Olga, I'm just going to sit down before I faint. What a beauty you're growing! It's great to see Alchymist when it's been sprayed. I don't spray and the blackspot isn't really terrible here in Washington, but oh, what a pretty sight to see the perfect leaves. Your blooms are so soft and the colors simply stunning! Ours is loaded with buds once more, very tightly packed, but no color showing yet. I'll post pictures when it blooms. Meantime, I think I'll borrow one of your pics for my desktop background if you'll say it's okay. By the way, I saw Karen and Jeff yesterday at the Heritage Roses Northwest meeting and they were so pleased to have been able to see your garden last fall. I think they're heading in your direction again soon, probably hoping to catch your spring flush. I wish I could take a walk through your garden but for now will be happy with a vicarious visit. Thank you again for being so gracious! Sue

I move plants all the time. I'm almost always wanting to change the site of one plant and so I would move them many times over. With the hostas - it's probably going to be a good time to make divisions as well as transplanting. Water them well before digging them out of the garden. use a shovel and dig them out completely. Take a serated knife and start dividing the plants into smaller plants. Replant and water well. no fertilizing. With regards to the rose of sharon, it all depends on how long the shrubs were in the ground. The longer and larger the shrub is, the harder to transplant them without damage. Water well and dig a large root ball. Make sure you have dug up the new hole before you even dig out the shrub. You want to dig out the shrub and immediately tranplant it. However, as I said, the risk is higher when the plant has been in the ground longer. (like many years). So my advise is to wait till fall when the plant goes dormant before digging it out of the hole and transplant right away.

In general, I have a problem with stores that offer to price match. We priced windows at Home Depot and told the salesperson we were going to continue to shop around. He said if we got a better price on the same windows to come back and he would match it. I told him that no, if someone quoted us a better price - they will get our business. You only get one shot. My thinking is that if Home Depot could give us a better price, why didn't they do it in the first place?? Don't waste my time, and offer to undercut a competator who seems to be at least trying to price things more fairly. Furniture I might think differently about, if there was warranty to consider, etc. In our case the windows were the exact same manufacturer.

I suspect very few of us knew our styles when we first got married, and many of us keep fine-honing it all our lives, so you're in excellent company. I love all the great ideas and pictures posted here. I think you'll find some fun inspiration in your local library in magazines and books, and by googling key words and clicking on "images." You can save your favorite pictures to folders on your computer marked "living room," "bedroom," "curtains," etc. Paint is always a cheap way to dramatically change the look and feel of a room. You might even ask the guys at the paint store if you can look at their pile of paints people rejected -- they sell those very cheap, like about $3/gallon, and you may find just the color you want. It's worth a shot. Check out your local Craigslist. You'll find everything under the sun on it and lots of bargains if you're willing to wade through some junk that makes you laugh. You can go see things before you buy, you save lotsa dough, you meet folks and make them happy, and your $ doesn't go to some big box store. Plus, you can sell things you have you don't love and buy things you like better. It's free to advertise there. If you're looking for something specific, check it every day because the biggest bargains get sold fastest. Take pictures of your rooms. You'd be amazed what you see in pictures that you didn't see in person, like a picture hung crooked or too high, or an imbalance in your accessories, or dust bunnies, or whatever... but things will jump out at you. Some things are very easy to do yourself to save lots of money, like re-covering dining chairs, refinishing table tops, stripping old furniture and sewing curtains. You'll learn what you love or hate doing by jumping in and trying. There are tons of instructions for all sorts of projects on the web, and plenty of helpful folks all over the Garden Forum. We're on your side, eager to see your before and after pictures, and happy to help any way we can. Post pics and ask your questions. So yes, you CAN change your home's look and add loads of charm on a very tight budget -- many of us here do that -- and there are many charming cottage designs that say "come on in and make yourself at home!"