I just have to say--most my life I've had to get a lot of my plants by mail-order--lived in rural areas, couldn't find much in local stores most places, wanted something different I couldn't find locally even when there were pretty good local sources. Even if you're not thinking about *buying*, going to nursery websites can be a great source of information. Many have good information about growing, and more have pictures. You can learn a lot about plants you may not even know about but are just what you have to have (boy, is that a description of me!) If you have a particular kind of plant family in mind, there are different sites that feature different kinds of plants. Violet Barn is excellent and has more different kinds of plants, and pictures, and good prices and service- Kartuz Nursery has lots of different kinds of plants, and pictures--I understand the service has improved considerably. So many more--you could go to the Garden Watchdog and get lots and lots of names, plus reviews by customers about prices, customer services, etc.

A couple of people asked about books on sedums. I would HIGHLY recommend "Sedum: Cultivated Stonecrops" by Ray Stephenson. It's available at Amazon for about $35. You can also get it from your local library -- they probably won't own it themselves, but they can easily get it for you through interlibrary loan. Here's the information you would need: Stephenson, Ray. Sedum : cultivated stonecrops. Portland, Or. : Timber Press, 1994. ISBN: 0881922382 LCCN: 93-683 It's really a great book for sedum enthusiasts and is a must-read when you're ordering plants because of its wonderfully detailed descriptions of sedum varieties. Ray

I like the fact that old threads drop off, although I'm not sure that one year or a maximum post count are the best ways to do it. Real old threads often contain dated material that no longer accurately reflects current conditions. And then there are the bozos that just have to reply to something posted years ago resurrecting yet another dead thread. This happens all to often on the other boards. I don't personally care for vBulletin bulletin boards. I much prefer phpbb. There are a couple of things I think really need attention in the GW board software. The search function plain sucks, and we should be able to edit and/or delete our posts for at least a few hours. By the way, this isn't a free service. It is advertiser supported. There is a big difference between that particular business model and free.

Our GE microwave transformer/magnatron caught fire and filled our home with thick black noxious smoke. It was only about 2 years old! It was scary, were were lucky the breaker turned it off because it wouldn't turn off!!! If this happened to you call Contact Consumer Product Safety division, Consumer product Safety commission, in our area the phone number is 631 724-0154, also call Underwriters Labratories, and document it on "bringgoodthingstolife.org Make sure it says .org not .com. Because ge just sent us from department to department an "didn't notifiy the proper department" after a few days they will finely realize you are not going away if you keep calling, then they will send you to their Electric insurance, then you will get a call from their attorney asking you questions, beware tell him to you have to consult an attorney before you say anything. Then Samsung who actually made the microwave, their insurance Chubb will contact you, thats when it goes from bad to worse. Our fire was on Dec 24th, 2010, Chubb accepted restoration January 5th, 2011. I found out I should have just gone through my homeowners because GE just bounces you around and around and around. I should have called an attorney and Consumer Product Safety right away. Any one looking to buy a microwave should google GE Microwave class action, GE micowave law suit, GE micowave follow it by either defect, malfunction, transforer fire, magnatron fire.