits, and are absolute rock-bottom, lowest-bid quality to boot. This is hurting the entire CF industry, IMO. Philips still make some good CFs. You can tell them by looking at the fine print on the carton. The most reliable Philips CFs are made in Mexico. Some are from Poland and they're OK too. AFAIK, these are all tri-tube or capsule types. Your little helicals are the Chinese-made cheapies. Ten years ago, Sylvania CFs were tri-tube and made in Germany. They cost around $15 each. They returned very long service lives - I still have several of them in service - but I can't get them any more. A few years back I was able to get fair-to-middling medium-sized helical CFs from Sylvania. They were made in Taiwan. I had more problems with premature failures with these, but not enough that I gave up on them. Those are no longer available; Sylvania now manufacture them in - you guessed it - China. I'm very hesitant to try them. Until the last year or two, Lights of America had some helical CFs that were roughly comparable to the Sylvania helicals in reliability. These were made with cheap Asian components, but US engineered and assembled in California. LoA CFs are now sourced from the Chinese sweatshops, too. I bought four of them recently before I realized they'd changed, and one of the four failed within 2 hours of use. I'm sorry to say that I simply do not know of any small helical CFs currently available which I consider really good quality. I would love to hear of some.

I'm also embarking on a rowhouse kitchen renovation. Baltimore too! I spoke with several renovators who all came back with big budget proposals (wildly beyond what I wanted to spend and didn't include appliances and so forth). My agent then recommended a licensed contractor she uses for small renos and home repairs and I had a long and frank discussion with him and realized that the most cost effective way was to use him as my main builder/installer, while subcontracting out electricity, plumbing, flooring, tiling to specialists. So I'm effectively acting as the general contractor. You can also talk to cabinet stores and kitchen stores like Stuart or Cox and they likely can offer a full remodel too. There's also a few places on the east side of Baltimore, out towards Rosedale off Belair Road or Eastern Avenue. And Ikea / Home Depot. In short, I'd set aside a month or two to talk to as many people to get a sense of what's involved and the costs of everything. It's not for the faint hearted but the more you learn, the more you will also save. Planning is important. Rowhouse kitchens can be frustrating because every square inch counts. And some things will be inflexible or cause problems you may not think of. For example, party walls can be complicated. Old houses often directly plastered the party wall, so there's no framing space for adding wiring or plumbing, so you might need to add a shallow 3/4'' framing against the party wall, then drywall, for your new cabinets and utilities. Then again, maybe not. It depends on what's possible.