Hey, Sam! Glad to see you're back, and very pleased to find you posting on this thread. A trip to the Botanic Garden in DC must have been thrilling. I've never been there. Now you're makiing me wish I had. I guess besides orchids, they must have every kind of plant as well. Sounds really wonderful and exciting. I would probably get arrested for trying to pinch off a cutting here or there :) Looks like you're in love with Brassavolas. I don't blame you, I love plants with fragrance, too. And Bs are so tough, just putting up new growths on all sides. I used to have a couple of Bs, a nodosa and Little Stars. Jiminy Cricket was on my list. The scent threaded thru the house at dusk, really lovely. The Little Stars would put up 10 or a dozen spikes in the fall. Always a treat. Yours sound like they have really strong fragrance. Mine were only faint. (Or my nose wasn't good at picking it up.) Never was sure which it was. Glad you're having a great summer, with spikes on your nodosa, and new leaves on the phal. If it's rootless, try some root hormone on it. My summer is being great, too. I do love summer since I started growing orchids. For all the growth and flowers. I'm not surprised you've converted your friends to orchids. a) they're beautiful and b) your enthusiasm is catching. Please do post your pictures when you have time. I'm looking forward to them. Your pictures are always beautiful. Hope you took some at the Botanic Gardens. as you say, Lata

I'm excited for everything that I've winter sown! Some aren't new to me, but they were ones that I had difficulty germinating last year. Evening Primrose Bleeding Hearts Gaillardia Bells of Ireland 3 Dianthus varieties Delphinium Ladybells Carnations Texas Redbud Clematis Texas Bluebonnet Echinacea Balloonflower Aster varieties Sedge Wild Bergamot Jacob's Ladder Eastern Bluestar Persicaria Garlic chives Breadseed poppies @ docmom: I planted delphinium last year during the spring and they never made it past their second set of leaves. I randomly tossed a seed or two into an urn with petunias in it during the summer, and sure enough it sprouted and eventually bloomed in October. It's doing great now. I recently transplanted it because a mum had taken over. A week later and no issues with it at all. I'm beginning to wonder if their poor record is a bit over exaggerated. We'll see. Good luck with yours!

Yes this new garden is probably going to be the smallest and most slapdash garden I have ever started out with. It couldn't be helped, it was this way or no garden for spring. I knew I could never survive winter without some hope of a garden! The lasagna style garden formation has worked out quite well over the years for me. This time however it was a formidable prospect. Our property was abandoned for several years so the grass was waist high when we purchased it. My husband knocked down the grass then mowed it quite short. I sprayed the area twice with roundup (which I wouldn't normally use) and then I planted a bunch of roses, 7 varieties of species lillies, dozens of bulbs, some hosta, catnip and a few reliable perennials, willy nilly. I was fairly certain I could have heavy losses from frost heaves but it was the best I could do that late in the year. Happily, I located the garden in a spot where the snow naturally drifts and collects all winter so it looks like I only lost one plant. The tulips and daffs are blooming beautifully and cheer me immensly! I have stacks of newspaper I scrounged for and saved all winter waiting to be put to use. My DD brought me a dozen bags of mulch for Mothers day too. I am waiting for the soil to warm up more so that I can lay the newspaper down and cover it neatly with mulch. Because I didn't get a vegie garden area going last fall either I am going to plant vegies in the flower bed. Lots of empty space for them there while the perennials take their first year of "sleep". Instead of towering spires of delphiniums and alce it will be heirloom tomatoes and bean pole towers. It will be cool I think! Right now though I am glad that I live in a rural area because this years spring chaos mess would never fly with in town neighbors. We have 5 acres we are cleaning up and clearing brush on here. We are also clearing out the area we want our new home to be built on (and building it ourselves!). I suspect no matter how hard my husband and I work this summer that we will never be caught up and untidyness will rule!

I don't know about a trick....I ordered 6 Itohs from them several years ago, the price was too good to be true and I regretted it afterward because the roots I received were tiny and delicate, came in something like a 4" pot and I got them in the spring. Didn't know what I was doing and managed to kill half of them, probably would've been fine if I'd put them in larger pots and babied them until fall. Their root sizes are clearly marked on the site now and pictures of roots received from them last fall looked just as good as everywhere else. Their selection can't be beat, they have beautiful Itohs that aren't offered elsewhere. I'll post pictures of the roots this fall, keep your fingers crossed that I'll have better luck with them this time! I ordered Strawberry Crème Brulee, Haleigh's Hallelujah, Pink Double Dandy, Crème a laâÂÂOrange, Enduring Rainbow, Magical Mystery Tour, Smith Family Yellow and Yellow Doodle Dandy from them. They do respond to questions via email, sometimes you have to ask twice, though!