want: rhus typhina 'laciniata' and/or butterfly bush 'miss molly'. have: joe-pye weed gateway (volunteer) monarda 'petite delight' white garden phlox purple moor grass (small from division) tall deep purple bearded iris, old fashioned golden-yellow w/reddish purple bearded iris dragon's blood sedum bluish-purple sedum 'nana', i believe sedum 'angelina'

The way I tell the difference is bumble = hairy butt and carpenter = smooth/shiny butt (technically called "hairless"). I had always thought it was "butt" & not "abdomen", but thanks to Google, I found how wrong I was terminology wise, LOL. I always thought the abdomen was the center of the bee, not the bottom part. From the attached link: General Bumble Bee Information The "Bumble Bee" is a big, hairy, black and yellow bee whose size can range from 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inch. This insect is often mistaken for a carpenter bee, which closely resembles the bumble bee in appearance. Carpenter bees have a shiny and smooth abdomen as opposed to the fuzzy abdomen seen on a bumble bee. The pic posted by terrene is a carpenter bee. Here is a link that might be useful: Bumble Bee Biology

Silvia - thanks, I'll post pictures as things develop. Are those the same Mexican Sunflower seeds you sent me? Michael - oh boy, now I have to Google/Wiki chaya and learn everything I can about it...you know I'll have to have some :-) Julie - I'm working at least half-days that weekend but I think I'll make the trip Saturday afternoon. I've always wanted to check them out since everyone gives them such high praise...thanks for the info. John - I agree. Cathy will be 2-3 years behind me before she retires so it also looks like I'll be doing the laundry and cooking, but the weekly house-cleaning service is NEVER going away :-) I received your seeds yesterday, thanks! Tom

Hi Marie, yes, Neem Oil is a dormant oil spray but used in diluted formulations it is excellent for managing some softer-bodied insects (aphids, mealybugs particularly are recurring problems) and some diseases. No, it has no nutritional qualities. :) The lower leaves on my tomatoes always used to get spotty and yellow due to a couple of different (common) diseases, but the Neem oil keeps them looking good all season long. Same with garden phlox, roses, and echinacea to name a few. Less spotty plants, less disease to spread. It's very environmentally friendly, and cheap, so I just spray everything (except certain flowers as the label instructs). I did look at the soil when I dug up the buddelia yesterday. It was a tad moist and crumbly, and you could see traces of the compost that I had used when planting these last fall, and some of the alfalfa pellets that I used to fertilize a couple of months ago. We have horrible soil, so my husband and I killed our backs removing some of the yucky stuff, then mixing what was remaining with compost and bagged topsoil. It's just weird that the same bush 3' away is doing just fine, as are a half-dozen other types of shrubs planted in the same bed. I'll have another batch of compost ready in a few weeks, and will dig that into the beds to prep everything for winter. Compost tea may be another idea for startup next spring, I'll have to look into it. Thanks for the idea.