@jwillhouse - Your plumber has a vested interest in convincing you to buy things with a markup. I can assure you that the same part numbers are the same no matter where the faucet is ordered from. As for your contract with your plumber, is it a time and materials contract or cost plus contract? Your post notes that your plumber lists retail, wholesale, and a 15% markup. If it is a time and materials contract and the 15% is the mark up from wholesale to retail, then it is on the low end of markups. If it is a cost plus contract then the markup is on his actual cost less any rebates, so the 15% should get added to what he actually paid not the listed wholesale price. In a cost plus contract, the 15% is likely unavoidable as it is still a cost even if you buy it somewhere else. Many contractors in a time and materials contract don't allow you to supply your own items. --- While it is absolutely true that you can benefit from sourcing products cheaper from sources other than you plumber, we should recognize that to some extent it is a zero sum game. Most plumbers are not getting rich off a single family home, they are just finding alternative ways to present the profit they need to make. So while adding profit to a faucet may seem like a ripoff, if all the faucets were bid at cost the plumber would likely just charge more for the installation and you would be in the same position. It can still be an advantage to you to get your faucet at a cheaper price if your plumber allows, but don't fall into the trap of thinking you are getting ripped off just because the plumber adds profit there instead of somewhere else.

Learn about propagating by cuttings, and ask friends about sharing their plants. Even if you buy additional plants, you can do the same propagation as well. I also sometimes look for plant pots that look like they would have 2-3 separate plants (herbs and other soft-stem plants/flowers seem to do this more often), and when I transplant them, I split them up accordingly. Some seeds that germinate and grow well with direct planting are zinnias and marigold. They also self-sow for the following year. Also keep an eye out for perennials on clearance (like your phlox). The bloom is over and the plant may look a little ragged, but being that they are perennials, you can often keep them alive with TLC that the store couldn't provide, and they will return next year for you. For some of the space between plants, you might want to mulch it also. That just depends on the look of the area you are going for.

Mimi, those look great! 6pm.com has them on sale, but not in my size. It's probably just as well, as I have two pair of house shoes on order--though I haven't been having much luck getting them. One pair, Hush Puppies ordered from Sierra Trading Post, was returned today because they don't fit. I hope the larger size will do it. The other Hounds slippers from Choxi arrived today--or at least they were supposed to. Instead, I received a pair of light blue fleece-lined Dawgs. I was hoping to get either of these quickly because I need something I can wear with thick wool socks and adhesive foot warmers on my cold floors.

RE the question of how to keep a container conifer over the winter, I bought a live Christmas tree this year - a contorted white pine - in a container. I brought it inside for just 48 hours so it froze, thawed and froze again. I had dug a hole and set aside the soil inside, but when I was ready to plant the ground was frozen solid. Called the nursery for advice and was told I'd probably already killed it, but the best thing now was to put it in the coldest but not freezing dark place I had until spring and hope for the best. It was the freeze thaw freeze that was the problem. It's in a barely heated studio now where I will lightly water it.. My fingers are crossed. I hope yours survives too, but I learned my lesson about the risk of buying conifers with intention of planting them in winter. Weather is too volatile. At least you got yours at a big box with a guarantee. I'm out of luck!