I would add to Sophie's comment that a Parti is the initial attempt to organize a building to meet certain goals and it will inevitably evolve as the design process proceeds. But it is important to hold on to it as it changes because it is easy to become lost without a guide as you begin to consider the many elements of style. A "Cape Cod" house is a great example of the relationship of spacial organization, practicality, climate and decorative style. The original idea was to enclose space efficiently with little concern for decorative style. It placed the entrance, stairway and chimney in the center of a story and a half frame with a steep roof without dormers. There were variations in width (half, three quarters & full capes that involved different numbers of double-hung front windows) . They had no porches, porticos, or roof overhangs. This kind of house was so common in colonial times that it is now considered an architectural house style of the American Colonial period. It is a good example of how practical spacial organization and features and the absence of stylistic decoration can define a style. For me, after creating a working spacial organization or parti, the challenge is to carry the design forward as far as possible while looking for stylistic opportunities. Architects have their favorite stylistic ideas but from working with many clients they become fairly agile in identifying various opportunities. Anyway the idea is to avoid commitment to specific styles until you have had a chance to explore what ideas are well suited to your parti. Frankly, the only thing I will not consider is any massing that requires the use of long span roof trusses. I believe they lead designers into architectural traps often resulting in dwellings that look like the first phase of a condominium complex or shopping center.

what tom said in toto ... as to water ... take a hand trowel .. and dig a 6 inch hole ... 4 of them ... norths south.. etc... 2 in the foot b all planted ... 2 on the edge ... AND FIND OUT HOW WATER MOVES THRU YOUR SOIL ... both the root ball and soil should be moist... but not sodden ... sodden is worse than dry ... whether 20 gals is a magic number.. no one but you can figure it out.. in your soil.. whatever it is ... in my glacial sand... if i deep watered at planting... and mulched like that ... i would NOT be surprised.. if i did not have to water again all fall ... because after years of diggin holes.. i simply know that it is not drying down below the surface .. do keep checking...as i dont believe you told us where you are.. nor your soil type ... to sum up parts of what tom said... it was a huge transplant.. in leaf ... and dude.. its FALL... leaves shut down and fall off ... and in this circs.. fall color show is not expected ... i am simply never concerned with leaf anomalies this time of year ... especially with the transplant ... actually surprised they havent already fallen off .... due to the insult to the root mass ... water is important.. but a root mass can be twice as big as the tree above.. consider what was cut off ... and the tree needs to re-establish such ... and it will take 3 or 4 years .... and you are responsible for proper watering thru that period ... but that doesnt mean drowning it ... have you looked into one of those gator bags ... i wonder how you measure your 20 gals..... and also understand.. a tree... should NEAR dry in between deep watering ... it forces the roots to extend and look for more ... we dont want to keep the planting hole.. so sodden.. it doesnt start stretching out to find more... what is that pipe that comes out in the first pic??? do pull the mulch and soil back.. and find the root flare ... see link .. take pix to show us ken https://www.google.com/search?q=root+flare&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI8fbTmoOayAIVEhGSCh2w4wzi&biw=868&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Josh, I want to say that I have made a rather puzzling and somewhat intriguing discovery. Last year I bought two abies procera four-year transplanted bare-root stock trees from Porky Farms in northern Michigan. That is what I ordered, anyways. One did really well last summer while the other was rather weak. I chalked that up to transplant shock. Now they both look really good and the weaker of the two looks a lot better and I think it’s gonna make it. But here’s the surprise. The leaves or needles on the two specimens do not look the same. The leaves on the more vigorous of the two look exactly like the needles on two other abies procera that I’d gotten from Joe Welker’s nursery the prior year. But the needles on the other Porky Farms tree look different. They are more curled upwards. Hmmmn, I thought to myself; that brings back memories of fir trees that I’d seen in the Sierra Nevada Mountains years ago. Could this one tree possibly be an abies magnifica sent in error? I have discovered through my own personal experience that nurseries can and do make mistakes at times. At the time that I placed my order, Porky Farms was showing that they no longer had any abies magnifica left in stock. But maybe they did have one – just one – after all! We’ll see. In another growing season or two any differences will become more obvious. I have had some correspondence with that guy Bert Cregg who participated in the study on growing exotic conifers in the Midwest that I’d cited in my earlier post. He told me that both abies procera and abies grandis can do well in western Michigan where they get planted not far from the shores of Lake Michigan. That’s “snow belt” country. Conditions can sometimes mimic the orographic snowfall in the Sierras. This would help support your snowpack theory. We did not discuss abies magnifica but I would assume it might be the same situation. There is actually somewhat of a fine line between abies procera and a. magnifica. Glad to hear that your two red firs made it through the winter! That’s no small feat ‘cause I’ve had very bad luck planting anything in the fall be it western conifers, eastern shade trees or fruit trees. I like late March/early April the best. Here’s something that you might wanna try that I’ve tried with some success. I took a 4’ X 4’ sheet of OSB board and staked it to the windward side of the trees. That at least will keep the wind off if it gets down to -20°F. Cregg told me that the wind is definitely a factor, too. And to this I added a thick mulch layer of dead pine and fir needles. My theory and hope is that if that’s done for a few years until the tree becomes established with deep roots, it might be able to make it on its own without the windbreak. There is no proof of this but I’m willing to try. It worked GREAT last winter, but, like you said, it was mild. Best Regards, Fred M. Cain, Topeka, IN

Vap, first a caveat: roses do not do well in this garden. With that in mind, all the HTs died except Fragrant Cloud, Gruss an Teplitz and Steven's Big Purple. Oh, and I have a grafted Don Juan that lives but does not bloom - probably too shady. Surviving Reds: Rhode Island Red (Field's of the Woods) Florentina Munstead Wood Indigo Tess of the d'Urbervilles - like her Falstaff no flowers, hangs on, probably too shady Don Juan (grafted) Nur Mahal survived Winter in the garage, a rarity here Fragrant Cloud Gruss an Teplitz Steven's Big Purple Dead Reds that lasted some: Souv. de Claudius Denoyel cl. - a few years - it appealed Royal William Francis Debreuil Don Juan - own root Dead Reds: Red Intuition Chrysler Imperial Dame de Coeur - early demise but alluring, "suave" is the word that comes to mind (although applicable to a woman?) Cath