Nicole, don't know why I didn't notice your comment originally, sorry. Thanks so much for adding that info! The box of cheap 'rubber gloves' I have doesn't say 'latex free' on the label but they don't seem to bother me, strange. But I mention this because susceptibility of reaction to latex rubber and to latex sap don't seem to be interchangeable. Being able to wear a glove or prophylactic with latex isn't an indication of whether a plant with latex sap will give you a rash. The rash from heart-leaf Philodendron vine is just as bad, but easy to avoid now that I know, just don't touch the sap when taking cuttings. Guttation moisture doesn't seem to cause me a rash, just the sap. I KNOW I was not allergic to this before, I've taken cuttings many times over the many years I've had it around. Excellent point about those foods, thanks! Hementia, thanks! Carol, you never know when the Lantana might 'attack' you more severely! Good plan! DH finagled an outdoor sink for me, from a cracked bathroom sink we found on the curb. It's not pretty, but I can wash hands w/o tromping inside constantly. This bears repeating in italics: "You can develop an allergy overnight to something that has never bothered you before. So strange how that happens." Man, you ain't kiddin'! The only thing worse is not being able to figure out what's going on. Soooo glad I did (at least for now, and possibly partially. I suspect a lot of my 'house plants' have unfriendly sap - to my skin.)

I would like to know what this plant is named and more about it. It is growing in a shallow ditch alongside the county road. I have lived here for 64 years and have never noticed this plant before. My brother is not familiar with it either. The ditch is well drained with grass and other weeds growing. It has a tiny flower on a short stalk. The leaves are purplish-red and covered with short hairs. There is no noticeable odor to the plants.

All right, Rita. I knew you had done your work last fall, but I not only didn't do it in the fall, I did little in the summer. Everything was a total mess, but it is pretty well in order except for a lot of mulching yet. Jean, I am about to have a bevy of iris and the very beginning of daylily blooms. Look again, Jean. That first picture, the bed on the left is covered with weeds AGAIN! Nancy, you are right, I have a lot of iris spikes. A couple are trying to bloom in the foliage. Not good. This is normal for me to start having blooms in the middle part of April. The foxgloves are plants, although I have some seedlings in the greenhouse. I bought some pink ones from Garden crossings two years ago, and they haven't died back either winter. Still look ready to bloom. I do love the look of foxgloves. I hope these will do well. You should move some of the babies where you want them to grow. Linda, I had to work since I had let it get so far behind. The cat in the picture is not mine, but he has adopted my yard...and my roof of all things! He climbs up on the roof and jumps down onto the air conditioner (huge noise every time). He skulks around the yard, but won't let you get near him. My yard is popular with a lot of cats in the neighborhood, I really don't know why exactly. We have three cats of our own inside, two outside and one who lives outside but sleeps in the house. kay

Why is there such a hatred for bindweed? This plant is a good friend of mine. Once I tried to poison it and it came right back up. I am so ashamed that I did that. Don't you all realize that this "weed" is a fertilizer? Yes, the roots go down deep, so deep and they bring up all the nutrients that rain and water take down. What I do is turn it under every time it comes up. Yes I have to pull it away from the plants. But eventually when the plants mature it weakens from lack of sunlight. In some cases it can shade the tomato plants from the sunlight which causes sun scald on the maturing tomatoes. Like I said I love Bindweed. He is my garden friend and he visits quite often and we chat and then I turn him away. But I know he'll come back, he always does. Sometimes I let him stay. It all depends...