Gardengal48 & Sinai, Would really like to try some of your new Euphorbias - just love them, but most aren't zone hardy for me and certainly not cold wet clay hardy!! Here's a picture of the only one I can grow Euphorbia myrsinites, Myrtle Spurge, with my one and only Lavender. Beige-pink stuff is seedheads from Saxifraga or some other rock/alpine little plant, I forget which one, but like the effect with the smooth pointy leaves of the euphorbia. I do know that E. myrsinites is invasive in some places, but in my yard it is a specimen in my raised gravel bed. For those in cold wet areas, this one is a nice one to try. Ego45, I really like the colors on that Astilbe. Does Color Flash keep its color through the season, early? mid? or late? color. I just replaced some of my pale Astilbe with Glut (awful name for a pretty plant), They have a deep red bloom color with reddish bronze spring foliage that fades out to green before bloomtime. I can already think of some nice color combos for Color Flash, if it holds its foliage color for more than a few weeks.

I am probably jinxing myself, but I don't get a lot of deer damage. I am literally three blocks from the county park and I get hoofprints all the time but not too much nibbling. In the spring my phlox gets a free pruning and my centurea montana (bachelor's button) gets eaten down to the ground (that might be rabbits), but once I start spraying with Deer Solution I don't seem to have much of an issue fortunately. It helps that my echinacea is planted right under a low hanging birch tree - the deer get a face full of branches and move on I suspect. Other parts of my town I have literally seen 10 or more deer just standing around on people's lawn, thank goodness that isn't me.

Sharon, that compost tumbler you DH made looks wonderful. It reminds me of something my dad would have made when he was a young man. * Something useful made from ( mostly ) found material, and made well! - and looks snazzy too-- I've been using the farm woman's lazy compost method, first I have the brush pile, ( which is unseen from house or yard ) for the bigger stuff, then a little ways up from the brush pile is the spot in the bush where I toss the grass clippings, or big hunks of grass from weeding, kitchen waste, etc. I then throw more dirt, grass on top of that, etc. Eventually I start another one of the smaller piles with the kitchen, small stuff when the first one gets big. When I need compost, I go to the oldest pile, and see what's what. Way underneath the big brush pile, which was started about 70 years ago by my grandparents, there is a ton of good stuff. I often take my wheelbarrow in there and load up for mulching and topping up. The thing is, way, way underneath I may find a few surprises, as way back when, I think Grandma and Grandpa used the brush pile as kind of a catch all place for garbage, which in those days mostly seemed to be made up of the big brown bleach bottles, a very few cans, and old shoes, and a bit of broken crockery. ( had to use that term, don't get to say that very often! ) Interesting stuff some of it, but I always wear heavy gloves! Anyway, it's great compost. Then, when I get a load of that, I go get another load of good stuff from behind the old barn, where the manure has been busy mellowing for another 70 years! Natch, some of it isn't that old, but underneath is a gold mine of good stuff. And I mix it the compost from the brush pile with a bit of the old manure. And that mix is my main fertilizer. I'm thinking I will try to make some manure tea one day though, just for the handy type watering fertilizer. For small plants I've grown from seed, container plants and when transplanting, I do use a mild solution of miracle-go. And I've been know to toss some granules of the long term release fertilizer granules in the perennial gardens once, maybe twice a year before a rain, if I think of it, and if I haven't finished topping up with my compost,etc. I must admit, my fertilizer regimen is hit and miss. But I do stop any fertilizing around the first of August or so. All this talk has reminded me that I have a wheelbarrow of the "gold" waiting out there for me to put here and there. Faith

Hi Everybody!! I am on my Sister-In Laws computer right now and I don't know if anyone will even get to read this now.I forgot you can get on any computer and do this.((DUH!!)) Any way,I don't want to stay on this too long,((Yeah Right))It's killing me not having my own computer.But I just wanted to say Thanks For A Great Swap.It was especially sweet for me because my daughter Diana and her new Husband of less then a year and who's last name I still can't pronounce correctly got to come with me and they loved it.Diana can't wait to come to the next one,So I'm thinking we'll be coming to the fall swap as well.It was great seeing everyone and sharing all the plants and eating all the wonderful food.I wish I could have stayed longer,But my elbow was giving me a fit.I had surgery on it a couple weeks earlier and the cast was making me sweat and itch.But all in all it was alot of fun. Michelle,My daughter Diana got the wraped package,It was a large ceramic Owl.Very cool!! I probably won't get back on again.So Thanks for a great time as usual Beverly and Mimi!!! You two are Awesome!!!!!!!!!! I'm hoping to see you all again in the fall!! Granny57