Your site by the retaining wall and among the groundcover sounds pretty ideal for daffodils and arum. Daffodils like full sun while they are above ground (your tree will be bare of leaves then). They don't mind the shade during the summer, because they are dormant under the ground. You need to know that Arum Italicum Pictum is grown primarily for its beautiful, white veined foliage in the winter. The flowers are brief and not especially showy. It goes dormant, completely disappearing, shortly after blooming in the spring. A seed stalk appears in late summer to early fall that has bright red berries, followed by the big leaves that last all winter. I love it. I am NOT certain it would be winter hardy for you. I'm also not certain the leaves would be tall enough to show through your ground cover. The bulbs are not cheap, so be sure you know before you order them. You will have no problem finding white and orange daffodils. I cannot recommend varieties for you since you are so much farther north than I am, but this information shouldn't be hard to find. A free source would be your local Cooperative Extension Agent, or the website of an agriculture university in your state. When you choose the right kinds of daffodils, they will "naturalize", which means not only do they return faithfully year after year, but they multiply, so you have more and more of them with each passing year. You can let them clump up, or, you can dig them up every so often, break the bulbs apart and replant them. When you are just starting out, try to plant at least fifty. More is better. Don't plant them in straight rows, and don't spread them out too far. Plant them in groups of at least 5 to 7 bulbs, about six inches apart. After they bloom, LEAVE THE FOLIAGE ALONE. It needs to grow for a couple more months or three, so that the leaves can feed the bulbs underground and form the baby blooms for the next year. This is why the groundcover idea is so good. The dying foliage will be much less noticeable. There are many reputable bulb dealers. I use Brent and Beckys alot, plus McClure and Zimmerman. Old House Gardens has varieties that can be extremely difficult to find. They are also extremely expensive. Always see if you can find what they have somewhere else before you ante up. (You can find at least some of what they carry other places. And for MUCH less $.) You can also buy bulbs very inexpensively at Wal-Mart and their kin in the fall. As long as you know what varieties are good in your area, there's no reason not to. You will save a good bit of money, although mail order bulbs are usually larger. REad up on when your best planting time is, and buy your bulbs as close to that time as possible. Early is always better than late. Your bulbs will be fresher. Watch this forum come fall. There is always alot of activity as people swap information and advice on good varieties and good companies. I expect that people in your zone start planting bulbs in September or October.

Hi outnproud, Welcome to Garden Web and The Seed Exchange! Do members typically trade store bought seeds or strictly home harvested? Seeds for trading are basically from 3 sources and all equally fine for trading. 1-Commercial seed-(store bought) 2-Saved/harvested seed 3-From other members, be it from a trade or a seeds for postage offer. If the source is not listed on the member's page, it is usually assumed that they are 'saved' seeds, or that is what I assume anyway. 25 seeds (or more) is the typical/normal amount of seeds in a trade unless one specifies a lesser amount. There are several exceptions to the seed count though. This thread Fewer than 25 seeds??? is a good discussion about it. Any amount one chooses to trade is fine, so long as the other member is aware of the seed count they will be getting. Are there any specific resources that you guys are familiar with that offer harvesting instruction? Yes, there is a Seed Saving Forum There are FAQ there (link at the top of the page) and some of the more common seeds are covered. You can also search the forum for the particular seed you are inquiring about to see if there are any past posts. Use the search box found just below the list of threads as that will bring up just the posts for that one forum as opposed to the entire site. The Seed Site (non GW site) is a great place too to view a wide variety of seeds and how to best start them. Sue knowseverythig. Don't ya Sue. Nope...maybe more than the average bear, since I am a veteran, and have a 'lot' of time on my hands...but I too am still learning. I see someone posted to your trade thread and they don't have an email link on their Member Page...sigh. I'm going to be a real busy body and go post the instruction link there so maybe they will see it and get their link set up. Have you been to or are you familiar with The Rate and review Forum? The forum was created to rate and review exchanges and trades with other GardenWeb members. Sue...resident busy body

Konrad- Yes it is in a sheetrock void in the first floor ceiling of a two story garage that will be restored eventually(old historic house). Tear out is no problem. I am most interested in supporting bees in the inner city, but these are very numerous and just cover the passionvines, good for fruiting- but have way too many and Africanized Honey Bees are just 50 miles away. Is it possible to have a small hive for them raised 10 feet off ground? Just to support the bees in this manicured area of Dallas. Thank you so much for your reply.....Sandy

