I do mine in the kitchen, too. Bag of soil in the sink, containers on the counter, my seed box and seed list on the counter behind me, sown containers on the floor, a big mug of tea across the room (sugar only, please, no soil!). I take over the room! I listen to CD's while I sow. We're planning a Spring Dance and we have to put together the play-list. So I listen to a snippet of a song while I'm filling a jug, skip to the next track, throw a few seeds in, write down the track number of the good dance-songs, skip to the next track, tape and label the jug, skip to the next song, take a sip of tea, etc. It's very nice. Only me, my cat, seeds, and music in the house. Really, really nice. Yes, I'm excited for spring to get here, but I'll miss these lovely quiet mornings with the sun coming through the windows and my sowing stuff all over the kitchen. Diana Lynn

Hi Susan! I absolutely agree with your approach! Too often you will see many people panic and run for the pesticide/insecticide/miticide or insecticidal soap/neem/etc. with little thought for the overall consequence of their actions. I know that God created every single creature for a reason, and this is true in the garden just as it is in the rest of the world. When a gardener tries to wipe out any given pest, they disrupt the food chain and throw everything off balance. Once your bug populations are out of balance, it is very easy for any given pest to overpopulate and become an actual problem (instead of being perceived as a problem just by their presence in the garden). Your example of the milkweeds, aphids and green lacewings is an excellent example. Suppose a butterfly lover were able to wipe out ALL the aphids. With no food to support their population, the green lacewings will either move on to an area with a good supply of food, or they will die. That butterfly gardener's entire garden is then more vulnerable to any bug infestation because the lacewings aren't around any more to keep other bug populations in check. So, obviously you have done the correct thing by letting the natural system work in your landscape. If I have learned anything at all from a lifetime of gardening, it is that the various insects will pretty much take care of each other. That's one reason I prefer to release beneficial insects...it is working within the natural system instead of outside of it. Could you and I ever convince some of those butterfly gardeners to let the aphids stay on the milkweed and then let the green lacewings take care of the aphids themselves?I doubt it. I think the whole 'working within the realm of nature and its cycles' thing is a unique wisdom a gardener acquires over time. Some people catch on to it sooner, some later, and some never. Does this mean that I don't panic when a specific bug population appears to be out of control? No. Of course I still get concerned. But I try to figure out first if there is an actual problem. I try to wait it out and see if nature will correct the situation (it usually does). I try to determine if the damage...like holes in leaves, for example,...is just something that is "visually unpleasant" or is actually damaging to the plant. And I have learned, through the years, that often the best action to take is "no action". So, I guess our approach is best thought of as working with nature, instead of against it, and how can that be wrong? Dawn (who is tired and will now climb down off her soapbox and stop ranting)

I think the trailing plants in the two pictures are not the same. I think the first is Lysimachia nummularia. The second, especially since it is intermingled with an orthodox coloured Bougainvillea could be a yellow/orange flowered Bouganvillea.

Well, I like the variety but some could correctly point out I'm adding plants that may compete with my tangerine tree for space and nutrients. I think you have to consider what space your citrus needs and how much you may disturb its roots harvesting something else you may plant there. Ginger probably isn't a great choice since I will ultimately dig or pull up the ginger roots. I plant it on the north side of the tangerine so the ginger has plenty of shade....but it is very close to the tangerine's drip line. It's another very fun crop though so I think it's worth missing out on a few tangerines for the added ginger crop. The peppermint actually helps keep other weeds from germinating and growing in the planter...just by shading them out. It competes for nutrients too but I also love peppermint so no harm done!