I posted some tips with two examples on the Iris forum, will link. It's about using exposure compensation in bright sunlight. Also I use fill flash with an external flash w/diffuser sometimes, can also force the on board flash. That takes practice getting the right amount; I use flash exposure compensation set depending on how the light is and how close or far away I am. You will notice that many macro photos posted are blurry. That is because just a couple mm that close and the slightest camera shake will cause blur, also slower shutter speeds. Well, the trick is not to use the super macro setting but aperture priority and the regular macro setting. I could then stand further back and still zoom in w/o the other problems mentioned. But that was with my p&s camera I don't use any more. Usually I just use a regular zoom lens, get as close as the lens will let me (some lenses won't lock focus if you are too close), and since I have 8 mp to work with, I can crop in closer. I do not recommend ever using digital zoom though. One more thing. In shade, don't bother with exposure compensation, keep it at 0, but bump up your ISO to at least 400 sometimes 800 if very low light but not if your camera produces a lot of noise, better to use flash instead at normal ISO setting. That will force a faster shutter speed. Every camera is a little different, but it's worth your time to learn some extra skills. This is not going to make sense now after going through all that because I shoot aperture priority at least 90% of the time. That way I can control the depth of field and choose the aperture I want. Some people won't understand what that means and use the pre-programmed settings on their cameras. Here is a link that might be useful: My post in thread called misleading iris photos

Shalinimunjal, I doubt you'd find it in local nurseries... I've got two plants (from two different online shops) and they seem to be doing ok. Seems like they're both a bit stunned, since I don't see new leave growing as fast as my Jasmines. My zone is still fluctuating to low 60s in temperature so I keep them inside for now at a south-east window. Can't wait for them to start blooming. I pretty much forgot how it smelled except remembering that I went crazy for it at the time. The entire Dasheen outdoor dining area at Ladera was filled with the fragrance waifing through the night air. I would've gone back to Ladera just to smell the flowers again, except now I've got them at home thanks to this forum!

I feel your pain. In the same boat. The Santa Fe is beautiful I looked at it online but not sure which color you are considering but it sure is pretty. What I notice with white cabinets and dark granite is that it has to be just right or else it's sort of jarring. I tried to use tropic brown with white and it didn't look right, it needed to be more of a cream white to really set off the softer dark tones. The blacker blacks look best with the stark white while the softer blacks seem to do better with a softer off white. It seems like it would be so cut and dried but it's complicated!!!

Correct! Actually comes from Afghanistan as well but probably a bit threatened there! The white felt is quite attractive. I have a B. colvilei but am a bit scared to plant it out at Marysville as it can be a bit tender. Becomes a pretty big shrub I think.