Hi, I have done a variety of David Austin, but this year I was having huge difficulty getting Hansa to root (which is a rugosa). Basically Hansa all rotted, similar to what you describe. Time after time, even with totally sterile medium, even with copper-ammonium to inhibit the fungus. My solution, that I finally discovered, was to use "non-permissive" compost- meaning a compost that contains a variety of bacteria that are inhibitory and block the fungus that causes these cuttings to rot. If you search google for new york city leaf compost damping off non-permissive, you should find an article where fresh leaf compost (from this year) was "non-permissive", but stored 10 year old compost, lacked the inhibitory qualities (probably the bacteria had all died). Also look up Allison Jack, the phD student, I think from Cornell, who is studying earth-worm castings, and is studying them to characterize what are the "non-permissive" factors. So despite all the advice that you need sterile medium, the sterile medium was not working with Hansa - all of the cuttings rotted. Then I tried a medium composed of fresh leaf compost from the local place, mixed with garden centre compost enriched with worm castings, with some peat moss, and some hardwood bark, barely damp (must not be wet!) - squeeze it in your hand and it should stick together, it should feel damp, but no water comes out, even if you squeeze it hard. hope this helps - at least see if you can find leaf compost prepared this year, use 50% compost, and see if you can put those beneficial bacteria to work for you. All of my cuttings with non-permissive compost formed nice callus and roots, but some failed due to the foliage dropping off due to fungus, and the small cutting just did not have enough carbohydrate to send up a shoot. Nevertheless I still have 18 nicely rooted Hansas that are sending up really nice canes thanks to Allison Jack!

This is a great topic. I've been thinking lately about my master bathroom remodel of the future and wondering what I'll do in my shower. I would love to be able to either sit or prop my leg up for shaving. But I also wonder if my shower is too small for any kind of bench. Thanks, Olychick, for the picture and dimensions of your shower and bench. It's incredibly helpful. If you don't mind my asking, can you feasibly fit two into the shower with the bench or does the bench interfere? I'm hoping to steal about 6" of length in my shower which currently can fit two with some minimal elbowing while one person shampoos. I'm concerned that adding a bench will make it impossible. Thanks, writersblock, for posting that Houzz picture. That fold down bench looks much nicer than I'd feared a teak bench might look in a pale colored shower.

Wow!! I'm impressed. Haven't made it to the Habitat Restore but plan on giving them a visit in the near future. Cathy

OK... I have been thinking about this for hours and it kept me awake last night. I've been working on it all morning, and here is the latest version. I am pretty excited about this version because I now have a nice landing area/mudroom to come in from the garage area to. I like being able to come into a space other than right into the kitchen. I like the flow a lot better and I like the open airy space in the work portion of the kitchen instead of forcing everything to revolve around windows in front of a dining set that we rarely even use. Some of the measurements are a little off because I completely changed everything. I took a lot of advice from everyone, and I really appreciate your taking the time to look at this and give me feedback. Any other input or advice, please keep it coming! Where should I put that prep sink on the island? Is that OK? More to the right? I think I may need to move the island slightly right to keep 4' off all of the counters. Thank you!