What is meant by coping? In the broad psychological sense it is the way we respond to our environment and the people we live and work with. That is, coping is making the best of a situation; it is coming to terms with or successfully dealing with whatever comes our way. It is rolling with the punches and going with the flow. It is about handling or managing our life. Coping is about survival, about not being beaten into submission, and about not being pushed around by life. It is about rising to the occasion and taking charge of one's fate. Coping is more complex than it first appears. After all, when we do so, we have to cope on three levels, for we have to manage our environment, our feelings, and our body. Let's look at an example. Suppose a coworker that I'm obligated to work with always treats me rudely. Since I don't want that to continue, I have to handle my coworker (the environment), my feelings of frustration, disappointment, and anger, as well as my headaches, the knots in my stomach, and my tense muscles, all of which are symptoms of stress. Imagine a seed pushing through the soil, and after breaking free, stretching upward, twisting and turning to face the sun, while digging deeply for the sustenance of water. The lives of plants and animals are lives of coping. For life is, depending on how we look at it, an endless chain of difficulties, challenges, or opportunities. This being so, it is important to learn how to cope. Failure to do so will block further progress and stunt our growth. Coping does not mean abandoning one's responsibly by acquiescence. For example, if the lights go off during an electrical storm, you don't have to call a 'Coping with the Darkness' support group. Instead, do what you can: light candles or get a flashlight and check the fuses. Coping, then, is proactive, not passive. Take charge of life; don't let it just happen to you. There are many ways to cope, some are effective, others ineffective, and still others are harmful. Take Tony, for instance, he's a teen that turns to alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs to 'overcome' his shyness. Instead of gaining freedom, he's become enslaved. Even if he doesn't become addicted, he's become dependent on crutches to get by. Emotionally, he's become racked with guilt, regret, and feelings of worthlessness, all of which makes him even shyer. Add to this the anxiety and worry he will experience after learning about the damage he is doing to his body. This is an example of harmful coping. But harmful coping is actually non-coping. For coping is about resolving problems, not adding to them. if we are to successfully cope, we must stop before we act, go over our options, study their consequences, and choose wisely. Cigarettes or work-outs in the gym? Drugs or self-improvement? Alcohol or helping others? Progress, stagnation, or regression? Happiness or misery? We have inherited an incredible coping machine called the human brain, but it's not much help unless we choose to use it. Don't rely on crutches, rely on your brain. We can use rational thinking to handle our problems. Yet, we often abandon reason by giving in to fear, succumbing to anxiety, and by being swept away by stress. When it comes to effective living, if I were to choose one trait over any other, it would be courage. After all, it is a powerful tool for coping. When we face life, we also have to face death, so how can we live without courage? Much ineffective or harmful coping arises from fear. We try to 'solve' our problem by avoiding it, denying it, repressing it, or hiding it. However, the courageous face their problems squarely. They prefer planning for the future instead of worrying about it. They prefer learning from the past instead of feeling guilty about it. They prefer forgiving and accepting the weaknesses of others instead of harboring resentment and anger. They prefer to focus on the right thing to do instead of focusing on their fear. The good news is, if we're a little low on courage, it's very easy to boost our level. We need to get into the habit of deliberately choosing to do something we dislike and something we fear every day. By doing what we dislike, we develop discipline, and by doing what we fear we become courageous. And by acquiring discipline and courage we become successful at coping. Moreover, if we master the art of successfully coping, we become unstuck; we gain our freedom and can move from one 'problem' to the next. Most of all, we gain our happiness.The weather-cock on the church spire, though made of iron, would soon be broken by the storm-wind if it did not understand the noble art of turning to every wind. Someone once wrote, "It is a wise person that adapts themselves to all contingencies; it's the fool who always struggles like a swimmer against the current." Both sentiments reveal another characteristic of successful coping. We need to accept what cannot be changed. Why bang our head against the wall? Why be stubborn? Why be rigid when it's so easy to go with the flow? Would you stand up and fight for something of no value? Of course not. So, it should come as no surprise that those who consider themselves worthless, can't cope. Before they can, they need to learn to value themselves. They can begin doing so by reading and applying what they learn in some of the many books on self-esteem that are available in libraries and bookstores, as well as the resources on the Internet. Study the lives of successful people and you will discover they all had a positive attitude. They have a take-charge disposition. They may take some punches, stumble, or even get knocked down, but they refuse to stay down! They are survivors because of their inner strength or resilience, which comes about because of the discipline and courage I mentioned earlier. Where others see disasters and catastrophes, they see challenges and opportunities; where others trek on the road to despair, they pave a path of hope. It's all a choice they made, a choice we can make.... You say he tells you to leave and never come back?Sadly,That goes to show you what kind of a father he really is.I can tell you from experience-its better to be alone than in an emotional abusive relationship.Not only for you,but for your little girl.Believe me,those kind of scars(the invisable ones) take alot longer to heal.When i was struggling to get out of a really bad relationship,not knowing where to go with 2 kids and no job (i was totally dependent on him)i remmember my therapist asking me...what if he were to die tommorow?What would you do?To which i answered:"i'd have to find a way to survive" i realized at that moment that i could do it and i did.... Hope this helps- Dcubana