Kendra, There are lots of good nurseries to choose from. Adams County seems to have the widest selection of peaches, although their trees are rather expensive. Vanwell has had good prices. I've ordered from them 3 different times and always received good stock. I received some trees from Fruit Tree Farm (i.e. Cumberland Valley Nursery) this year. They were very inexpensive - $10 per tree counting shipping. The trees were smaller, but I don't mind small trees. I've spaced my low density planting on a 20 X 20' diamond, but a person could probably squeeze them to 18' for and still be low density. Be happy to have you come down this summer. If you want, let me know what varieties your interested in and I shoot you an email when they are ripe so you can taste test a variety before you plant.

My haphazard methods might not work for you. I save seeds so there are plenty to scatter. I learned a rule of thumb from William Hunt, who gardened in NC, about when to plant. Either scatter seeds in September, or wait until November. His rationale is that the early seeds get started and are hardier. The late planted seeds will wait until the first warm days to germinate and grow off fast. Among the seeds he listed in his book were Chinese froget-me-nots, Anchusa italic, Shirley poppies, larkspur, California poppies, Viola tricolor, Baby-Blue-Eyes and Iceland poppies. He recommended waiting until November to plant sweet peas. I break my own rules, planting where there's a space, when I have seeds and time. I usually wait until after a rain, but my soil is sandy. Last year I had success with planting mid-winter some poppies and silene and things after the barn was gone and the spot leveled. The best advice I can give is to plant only half your seeds at a given time. Sow in loose soil, then firm the ground, cover great big seeds. Experiment, keep notes; do what works. Nell

We did a large addition in 2008 (added about 1050 sq feet, gutted the kitchen and 3 bathrooms, added a new FR, mudroom/laundry, and master bedroom and bath, refinished floors, etc.) FWIW, here's the thought process we did when we started: If our house is worth approximately X and an addition costs about Y, then let's look at homes for sale in our neighborhood in the X+Y price range. Well, there weren't any (we love our neighborhood and didn't want to go more than a few blocks away.) We also knew our house would need some updating if we were to put it on the market. So we moved forward with our addition, which was pretty costly, at least for us (well over $200/sq ft which I think is normal for this area, at least in '08.) For us it has been very worth it because our house suits us so much better now and we are here for the long term. We worked with our local bank on the loan. There were 2 options we considered: one was a lower rate, but we would have been responsible for doing all the payments to the builders. The second was a slightly higher rate (or fee or something), but the bank did the payouts to the builder, and made the builder hit certain milestones and provide some information (like receipts and proof of paying subs) before getting payments. For us, this was worth it - kind of a safety net. So, I'd recommend setting up a meeting with your banker to talk through different options and expectations with them. That might help you set a ballpark budget, too, and give you a reality check on what they're willing to loan. You may know this already, but for me it was part of the learning process: We had a plan drawn up by an architect and submitted it for bid to a few places that we had interviewed multiple times and really liked (all had local references that we checked.) Well, 2 of the builders are design/build firms and won't bid on plans other than their own. This made it very hard to compare apples to apples, and it put one of our top 2 choices out of the running. (They do beautiful work but are on the pricey side, which is why we wanted to do a comparable bid.) So anyway, if you're interviewing builders that's something to keep in mind.

i have had to really control myself when discussing issues with the builder because I know it can backfire. learned that from reading many posts on GW. the way i have approached it is that i bin things into 3 buckets a) gotta be addressed right now, b) needs to be addressed - but wait for the right time , and c) address at the end - cosmetic issue. Very few things make it into the A bucket. And when an items does pop up, I am very careful about how I approach the builder. I am always pleasant - even when I am fuming mad. I try to figure a way to let the builder save face "oh, the electricians kinda let us down here" even if I knew it was his direction that caused the issue. If I am steaming, i wait until I cool off before I call the builder. This is very hard for me - I got 1/2 italian and 1/2 german oil in me. Had to do the same with DW - when she get's frustrated about the house progress. So far - it has worked very well. I have only had to pull on the handle twice. The first time was at the beginiing - after a 4 week delay in the foundation being dug. I had to wait until there was no reason for excuse (we had all the permits, we had good weather, we had all the plans - everything was in place). I waited long enough - then I called. I explained to the builder that we were concerned that something was wrong. Was there anything we needed to do to help? Within 3 days after that call - digging started. The second time I pulled on the handle was when the siding started - then the guys disappeared for a week (my limit). This was after the electricians had been pulled away for 2 weeks - back again for 1.5 days - then off again - then back on again (drove me nuts!) and we were a month behind schedule for drywall. Again - I waited until there was no room for excuse. All of my work was done (I did some wiring), the electricians were done, we had all the inspections. Called to ask the builder if he knew that his subs were not on the job for a wekk (like he would not know why) and was he ware of that. "I love the work they are doing - great job - but the Tyvec is starting to rip away from the wall" Day later - siders were back on the job. I think timing for raising issues and the approach to interacting with the builder is key. If you pull on the handle to often, or yell and scream - you will go further down on the priority list. My builder always answers my calls or emails - because I never yell or scream at him. I am always very calm about working through issues. It's a very professional working relationship. But I have had to work very hard at it too. I have learned, and finally accepted the fact, that we are not the only project the builder has (even though we think ours is the most important of course) and that stuff happens. There are a lot of dependencies in the many tasks required to build a house - and if one thing slips on any job - it can have a big ripple affect on everyone. Builders like to use the same subs they have counted on for years - these subs have schedules to. There are life issues (builders mom passed away), weather issues, car accidents - crap happens. This has been very mentally and phyically draining. Learned a lot about diplomacy - which is not my strength. I know it will get done in time.