KJ I think it’s an easy task, especially with a young rose you planted yourself . In zone 9B, you can plant high above the graft and any Huey that pops out below the bud union will be very obvious, just snap it off completely when you see it. Claire those reasons make sense to me for cold weahter locales. If it dies to the ground, the rose will come back true to variety. In my mild winter climate I always plant as high up on the root system as possible because all the best soil is on top (there’s a reason it’s coalled topsoil lol!) , so its not wasted on the graft and can be used by feeder roots. Also, I don’t have to dig so deep into the much harder adobe clay below. I am quite opportunistic and get whatever rootstock comes my way! With good care and a benevolent climate, the great majority of roses thrive regardless of own root or whichever rootstock.

Everyone has been so positive that I guess, well, I guess it is my turn. My town has about 20,000 residents. Our library looks huge. The center section is two and a half stories tall with huge long wings on either side of the building. It is solid brick, about 15 years old. It sits upon a gentle rise on several acres of land with a lazy stream meandering out front. It is connected, via bike/walking path to the community recreation center and to the town's sports fields and to all of the schools, K-12. Once you get inside, however, you will see great vaulted ceilings which, to many, signify wasted space, and which make every whisper an echoing shout. The children's department is located on one end of the building with no sort of divider which means kids and their mothers are squealing and yelling. Before you think me rude, I love that the kids come to the library. But I also think that both kids AND parents need to abide by the rules of the library. Many of the librarians are sweet and kind and read constantly. The lady in charge, however, is the black cloud over the whole thing. She would rather be an actress. And instead of putting her energy into the library, she allows it to coast along while putting all of her time and energy and creativity into finding little acting gigs in the area. She listens to no one, and thinks she knows more than everyone. The whole town wishes to fire her, as do all of the librarians. But so far, no success. As far as selection goes, non-fiction is okay... in need of updating. Fiction is very well represented as are videos, CD, DVD's and audio books. We have great ILL service as well as a huge selection of e-book titles. So, good and bad, but I am still grateful to have it. It is very close to my house and we often bike or walk over. PAM

If your bay window is cantilevered out and not holding up a second floor bay... Would you rather have island seating than a breakfast nook? It would be a much bigger project, of course. It looks like you may have the room for it. I've proposed this for other folks and this image is the first example I found. In your case, the range and the clean up sink would trade places, so you you might see the range flanked by windows from the front door instead of your pretty table and windows. Just thought I'd toss this out there...

We'd love to have an interior designer on speed dial before deciding exactly where and how to hang that new wall art we bought on a whim so we don't make any major mistakes. But until we win the lottery, we'll have to settle for trusting our gut—and taking plenty of interior design tips where we can get them. We've compiled some secrets straight from the pros to help you with all your decorating needs.