CMK- I'm glad you can keep them under control, fairly easily. My husband thinks they're kind of cool looking and couldn't believe how much the hummingbirds loved them. We were sitting out there last summer and the hummingbirds were right next to us, which is very unusual for us. We're so remote, most of the wildlife is pretty timid and not used to being around people. That little bird kept one eye on us the entire time, but he was determined to visit every single flower! :)

Hi Kath! I just went out to check, and the stems are nice and light brown. And there are just as many (sickly) leaves at the base of the stem as along it. The ironic thing is plant looks like it NEEDS water, (i.e., the leaves and buds are limp and shriveled like an unwatered plant left out in the hot sun) even though I had soaked it every day on a shady porch. In fact a neighbor insisted I was not watering it enough! The day I got the plant I moved it to a larger hanging planter. It was somewhat rootbound and a large mass of healthy looking small white roots were visible on the surface of the root ball. I repotted it yesterday (~3 weeks later). The dirt ball from the original planter no longer had white roots on its surface. I didn't poke around too much 'cause I didn't want to stress it anymore. At this point the plant is in pretty bad shape. My family is having some laughs at my expense - calling me a "fuchsia killer" and claiming that our porch is haunted. It is sort of stunning how fast the plant went from glorious to "next-to-dead". While the leaves and buds are SO limp and dead looking, at this point the branches are still live "green wood" (i.e., not brittle). Should I cut the plant back in hopes that with less plant for the (remaining) roots to support it might re-grow. Or just hold tight. Thanks for your help, Helen

Those temp predictions seem to be all over the place (depending on model, forecaster, specific local location, etc.). They seemed to have modified those arctic temps for late week some. Still cold, but so far, minimums bumped up to mid teens. Meantime, tonight may be my coldest locally (12.0 F.)--nice now though, very sunny and mid 30's with some melting (one of the advantages of having an unobstructed southern exposure at this time of the year.)--Trachys look fine but my smaller Needle palm looks like toast.

Wow what a lovely plan. You must be very excited. Must the entire house be done all at once? I believe everyone who has done a minor update in their home (half bath ) to a giant full home renovation has to go through the dreaded Want vs Need list. Each person or corporation doing a renovation must figure out their budget and what they want to spend on their project.. Some people have unlimited funds but even those folks put together a plan. Do you have a General contractor or is your architect doing both? Sometimes a GC can really help control costs and help control the scope of a project and stay within budget. With that said, is your scope itemized or listed in sections per price? Your contractor/architect could probably help you figure out how to trim costs and to even do things in sections. What has your architect suggested? I would go through your list of wants vs needs and see which falls into place. Sometimes it is about deciding the structure (basement) of the house is more of a need while the La Cornue Grand Palais range is more of a want. I wonder if filling in the basement might end up being the cheaper option in the end? With a smaller basement you could make your entire project smaller. So much to think about but I am sure you can do it! You are on your way to making your dream home a reality.