Alrighty, so far I've gotten 'Yes'-s for both Nicotiana, and some red clematis. :) I love the thought of putting the garlic there, as soon as I find one I like for this area. I'll also probably either get the 'opal' basil or "Purple Ruffles", all the basil I have so far this year is cinnamon so I wouldn't be overdoing it... right? ;) Lisa, I actually have both of those - they're the only two I have, and I just got them this year. As they already have planned spaces, I guess I'll just separate them next year or something. ^_^ I love black pussy willows, and I really love black bamboo... although I think the second is far out of my price range and probably wouldn't do too well here. :) We used to have (regular) pussy willow here and lost it two years ago. Batflower- That's the name of it!! :D I'd seen pictures a few years ago, but no one had the name. Those are gorgeous though, I wish I had the ability to take care of one. :( Maybe someday I'll luck out. ^_^ This has been great - I think I'm definitely going to spread the garden out. There's just too much cool stuff here to cram into the little area that's cleared. :D I got two portions cleared and sifted yesterday, so I planted what I already had. A lot has been getting a bit rootbound, I figured I could just move a couple of things later. I'd rather move them then lose them. Now I need to get a new digital- I can't believe how it is now compared to the weeds that were there; it's hard to imagine how it's going to look by fall. :D

Wow. I, for one, am sure salivating over those beautiful pictures. Probably not exactly what Matt and Trish were expecting or looking for, but they sure took my breath away. We also are building a Craftsman house. Since I couldn't afford a real architect, I have done my own extensive research. And believe it or not...as useful as the internet is, I found the old fashioned library to be the best resource. I basically designed our plan myself. I tried very hard to stick to some true Craftsman elements with the scale, trim, and openness of the floorplan. Of course I'm pretty sure that my very large kitchen, master bath and closet do not fit the true Craftsman style, I have tried to be authentic in other ways. As far as decorating I do not plan to emulate a true Craftsman because I have a lot of traditional, transitional, and semi-antique (handcrafted pieces from the 1920s-1940s) that I will not part with. I am instead trying to create a Craftsman "mood" by highlighting generous usage of stained woodwork and painted tiles. We also have a decent but small start of a collection of art glass that I will be highlighting. I am going to be using earthy and sort of dark colors to achieve that mood. I know that my house will probably be somewhat dark even though there are lots of windows. The deep overhangs and eaves will sort of shadow the natural light. That's perfectly OK with me. I am not a bright light type of person. I like warm woods and dark colors. For what it's worth, I'm also not a morning person. I hope that the house we are creating will be a work of art and live well with my family. It certainly has been well thought out. I know it is not going to be authentic by any means so I hope that it doesn't offend anyone. The house will be in a historical district. Oddly enough not one of the other houses in the area seem to be a real clear style even though they were all built between 1915-1930. ECLECTIC RULES! I guess we'll fit in....

Shelley, what a terrific swap box Pam sent you. The theme is so cute. Love your "man" in the apron. I look forward to seeing that beautiful dish show up in your dinner photos. Just so you know Shelley, you aren't the only one that worries about all of those things you mentioned. I think that everyone that participates has the same worries. Ann

Shawn1972ut: "Front loader complaints of smell, long cycle times, inefficient rinses, poor electronic components, and failure rates at less than 5 yrs concerns me. " It is necessary to separate issues of front loader vs. top loader from issues of generations -- both generations of people and generations of manufacturing. The numbers would be difficult to aggregate, but, with a fair degree of certainty, it can be said that a majority of the automatic washing machines ever made have been front loaders. Front loading automatics have been around since the 1930s, but top-loading machines did not lose their mangles (those wringer arms that you see atop older top-loading washing machines) -- that is, they did not become automatic, until after World War II. Like tail fins on automobiles, top loading automatic washing machines became all the fad in the United States in the 1950s, but never caught on elsewhere in the world. In the United States, though, some consumers mistakenly think of top-loaders as "traditional." There is a high correlation between those who refer to top loaders as "traditional" and those who simply do not know what they are talking about. A couple of generations of housewives (that is not sexist, just the way society was organized), brought up on the post-WWII top loading machines, were educated to think that you need at least 40 gallons of water to wash a load of laundry. And that much water required at least a cup of laundry detergent; and if one cup is good, aren't two cups even better? When those consumers encountered later generation water-conserving front-loading washers, they continued to use their two cups of detergent per load, and that detergent overload is the source of a lot of the negative comments you see about front loading machines. Now, getting to your question, there are two kinds of "features" in washing machines. One kind of feature is choice of materials and construction techniques. Speed Queen washing machines are rightly often praised for construction quality largely because of choice of metal bearings in place of nylon bearings, heavier gauge steel where it counts, etc. The other kind of features are multiple selectable cycles, programability, LED screens, etc. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Personal opinion: one of the better "features" is a dimpled stainless steel drum. When a washing machine's drum spins for water extraction, fibers of the laundry inside the drum are drawn through the water drainage holes in the drum, and that accelerates fabric wear. Miele pioneered the "honeycomb" drum, with the drainage holes positioned in small domes in the drum surface to minimize the fabric pull-through. Samsung rather blatantly copied that feature in its "diamond" drum. So far as I am aware, no other maker has followed Miele and Samsung down that road. Our family, starting with my mother, has owned only four washing machines in over 75 years; they all have been front-loading washing machines. The first three lasted, on average, over 20 years each in moderately hard use. We purchased the fourth machine a few years back, and the deciding factor in our purchase was the dimpled drum design; we selected a Samsung over a Miele for price considerations. HTH.