Well we got hit by another really bad storm today. It leveled all my corn, I used bamboo skewers to lean the corn on to keep it upright, hopefully it'll somehow still pull through. The small green bean plant is still standing on it's own and I used skewers to prop up the bottom most branches/leaves of the larger green bean plant to keep it outta standing water and off the wet ground. 2 of the okra plants I'm pretty sure are gone, they're laying flat and not much I can do about them. They spent nearly all day submerged underwater. 2 of them were still standing as of an hour or two ago. I've already got more okra seed going and going to watch the corn closely for next couple of days to see if it's going to make it. When I transplant this new okra I'll be sure to do the mound method. I'm not really holding out hope that the okra out there already that's still standing is going to make it, but when it comes time to transplant the seeds I started today, if those two are still alive I'll re-transplant them in mounds. As for raised beds, I've been considering going with those when I expand. I hadn't even heard of it when I started up my practice garden though, or I might've just went with that to begin with. My yard, and actually this entire town, is extremely prone to flooding during moderate-heavy rain. It's not very often we get that much rain though, so it's not really a problem you can count on having. Might actually be cheaper to go with raised over in ground method since I wouldn't need to purchase a tiller. I favorited your soil guide and when it comes time to expand, whether in ground or raised I'll be using it. Thanks for all the advice. As for sending the rain away to other parts of the country, believe me if I could, I would have already. But be careful what you wish for, look what happened to me. Lol.

Ingrid, thank you so much for checking your Lady Hillingdon. I was just looking through my copy of 'Tea Roses - Old Roses for Warm Gardens' and I believe that the last photo I uploaded is very similar to the photo of Safrano at the top of page 178. Also, the photo I posted last Saturday, Apr 12, at 16:28 is virtually identical to the large plate of Safrano on page 179 - except that my photo has a deeper colour because it was taken at 7:20pm the previous day as the setting sun was shining on the bloom. When I read the 'Distinguishing Features' of Safrano on page 178 there are many similarities, however, I am such an amateur I have an entirely new vocabulary to learn before I could attempt to give a 'proper' description. I'm very much leaning to the view that it could be Safrano - and I've checked that my supplier also has Safrano, so it is quite possible that, if they sort their cuttings alphabetically, it would be an easy error for them to make when putting the tag on the cutting. Tricia

I think it's a Stapeliad, but not necessarily a Stapelia. However, all of those have at least two names (let's hear it for Quaqua and Edithcolea!, although I'm mixing things up a bit). Of the Asclepiads, methinks, but I don't know the genus/species.

Chances you got pregnant are pretty much nil, so you should stop worrying. As far as IF you are, there are many people out there that are birth-control pill babies (I know that contradicts what I just said, but bear with me here). Those people are the ones that their mothers got pregnant while #1 being the .01% chance of getting pregnant failure rate while on the pill or #2 not taking the pill regularly, but still taking it. Since MOST of the time you've used double forms of control, again chances are very very very very (you get the idea) slim you're preg. As far as taking the preg test...read them, you may be able to still your fears and take them, I think EPT you can take them earlier than after a missed period. Vickey-MN