I came on here tonight and was delighted to see my old post had been resurrected. THANK YOU to those of you who were kind enough to respond ....I appreciate all of your words of encouragement! You guys are so sweet and your support of my endeavors, both gardening-related and personal, makes me smile....thanks. I wanted to answer your question about the red lily beetles, yorkrose..... Yes, I do grow the true lilies (as well as a few daylilies).... hundreds & hundreds of them! The Asiatics, Orientals, Orienpets, etc. And yes, those pesky horrible red lily beetles are a plague here too. I find it unbelievable that they start attacking the lily shoots just as they are emerging from the soil in the spring. I was told that not much kills them, but I have had fairly good success in keeping them away with Sevin dust, so long as I keep at it. If it rains or I forget to keep up with the ritual of dusting, then they come right back. They will strip entire lily canes of leaves and destroy the blooms if you don't keep up....(but since you asked, you must already be familiar with that nightmarish scene). They are right up there with Japanese Beetles (on my roses) in how much damage they can do and how disgusting they are. And that nasty, sticky black sludge they leave behind with the eggs in it....YUK. organic.... I spend A LOT of time in my yard, more than most people would be willing to spend. When I had a regular job I couldn't devote as much time as I wanted (and needed)to tend to my many gardens. But now that I am home with my mom, I am able to spend more time in my gardens. Mom enjoys sitting outside and watching the goings on, so in between caring for her and the never-ending housework (I still have a teenager & grown daughter living at home too) I never seem to stop moving. I am lucky that my husband is strong and can usually be persuaded to help me with the heaviest of chores, although I am a tough chic and am proud that I can do just about everything myself...! My life seems to revolve around my family, my pets, and my gardening...and thats the way I like it! I just wish spring would come quicker up here in zone 4 so I could start digging! But its getting closer..... Celeste A few of the lilies I grow (I have planted over 400 bulbs over the years!).....

Gardengal48 first, the original question asked about moving to an area for gardening, so that is what I answered. Obviously most people cannot move only for best gardening. Second, I could not disagree with you more. Pollinators are one aspect of a very complex system of specific interactions that have evolved together so that every aspect fulfills a specialized niche in the ecosystem. I have a Master’s in both Wildlife Biology and Environmental Education. Did you know that songbirds gain their coloring for specific proteins found in their food sources? Each different protein will create a specific color. During migration and mating season, these proteins are by far the most important food source for each species of bird since a female will choose a male to mate with based first on his color brightness. The highest concentration of the proteins are found in many different species of moth caterpillars. Each caterpillar has a specific host species or genus that it eats, and nothing else. As the native moth caterpillars, that the native birds seek out, only eat native plant species, then without those plants both animal species are out of luck. There are thousands upon thousands of other examples like this, so just because pollinators drink nectar or collect pollen from non native plants that is where it stops. Not to mention many non native species that are used by gardeners end up escaping cultivation and become nasty problems in the surrounding wild areas. In my area, NW Ohio, 3 species that escaped cultivation have devastated many of the last remaining swamps of the Lake Erie Basin - Purple Loosestrife, Phrafmites Reed Grasses, and Asian Honeysuckle bushes and vines (multiple varieties). This has effected the water table, fish species, bird species, soil composition, etc. Every plant we plant as humans has an impact on every species since plants are the base of the food web, so what we chose can either be extremely beneficial, neutral, damaging, or extremely negatively altering. Being educated about each choice and their impacts is very important and can hopefully help save species that are currently on the brink and stop any more from becoming that way.

I've learned that I have to water differently during an extreme drought period. My soil originally started out as glacier slurry in a mini watershed. The soil consists of dense small rocks or stones with clay and silt between them. Since the soil has not received the deep watering during the winter months, it is dryer down at the deeper levels and seems to suck any water applied to the surface staight down to the lower levels asap. Mulching on top does not impact this natural dynamic. It does helps reduce evaporation, but does not help that natural pull of water to the lower levels. Since my soil is between the crevices of lots of rocks, once it has dried out, the water has a path to move to the lower levels. I found this summer that it helps if I use the sprinkler to water the top levels of the soil the night before I do my deep watering, which does moisten and swell the soil particles around the root masses of the roses and within the crevices between all of the rocks. This keeps the water I apply for deep watering around the root mass long enough for the roses to slurp of the water they need. Otherwise, it's like pouring water down an open drain. It's not a perfect solution, but it has reduced water stress quite a bit during a period of 3 1/2 months of triple digits. It's starting to cool off and the days are shorter, so I think I can skip this step for my fall watering. I still rely on deep watering as the best way to water my roses. I just had to find a way for the water to stay put long enough to be available to the rose. My method was dictated by my soil and climate. Smiles, Lyn

Marilyn_c — I’m not sure what isinglass is, I’ve heard people call different things isinglass, so I’m gonna look that up now. I would need to see closer pictures of your find, but it looks like slag glass to me. I’ve read that pink/red (if it’s slag glass) is rare. Circa 1850-1870 (just an amateur guess from a dark picture). I love the period and style! Great find!! If you ever have the opportunity to take that lamp to antiques roadshow, they may give you some interesting news. Someday I’ll take my grandmother’s lamp to an antiques dealer and see who knows what about it. She didn’t know how old it was or who made it.