Fantastic list of seeds! I think it is just great that you have focused your life on nature at such a young age. I too would love to have 10 (maybe 5) acres someday to plant a wonderland of natives plants, and am already doing that on 1.25 acres. Difference is, my interest didn't come into sharp focus until age 45. :) There are quite a few seeds on this list I am interested in, and I checked your want list and I have a few on that list. Maybe we can do a trade this fall? Just a note - on your want list is Cynanchum louiseae - this is an extremely invasive non-native vine that is becoming a serious problem in the Northeast US. And it has the additional problem that Monarch butterflies will "sense" it is in the Milkweed family, lay eggs on it, and then it will kill the caterpillars because it is toxic to Monarch larvae.

In our community gardens, a wide variety of milkweeds are offered to the Monarchs. Every year they are covered with cats during different times of the year. It's very common to find a chrysalis hanging from a garden border 2x6 or from horizontal vine supports or any number of different plant stems. It is extremely rare to find any of them on the host plants though, as the little cats seem to want to wander off to do their magic. I'm sure there are predations, but I've photographed any of the beautiful little encasinga and even had the privilege of watching the last instar unzip into the bright green chrysalis. Up until that point I wasn't sure exactly how it happened and it was amazing and surprisingly quick! It takes me a bit of searching to find them at this point because they are so well camouflaged.

Hi, I'm in the UK and just found this forum after searching for any potential insight into what amount of water specifically to use to make up Rachels Lemon & Pink Grapefruit Marmalade (as this is not specified...and so I could be out by a mile and put the whole expensive recipe in jeopardy). I read with interest many of the comments from folk worried about how best to process their cooked jam. Here in the UK our system is far more simplistic and more commonly done with a one piece lid where (and as akin to irenecalgary) we pour the hot jam into hot jars before sealing with hot lids and immediately inverting them for 10 mins before placing back upright whilst they cool off. In the case of strawberry jam and marmalades etc we would allow the mix to cool dlightly such that the fruit does not rise to the surface in the jar This is effectively the way our Grandmothers have always made jams (outside of those who still opt for an even simpler wax disc system covered in cloth in place of a lid) and we consider this as perfectly safe. If on the offchance a jar is discovered to contain a covering of white mold (rare to middling) on opening then its chucked out..simple as. If I was taught an entirely different way then i'd no doubt be more likely to fly that flag. For the record, I quite fancy the idea of canning certain foodstuffs containing meat and vegetables but we can't buy a Pressure Canner without importing one as canning is not so much practised in the UK. Again, horses for courses.

Came back to this thread to check on Comte de Chambord, yes, Val grows it, and I agree that needs loamy soil, lots of rain, and healthier if alkaline. Comte is rooting easily in my wet baggie, and rooted easily in heavy out-door rain, while other cuttings rot. Comte has aggressive root and can root easily in alkaline sand, but I need to make my rooting-medium more acidic for the cuttings which are harder to root. Pink Pet definitely likes dry/loamy soil and warmer climate (Val's pic. is awesome). But died in my soaking wet clay last winter.