The subject this week is 'Grands.' Grand-kids. Grand-pets. Grand-neighbors. Use your imagination... Surprise us!!

Jerry Morris pines Pinus ponderosa King Cone La Boca Lil Toe Marcia Margarette Marguerite 2003 Jerry Morris USA 2003 Denver Botanic Gardens CO USA Morris WB Penny Pondy S. Find 2004 Jerry Morris USA 2004 Denver Botanic Gardens CO USA Sld. W.B. Nr 2 Stan Broom #1 Strybing Nana Sugar Creek Tasha 2003 Jerry Morris USA 2003 Denver Botanic Gardens CO USA The Sphinx Trumbell Unnamed Cultivar 2003 Jerry Morris USA wild found 2003 Denver Botanic Gardens CO USA Van Bibber 1993 Jerry Morris USA wild collected 1993 Denver Botanic Gardens CO USA Vernon Larry Stanley in ACS Bulletin WB Mosier Loop Wrap Around Yedauwoo Pinus strobiformis Engelm. 1848 Coronado 2001 Chub Harper in ACS database 2004 Jerry Morris USA 2004 Denver Botanic Gardens USA Densata 2001 Chub Harper in ACS database Loma Linda 1999 Jerry Morris USA 1999 Denver Botanic Gardens USA Mary Sweeny Strobi 2005 Jerry Morris USA 2005 Denver Botanic Gardens USA Pinus sylvestris Linnaeus 1753 - Scotch pine Los Verdes 2004 Jerry Morris USA 2004 Denver Botanic Gardens USA Zsolt

Savona, welcome back, hope you had a great vacation! Your Wave baskets are spectacular and love the trellis they are hanging on! I got the hint Marcia LOL ;) This is the first year with Corydalis sempervirens, they were WSÂd this year so IÂm hoping the will self seed all over the place too, the photo doesnÂt do this plant any justice, they sure are a real pretty graceful plant when you see it in person. I realize that Rock Soapwort blooms in the spring but these were WSÂd in April and they are just now putting on their show. Oh good to hear Susan, another cold zone gardener who can overwinter Gloriosa Daisies, gives me hope for next year, Kat3 says they are a perennial for her too. Thanks so much for the nice compliment; if I can catch the seed from the S. obtusa, I will save you some, you might also want to try Sanguisorba menziesii too, has nice dark maroon blooms, blooms forever and very easy to WS. CrazyDaisy, I too love your Moonshadow Sunflower and your unknown pretty flowers has me stumped, have no idea what it is. Laurie, still waiting for my 'Boogie Woogie' to happen. LOL For sure IÂm going to order more Orientpets, but IÂm going hold off and order next spring, IÂve read that they have a better chance of survival if you plant them in the spring in our zone. Al, is that Plectranthus argentus growing at the base of you Canna, very pretty! I tried growing some from seed, but they rotted, IÂll try again next year. Martha, I really like your Amaranthus, especially that second one. LOL. I see you mulch with straw too ;) Colleen, stunning close ups!!!! Sierra, very nice....my 'Crete' Lily doesnÂt look nothing like yours, so I looked it up at the Lily Nook and yours looks like the real McCoy. http://www.lilynook.mb.ca/images/Asiatics/Crete.jpg HereÂs my Crete, NOT! NS, do you mean Roger the Shrubber who specializes in shrubs and where the 3 Knights say "Neeee", I remember that now. LOL Shauna, yes weÂre d---- good! Sharon

We solved the problem by hiring piano movers to take the baby grand piano apart and stash it in the kitchen (on its side), well covered with a plastic tarp to protect against all the dust. Other movers moved all the furniture out of the living room and dining room into the garage. The contractor we hired removed the carpet everywhere from the ground floor and the stairs to the basement. Since we discovered hardwood parquetry underneath, we opted to have it refinished (sanded, stained and varnished). After the cleanup, the piano movers came back and moved and reassembled the piano in the living room while the other movers moved all he furniture back upstairs from the garage. This first phase lasted about a week and we had to move out of the house for that duration, including the 2 cats. Then the basement carpet was removed and new engineered wood floors were installed there, along with other renovations to remove ugly (fake) wood paneling from the walls and replacing fluorescent lighting with some pot lights, a couple of weeks later. This second phase took about 2 weeks including painting of basement and stairway walls and cleanup. All this time we kept the piano covered in a plastic tarp and had a plastic tarp hung over the access to the basement to prevent the dust from spreading to the upstairs and the cats from getting in there. 5 weeks of disruption altogether, but with very nice results in the end. The next phase will involve removing/replacing the moldings and all the ceiling light fixtures (getting rid of the blasted ceiling fans everywhere LOL) and then painting all the upstairs walls and ceilings. Maybe in the spring when we can keep windows open. We are kind of fed up with all the disruption plus we need to find just the right light fixtures.