And I missed this somehow in my dash to the finish line for Christmastime. How could I, and should I have missed this beautiful celebration, the birthday of our Luanne, definitely queen for the day of our own rose ball. May everyday be a rose ball and may everyday your own day to be queen. Great chef, great herself, a great rosarian and prosarian, and may our Luanne have the best life has to offer for now and the next 100 birthday years.

Thanks to all for the Birhday Wishes :0) I have been off of work for the last 2 days and have been really busy with the family.On my birthday we went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and yes DW knew I was doing it for our 4 yr old son and not for me, but still had a really fun time and played lots of video games with him.Today we went and had lunch at Zekes, this is here in FTW and has really good fried fish baskets along with fries and fried mushrooms, oh yea and really cold drinks to go along with the good food.Well for the Bday gifts the family gave me this really cool black Seiko watch and a Afflection shirt that I have been wanting for some time.But the really big FEISTA kicks off tomorrow where all the family will be coming over where mom,sister and DW will be making chicken enchiladas, beans along with some really hot salsa and there will be other side dishes too and don't forget the CORONAS :0) Happy Birthday to tropicgirl hope all your wishes come true! Rigo

Merci, Pug, Mike thanks so much. You all made me smile today. Merci, I've been doing quite a bit of praying lately, I'll add one more prayer and hopefully HE will hear. BTW, Belated Happy Birthday. When was the special day? It was very nice of your mom giving you such a beautiful plant. It's healthy, lush, and very green. Does your mom enjoy plants too? You mentioned a problem adding vinager? What happened? It's too bad you can't summer your new Gardenia outside. Those nasty mites are terrors. I thank God my plants have been bug free, well, all except one. A succulent called Tiger's Jaw. I spotted white gook a couple months back, cleaned w/rubbing alcohol, but those little sh*t's won..Mealy are the worse. Mersi, what have you used to rid mites? Do you use chemicals? My plants are showered, but never left in tub/sink filled with water for days..I do soak African Violets and a few other tropicals like Anthuriums, but after the top of soil is wet, plants are then air dried then placed in their spot. I've also learned, the hard way, soaking shouldn't be done at night, especially if chilly/cold. My new Gardenias, for the most part, died. I'm not saying I'm not to blame, (in part it's my fault) but when they arrived, after thorough inspection, leaves weren't in the best of health. Most had light brown, soft spots. Is anyone familiar with these spots? Could it be a fungus? If anyone here grows roses, and have dwelt with, think it's called brown or black spot, the gardenia leaves looked simiar to rose spots. Merci, I looked at the photo of your new gardenia, and she/he? looks very very healthy. You are so funny though..Don't fear your plant..I honestly think, like pets, plants sense our feelings. Did you ever hear stories about dogs who smell fear in someone, and even though the dog is gentle, will actually harass that person? This happened to my little sister at a picnic one time. Or ever see the Andy Griffith episode where Aunt Bea takes care of a baby. Everytime she lifts the child, the little girl screams. At the end, Opie fed the baby blueberry pie. Aunt Bea comes home and thinks the baby's face turned blue, isn't breathing. She swoops the child in her arms, calling for Andy to notify the town doctor. But this time, the baby doesn;t cry. The reason was because she sensed Aunt Bea was no longer afraid of her but for her. End of story. I'm sure everyone reading this is happy hearing about Aunt Bea. lol. But I really believe plants sense our moods. We show them who's boss, they'll respond with a 'beauty pageant.' Flowers and healthy leaves. As for sun, my tree gardenia lives out front facing mostly west, some south and north. It gets a lot of afternoon sun, 'when we have sun, surely not this year.' I set it out some time in April. Some nights were in the 30's, and a few 80F days. Thank the stars it's doing fine..no flowers, but I think the reason is, too much rain, no time to dry out, no fertilizer or Superthrive, but the foliage is find. It gave me a big scare when still inside. That's the reason it went outside. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTDAY.. Pug, I hope you're well too..and the pups. With spring, I bet your plants are beautiful. lots of flowers? How are your fruit trees doing? And Coffee tree. Citrus. etc, etc. Mike, it's always great hearing from you. How are your plants doing? Any new additions? If so, please post. And how are you coming along? I hope everyone is well, it's great talking to you guys again. I missed you all. But things happen, life isn't always a bowl of cherries, unfortunately. My husband had surgery last week, the same time I came down with stomach flu, not to mention my puter kicked the bucket. All in one week! Oh Butterfly, before I forget, how in the world did your plant fly out of a car window, on the highway????? That's so sad. And dangerous, too. Thankfully, no one was hurt, other than your plant..Wow! Take care everyone..hugs, luv ya all..Toni...Amen

Hi everyone Ive been enjoying reading the threads and am thrilled at the opportunity for a plant swap! Charlene and Skybird, thanks for including me. I was hoping to attend and, due to some ongoing health challenges with high variation in energy levels (and a recent big dip), wont know if I can make it until the last minute. In the meantime, if I am able to pot / dig things up and make it down there, I look forward to bringing these offerings. Ive also listed some things I am fantasizing about :-). Hoping to bring: - bearded iris lavender (does anyone want any?) - sweet woodruff / candy tuft - brunnera (Nancy Ill have some for you) - Zauchneria (it is probably garrettii Orange Carpet approx 8-12 inches high, spreading habit Skybird, Ill put your name on some) - rudbekia triloba (Bonnie these or the coreopsis might fit what you want?) - coreopsis lanceolata (double sunburst 36" x 24") - knautia macedonica (color: burgundy wine) - California poppy seedlings - Geranium indoor plant, red: cuttings I'll also bring - A dogwood tree, rootbound, seeking a home; white-flowering Looking for: - Anemone sylvestris (spring blooming, wide-petaled; Skybird, thanks for putting my name on soooo many!!) - hymenoxys (thrifty leaf perky sue) - penstemons (rocky mountain) - Snow-in summer - Hostas - Dwarf iris deep purples or other dark colors - Veronicas, thymes and other ground covers for flagstone; - Aubrieta / rock cress (dark purples and fuscia) - evening primrose speciosa (the happily spreading pink kind - Skybird, how do you get images in your postings? mine don't seem to paste in)