Michelle and Denise, this is New England and the sight of a Speedo is relatively rare and usually means wearer either, A.) really knows how to swim properly and well (I remind you, this is NE and Ian Crocker is not the norm in northern New England), B.) dives (this is NE), or C.) is from Quebec or Europe. ;) On that fateful first date I was charmed by his witty and droll sense of humor and thrilled to find his legs long, athletic, and shapely enough to have fared well in a 16th. century doublet. I was definitely hooked and have remained so for pushin' 25 yrs. now. One does not "discipline cats", PM. You don't have have since they're already the most perfect creatures on the face of the earth. Peacocks are the most fascinating birds, but they certainly have a disconcerting cry. We have a Kirby vacuum and I hate it. It's heavy and louder than I think it ought to be, it's like dragging around a compact car. But it works very, very well. My brother inherited a Mehle (sp?) when my aunt died and he really likes it. My recommendation for animal hair is a good, "beater bar" on the rug attachment and a smaller version of same for upholstery. Those are definitely two happy canines, V.. But I've never seen a wet Lab. that wasn't happy, lol! I am not particularly impressed by all the "new and improved" introductions from plant breeders. It seems to me that the more they try the more they fail and they really seems to have focussed on Echinacea recently. That sensibility, coupled with the color (not my favorites) leaves me ambivilent about the Echinacea in question. It will be interesting to see what is decided and how the introduction fares. Sounds like the chow at Deanne's was pretty good! did the kitties get any filet mignon? Cement for your birthday sounds good to me. I want to see the new additions EMPTY, so I may assess the lines... ;). But no doubt you've already crammed something into them. Not sure what the weather will bring today, humid again and foggy with a threat of a shower. Yesterday it burned off and left us with a lovely day. I weeded diligently for several hours and dug two holes to receive shrubs. Hole digging on the Compound is frequently an exercise in frustration, requiring the proper mindset to address the many buried rocks and a willingness to shift the hole to one side or the other if you can't dislodge the rock in question. I did get another Vaccinium corymbosum into the ground and took the (Cindy)loppers to the taller of the two we transplanted in the spring. I was gratified to note the extent of new growth from the bases of them and that encouraged me to trim the tops back more aggressively than I otherwise might've. I should probably get moving and eat something because we're going to try to finish off the remainder of the wood this morning. After that? maybe more weeding or maybe a cruise to the nursery to pick up the Viburnums and MAYBE we'll get them in the ground. A longshot, for sure, but it would really do my heart glad to see something like that happen. Jerri, I am routinely shocked by how little people consider the emotion well-being for animals. For the first time in years I actually saw a TV ad. to spay/neuter your pets. Evidently, New England has a pretty good record about that stuff (good enough that the shelter import puppies from other regions because they're relatively scarce), but the shelters are awash in cats. I had a surprising encounter with a rather unpleasant woman yesterday. Rex and I were returning from our walk and we walked down the field/parking lot for the church across the street. I was informed it was "church property" and asked if I walked my dog in the new garden/cemetary for cremated remains?? Of course not. I asked if there had been problems with that sort of thing and was icily told I "was the one with the problem". OK. We have a key to the church and the rectory (have for years), and in the nearly 20 yrs. we've lived here no one has ever told us we may not walk the dog over there. Yesterday, in fact, there were two famiilies picnicing with 3 happy dogs between them. Many people enjoy fishing from the rocks and bring their dogs with them. I was stunned and pointedly asked her why she was clearly so angry with me when I had done nothing wrong. She blustered some more and I've decided to discreetly inquire about this with my neighbors and good friends who are members of the congregation. We had lunch out yesterday and noted with surprise that this was probably the last shot of summer as so many kids go back to school in August now. It will be quieter this week and busy on the weekend and then it will begin to wind down for the season. I'm not ready; i always wish summer would go on longer than it does. It makes me a little bit sad, actually. I make the bed and I tuck in the sheets. Mum preferred the "cocoon wrap" and I would frequently find her contentedly swaddled in the down comforter when I'd go down in the morning. Hi Marian. TTYL.

I have grown two Deutzia, Nikko and Chardonnay Pearls. Yuki Snowflake is supposed to be an improved Nikko, with more flowers (I personally don't see how any more flowers would fit on my Nikko) and better form. I am happy with Nikko, but would have to see them side by side to see if I agree that it's an improvement. D. Chardonnay Pearls does have nice chartreusy spring foliage, but in its current spot of half day sun and then bright shade in my garden doesn't stay really bright all season, though it does stay less true green than many of the surrounding plants. It doesn't bloom quite as fully as Nikko. D. Cherry Blossom sounds nice, with same the same short stature and pink blossoms. Deutzia is in my opinion a one season shrub, with its full spring flowers, but is a small green blob the rest of the growing season and a fine-textured twiggy blob during winter. I am not sure if I would grow Deutzia if I had restricted space, but since that isn't an issue for me, it is a shrub I enjoy, is disease and insect free, and takes virtually no maintenance in my garden. It does suffer some tip dieback in years of less snow, so needs a bit of light pruning some years. I have grown several varieties of Sambucus, S. racemosa Sutherland Gold and S. nigra Black Lace, plus unnamed species plants of both. My Black Lace as well as both species have been healthy and trouble free in the two years I have had it. The jury is still out on Sutherland Gold. It came as a small mail order plant and isn't in an ideal spot, but it has survived so far in its two seasons in the yard. I have read that at least some of the yellow foliaged plants are somewhat less robust, but time will tell on mine. S. Lemon Lace is a new plant, so I think only folks who test plants will have grown it, but from reading it looks like it has a good chance to be a great plant. Here's S. Black Lace

Had woodchucks this year, they went after mostly the asters and echincea and the clover in the lawn. They didn't eat any perovskia that was right next to the echinacea. The Shastas were not blooming but they didn't eat the foliage. Walked right by them on their way to the echinacea. I also winter sowed three varieties of Shastas this year. The Alaska I sowed last year bloomed this year and it was horrible. Way too tall for where I planted it, flopped all over everything with the first rain and never came up again, buds opened all eaten by something. This year, I had Becky, Crazy Daisy and Snowcap seed and winter sowed those. They all germinated fine and the planted out seedlings look great. Some are short which is what I was looking for, and others a little taller. Some have buds on them and I am waiting to see what they look like. I also bought Shasta Wirral's Pride from Bluestone this year during their sale and it is blooming and has gorgeous crested blossoms that are long lasting and on thick stems. I am growing them in full sun.

I am not sure how long the BH&G "Must-Grow New Perennials for 2012" has been out but I look forward to seeing it each spring...here it is: As you can see many of these plants have been discussed on GW...and lots in this particular thread. Here is a link that might be useful: Better Homes and Gardens perennial list for 2012