Nik, I know that Americans farther South than my zone 6a do plant in the Fall but I have had no personal experience with warmer zones. However, from my zone North (and that's a lot of territory), Fall planting is not a viable option. In August it is too hot to plant, getting in the high 80s and then the first frosts come about the first or second week in October. Four to five weeks is not enough time for the roses to get established and prepare for the hard frosts soon to come. Our last frost date is May 15, so that is about 7 months. Usually we have snow cover then it melts, then more snow cover and on and on through the winter. This is especially bad because repeated freezing and thawing cycles heave plants out of the ground. A constant snow cover, which we do not have, would prevent that and in addition would be protective insulation, keeping the plants near 32 F instead of the -10F air temperatures normal for this zone. It may be difficult for most Europeans to sense the degree and duration of cold that we experience, Scandinavian countries and Scotland excepted. When I read English gardening books that say a plant is cold hardy, I have to remember they mean that it will survive in a zone much warmer than mine. Most of England is zone 8! Compare the Hardiness Zone maps on Garden Web of Europe versus The United States. The color of the zones give a more intuitive feel for the difference in climate. Cath

Did you try using the same temperature light that Home Depot uses ? They probably use some type of fluorescent in the store, right ? I know many hate fluorescent lighting but if it gives you the proper color, who cares. I loved that color and was considering those cabinets. I had the MS catalog and loved every single kitchen in it and the sea salt counter. You are correct in thinking that the taupe paint/lighting(and floor color)might be affecting it also. The taupe might be pulling them down. Check the undertones in that paint. BM can tell you. All colors are affected by what they are next to. I struggled with this while trying to learn color correction of 4/C photos for printing(books). BM has a website called myperfectcolor where you can post photos(post the cabs, floor or anything that might affect them) and get guidance for paint colors. List the paint color that you currently have in your query. They really try their best to help, but posting photos will get you a faster more detailed answer. Do you know how I know this ? I put LED in UCL and just recently put fluorescent cove lighting (T5)above cabinets. I'm not using both lights at the same time so I don't care if they are different temps. Wow, my floors look so much more colorful with the fluorescents.Also the paint that was too dark looks bright and cheery(although still not a match for my floor so I'm repainting :( Here is a link that might be useful: myperfectcolor

I'm sure it's disappointing but at least there's good reasons. Still frustrating though. Kind of the epitome of anticipointment! Nonetheless, these days working is such a good thing it's something to celebrate it seems. Definitely keep the gear. You'll use it. Try the stuff out for yourself. That way you can get used to using it too. There's lots of things you can do. You've received many good ideas. I was thinking an "open" weekend or day for a get-together as an alternative. Celebrating your new home, people being employed, the sun rising or just friends & relatives. One thing I'll mention though, on new appliances, often you need to burn them off a bit. My electric roasters needed it and it needed to be done outside. There was a definite smell of the coating on the components burning off. You do it one time but it can take hours. If someone took a new one and tried it for a celebration, in a closed house, with lots of family and friends around... could be quite smelly and embarrasing! Check the instructions. Not all need it, but some do. Here's hoping that all works out for plan "b"!

AVOID MIELE RANGES. UNRELIABLE UNITS. TERRIBLE SERVICE. We've had Miele dishwashers for literally decades; they have been great, trouble-free performers. Not so the 36" gas range that we bought for a kitchen reno in 2016. The design is nice and the basic functionality is great, but the reliability is the absolute pits. MIele released this line of products before they were ready for prime time. And Miele knows it. We have had burners replaced several times for ignition failures. Last time around the technician replaced all six burners with "upgrades" (I'm guessing, redesigns that cure the faults of the original burners). The little part that detects when the oven door is closed and shuts off the broiler if it's open? It melted when the (extremely hot) broiler was on for more than a few minutes. The rubber feet for the grates constantly disintegrate; we've gone through literally a dozen of them. And now that our unit is out of warranty, Miele wants $32 each for replacements (and there are no aftermarket parts available anywhere). The latest problem is the oven door latch mechanism, which has failed so that the unit will not go into self-clean mode. Making matters worse, Miele's service operation was gutted during the pandemic and has not recovered. Their call center is offshore somewhere, and the people are clueless about the products. As for the technician dispatch in NJ ... don't get me started. Totally dysfunctional. The techs themselves are highly competent ... when you can actually get someone to come. Constant scheduling screwups, technicians not being told what parts to bring, several week lead times, etc. Their service is beyond unacceptable for a premium-priced brand. And we have yet to find a third-party repair service that will work on Miele ranges (dishwashers yes, ranges no). I'm sorely tempted to throw the thing out and go with Blue Star or Wolf. AVOID.