I would not consider the reputed root sprouting of the 'Frisia' to be a guaranteed thing :-) I am aware of a number of mature ones planted locally (including one in my old garden) that have never produced root shoots. They are pretty intense in color, but depending on placement and your personal aesthetic, that may be a bonus, not a distraction. I've also not encountered Parrotia to have many issues in this climate......certainly not one with hardiness nor summer dryness. The list of suggested 'trees' (several are just large shrubs) includes many that are seldom seen in this area and not often carried in local nurseries. If they come so highly regarded or recommended it seems odd that they are seldom seen or offered. The oaks in particular are worth further consideration however most are not what are commonly considered to be 'fast growing'. Aside from specific growing condition that must be addressed, selecting something as significant or as long-term a landscape feature as a tree should be something that is determined by personal choice, not by recommendations from a book or article or even by participants in a gardening forum. If you can, visit some local public gardens - perhaps the UBC garden - local parks and your favorite larger nurseries and see what's on offer and what you like. A large number of extremely attractive, mostly trouble-free and very ornamental trees grow well in our climate and once established, require minimal summer watering.

I used a combination of IPE clips (prior to the embedded stainless steel washers) & IPE plugs. I used plugs on the 2-row border & at the ends of each decking board. I used the IPE clips in between. I did that because I thought the IPE plugs would be quite visible when looking across the deck. However, I discovered the plugs blend in quite well after staining. The IPE clips were expensive & it took a a lot of labor time. However, I have been quite satified with them as there has been no movement after 2 years. Maybe it is because I got good IPE 5/4" X 6 decking but I don't know if that was the case. Regardless, if I do another deck I would countersink & plug everywhere. I can do that quicker than the labor required for the IPE clips, it is less expensive, it does have better holding power, & it does not look like you have dots all over the deck which is what I originally thought it would look like.

It's not really your responsibility to make sure the buyer's agent (your buyer's agent) gets the proper commission...they work it out in the contract according to local custom. I believe mine got 3.5% and the seller's agent then got 3.5%. I didn't feel it was necessary to "caution you" to it, and I didn't think what I said was offensive, but I didn't know if you had worked with a buyer's agent before - and it's a mistake some buyers, especially first time buyers, make. They certainly don't do it on purpose, it just happens. Any time I found a house on realtor.com I liked, or any time her automated suggestions came by in my email and I found one I liked, I had her set up a showing for the house, because after all, she was my agent. I never once had any direct contact with sellers or their agents. The real pudding in the mix though was during negotiations - I would have NEVER got through negotiations without her. You definitely want a buyer's realtor/broker to represent you throughout the process. Many realtors have "both hats" on - they list houses as a listing agent/sellers agent and also have clients that are looking for homes and they act as buyer's agents. There are some that specialize in each thing but many do both. For example, my buyer's agent had quite a few houses listed and acted as a seller's agent for them.

Annie, Since you want a bigger rose to knock a few years off of waiting until your ZD matures, may I recommend getting it either from Reagan Roses as an own root/bare root rose in spring of 2019. Or, get it bare root grafted on multiflora root stock from Palatine Roses (Canada), also next spring. Both sources should supply the largest size generally available commercially, of all bare root or pot grown sources I know of. Antique Rose Emporium sells 2 gallon size roses, but all own root, and truly IMHO, are not really much bigger or older than one gallon own root stock sold elsewhere. I think grafted on multiflora will be a good root stock for you in PA, and produce larger size at maturity over an own root, bare root ZD from Reagan Roses. However, being own root as Reagan provides, means no possibility of a root stock taking dominance over the scion, ZD, since it is growing on its own root. Check both nurseries for the size of the roses you will get, grade #1 is the largest size generally available. I do not know if the Reagan own root, bare root roses are equivalent in size to a grade #1. I think they are. Moses