I suggest that this suggestions forum have a conspicuous link http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/. And at http://www.ivillage.com/. This post was edited by albert_135 on Sat, May 17, 14 at 15:52

I planted a Dave Wilson 4 in 1 pluot tree at my parents house this spring(late March). They live 15 mins from me. And although there was no fruit this year( I picked off all the flowers this first year) all four grafts have grown at least 4 foot in length with multiple shoots. And once I pruned it in the middle of June multiple side shoots have shot out. So I'm very enthusiastic about them thriving here. I received them in December and kept them in the shed so they felt the cold here. The only problem I've had here and at my parents house is Japanese beetles but since there was no fruit a sprayed them with Sevin and they haven't return. I'm in Missouri not Minnesota. But still we've had a very unusual wet and very humid start to our summer here.

I suggest Comtesse Emmeline de Guigne: I saw it growing at Morcom Park in Oakland, California and it was a gorgeous pink Tea with starry blossoms with a satiny sheen. Sometimes it shows salmon in the inner petals along with the pink. I admired it everytime I went there that summer. The next spring I was surprised to see it had been moved, although its replacement was a very pretty pure peach colored Tea rose, I should have looked closer at the foliage et cet. I read Gregs description of Comtesse Emmemline de Guigne in the Vintage Gardens Book of Roses and he described how it changes from pink to peach depending on conditions, so it had been there all the time masquerading under a different color. At Morcom Parks Amphitheatre of Roses they keep it at c. 4 feet tall by slightly wider, and it seems perfectly happy. Rogue Valley sells it. For years I was underwhelmed by my Duchess de Brabant, I thought it was a bit plain, until my neighbor said look how many roses there are on that plant! It gave me a new appreciation for it. . Mrs. Dudley Cross is sublime, and those smooth stems are a relief to me as I walk down my sidewalk as I tend to get caught on nearly every rosebush I pass by. By the way Souvenir de la Malmaison is fully half a Tea rose by parentage, which is why it re-blooms so rapidly and is florifeorus. Mlle. Cecille Brunner is classed as a Polyantha, yet is fully half a Tea by breeding. Her flowers are pink, petite and perfectly Tea shaped, and the scent is divine. Pretty foliage too. Mine has stayed at c. 4 feet tall for years. Good luck, let us know what you choose. Lux.

I, like you, currently like the look of grey cabinets but like white as well and I think that long-term I'll be glad that I chose white since grey will probably go out of style (or apparently from what I've learned reading this thread it already has). On the other hand, since you're using IKEA cabinets you could just change the doors out in 5 or 10 years if you get the gray & get tired of it. The floors on the other hand are a lot more work to change. I love the color that you picked but with a large family you will probably have a lot of dirt & a dark floor will show it all. In my last house we refinished the hardwood floors and used a beautiful dark stain. With 4 kids & a dog I regretted that dark stain within a few weeks. The natural oak never showed dirt like the dark stain did.