Roses I would grow are, mistakes or not, Mme. Plantier, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Quietness, Sombreuil, Blanc Double de Coubert, Clotilde Soupert and Pope John Paul II. I have been amazed at the number of blooms it has produced in this its first year. Plants usually take a very long time to establish here. Other plants that I must have include; Anemone japonica 'Honrine Jobert' and 'Whirlwind' (whites), 'Prinz Heinrich' (rose) as well a few pinks, Brunnera 'Jack Frost' (the jury is still out for 'Looking Glass' although I can already tell that it is not as strong a grower), box, yew, holly, Vinca minor, Daphne odora marginata, Nandina domestica 'Ivory Queen' (pale yellow berries), Narcissus in quantity (it is one of those things one can never have too much of), Lycoris squamigera, Scilla siberica (love that cobalt blue), Eranthis hiemalis, Crocus (both Fall and Spring blooming), Cyclamen, Colchicum, Lilium, Paeonia, Helleborus niger and its hybrids. I am sure that I have forgotten something but this is a good starter list. I have done fairly well with hedges and trees for structure but I would focus more on shrub compositions, especially evergreens, both broadleaved and needled, although those compositions must include deciduous plants or the effect becomes too ponderous. A lot is written about plant composition but it is usually directed at the relationship of perennials with each other. More emphasis should be placed on shrubs. They form a satisfying year round structure for the garden. Perennials are the bling. Shrubs can be interesting with flowers and berries as well as foliage and are definitely less labor intensive. Cath

At the moment my leaves have been mulched by the lawn mower and are in bags on my patio waiting for the ground to be frozen before I spread them. I wait for the ground to freeze because that is what the experts say and it seems to work better. That I learned from experience. I have the most luck keeping the leaves in place in the areas that I have left tall stalks and stems. I don't clean my garden until spring so that the leaves will stay in place. I also like to see the stalks and stems above the snow. The one spot I always have problems is also the spot that I get a lot of winter dammage. A hill that gets enough wind that both snow and mulch blow away so the ground is typically bare. I can't put bags of leaves down because they roll down. After 6 years of trying various plants I have settled on sedums they hold on by themselves.

scoopc I have planted before Memorial Day, "tempting fate," just because I couldn't wait any longer! I always watched the weather and would bring in plants that were in portable containers, and throw pots and sheets over ones that weren't portable, if cold temps re-appeared. I agree with chelone, though, they do tend to be in "suspended animation" during that time. I usually put something out on Mother's Day, in honor of my mom, who was my gardening buddy! That's the earliest I'll plant out. Then, I keep my fingers crossed...and continue to "plant out" for the rest of the summer! Enjoy yourself! Emily

Hello All, I am currently in menopause stage. I have all the symptoms listed, I had suffer over 3 years now. Recently I feel better by using DIM for stabilized my hormone naturally and using supreme royal jelly to help my sleep. (this will knock you out within 1 hr, this is all natural and have a lot of protein but it quite expensive) along with this you have to use stress relieve supplement to help your adrenal. I have no problem with the dryness. My skin still glowing ,everyone thought I am in 40 but I am in mid 50. I only have mild hot flash sometimes if I forget to take DIM. Also keep up with vitamin supplements daily. It is hard to digest all of these supplements but it will help. i hope this will be informative for everybody that have to suffer. I