Oh, don't even get me started! ;) I haven't seen a sueded sample, but our fabricator showed us what honed would be like: they take a polished piece and basically 'rough' up the surface so it's no longer glass-smooth -- leaves a matte finish, but still pretty 'flat' to the eye. The amount of leathering/texture our guy gave us as a sample is 3/4 way from honed to leathered. So, more nubby to the eye, but still buttery soft to the touch (ooh-la-la!). I was very concerned about gunk and flour getting caught in the grooves/divets, but it wasn't the case at all. I've read in the past that leathered granite absorbs oils from fingertips, but that may be because the granite wasn't sealed. Our fab sent us home with a sealed piece, which I dabbed cooking oil onto and let sit for a few hours. Wiped it clean -- no absorption (dark spot) whatsoever. If you can, find a fabricator who at least has various samples of the different textures available in his showroom. Pictured below (top to bottom) honed (unsealed), polished, leathered w/o sealant, leathered + sealant.

Debating between pearl jasmine and statuario both silestone. Does anyone have any pics of either in their kitchen. Would like a white kitchen. That will not be outdated in the near future.

Great comparison picture, you can't dispute the difference in shape! I too like Red Pearl a little more and luckily I do have one. I've never been successful bringing seedpods to fruition though, they fool you for about 3 weeks and then shrivel! Benfica on the other hand has set seeds for me. Donna

When the standard Cercis canadensis was first offered regularly for sale in Ontario (~20-25 years ago), the seed source must have been southern because I still see those trees regularly dieback (sometimes to nearly the ground) in Kingston. More recently (last 15 years), the growers are providing much hardier standard Redbuds to nurseries and those newer trees are completely hardy. Sourcing Redbud seeds from northern sources is even better as seen with the success of trees at Ottawa's Dominion Arboretum. As for the named varieties, there is always a demand for novel traits so they continue to be offered even if they don't pass muster with hardiness. Enough Americans in northern states have the same issue so you should be able to glean Redbud variety comparative hardiness from this & other garden forums/blogs and make an educated guess what will work in Ontario. From personal experience (& supported online), Lavender Twist is also quite hardy with no dieback in Kingston. You could use that as a base when you're reading those posts on relative Redbud hardiness. Look up patent information as well...if the parents are known to be hardy varieties, their progeny are probably as well.