I don't use perlite primarily because I consider it ugly, but that's not a logical reason to avoid it when it meets the needed criteria. I have seen perlite break down in overwintered (outdoors) containers, but only because I picked up a few pieces and crushed them between my fingers. Generally it's good to avoid that ;) You should be fine with it. Just make sure to look for the medium or horticultural grade and avoid the fine grade which is pretty small.

Depends on what you are looking for in a rose. I agree, ASL blooms shatter quickly, but at the peak of it's spring flush, there are so many buds that the display is a long one. It takes a rest after that and gives a smaller more spotty flush late in the season. But so does a number of other English Roses. At maturity, the spring display is breath taking. No fragrance, though. It is a tough and healthy palnt. In our garden, it is the most black spot resistant rose we grow (we don't spray). It gets big - canes will easily reach 8 foot if not kept in check, and the bush is just as wide. In spite of it's height, it is not a climber - the canes are ram rod straight and stiff. They also break off easily at their base if too much stress is applied. It has relatively few thorns.

I've never grown these. Without your climate zone input may be meaningless. What does well in one area may sulk in another. However I have read very good reports on "Alpenview". This is what an experienced iris grower has to say. I linked to her photo since her images are quite accurate. [This image was added by Margiempv on Jan 28, 2007 10:00 PM "Another view of ALPENVIEW. Great branching, lovely form, good growth and increases. "] The same hybridizer (Keppel) also introduced "Crowned Heads" about 6 years before "Alpenview". I was awestruck by "Crowned Heads". Totally gorgeous deep color in the standards and wonderful contrast. But I have heard it does not perform well in all parts of the country. The other 2 I've not read about. Dave's Garden may have photos of them as well. Here is a link that might be useful: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/139626/

Hi there, I am so sorry that you've hit this dilemma at this stage in the process. I have the same u-shaped kitchen with almost the same configuration, except we have double ovens where your fridge is, and our fridge is on the opposite side, at the end of the counter left of the sink. I spent many, many hours designing our kitchen and thinking through the walkways with appliances, door swings, stools, etc. Our original blueprint called for our kitchen to be 12' deep, with a 24" island with no overhang for bar stools. In a prior kitchen that we remodeled, which was 12', we added an island with stools and had about 33" walkways, one of which had an over door opening. It was very tight, especially when we had guests around the island, which was basically whenever we had guests! So for our new build, I already knew 12' would never work, so one necessity was that we bumped our kitchen 3', making it 15' deep. Our current island is 24" with 10" overhang, making it 34". With 2' of counters/appliances on the sides of the "u." that leaves just over 3 1/2' (about 43") on either side of the island. Our walkways are "comfortable" but not spacious. If someone is sitting at the island on a stool and I need to open one of the ovens, I just tell them to hold still, and I can open the door and have about 6-8" between the door and the back of the stool, which is fine. Honestly, I think 15' is the minimum comfortable depth you can have in a u-shaped kitchen with bar stools. If I built this same design again, I would make it more like 17' deep. I am guessing yours is more like 12-13' deep? Imagine how much space you would have if you had an extra 3' feet of depth and you will see what I mean. If I were you, I would either: 1) go without bar-stools at the island and just have the regular 1 1/2" overhang all around; 2) if there is room, make the overhang on the end of the counter and maybe round the counter on the end so you could try to get 2 stools in; or 3) if you're really set on having the overhang where you have it, perhaps in addition to moving the island closer to the dishwasher side, you could get a new counter top with less overhang, such as 10" overhang instead of 12" if that is what you have. As I discovered in my last kitchen, when you're dealing with walkways, every inch counts! Good luck!