Hiya Larry and everyone, GREAT pics! I've been admiring a lot of prickly pear fruit these days too. It's amazing what variety there is! So nice to see. I'm embarassed to say I've never tried desert zinnia though I always admire it when I see it. How has yours done long term and what conditions do you give it?? I do do blackfoot daisy which isn't a zinnia of course, but creates a similar visual effect. Below is another of my zinnia zinnias (Z. elegans). I made a small bouquet of several different colors this morning just to enjoy indoors too. I planted some narrow leaf zinnias (Z. angustifolia) around an orange tree that I grew from seed and they've done pretty well but are battling spider mites, ugh, which are not molesting the hybrid zinnias at all. In any case, below is another pic of one of the zinnias around my baby grapefruit trees--it's fun to plant a mix of seeds and see what colors come up. Pic is embedded at at the link below. Take care all and keep the pics coming, Larry, great stuff. Grant Here is a link that might be useful: Pinkish purple zinnia out in the garden--so easy!

Glad I came back up here to look for replies! Yay! I got the good dirt! :D I had no idea what I was doing. The guy at the co-op recommended this. I knew we were anti-Hyponex and pro co-op mix, but that's all I knew. :) Uh oh...no styrofoam? Bummer. I just did a few, and so easy to poke holes in the bottom. I tried poking holes in the yogurt cup first and split it. Oops. I think a plastic container sounds like a good idea to house everything, drilling holes in the top. Do I also have to make drainage holes in the bottom? I do have a paint pen. It's one of those Deco-Color from Michael's craft store.

I went a while back. The only lines we had were the ones to get in where everyone is waiting. There were not real lines at the individual tables and we were in and out in like an hour with our stuff appraised. We were prepared for HOURS of standing in line and so were very surprised. Everything we brought was appraised for more than we either paid for it or though it was worth so that was good. But nothing was good enough to get "screen time" -- sigh! No million dollar treasures did we bring! But you know most stuff is just ordinary stuff. I thought it was interesting that a second chance included sending pictures of your stuff.

I spent 4 months in the military (April to August) at a base just south of Tacoma. During my active career years, I probably spent another 6 months in total during more than a dozen trips. My exposure is quite limited compared to those who have spent years in the area but drizzly and cloudy accurately describes too many of my experiences. Including days in the late spring and early summer months. Yes, there are parts of the area that are quite picturesque. But the dreary weather is a downer for many who are accustomed to sunshine. I know more than a handful of people from my area who moved up to the Seattle area for job opportunities and left within a few years because they couldn't take the weather. That includes one guy (as I think of it) who was born and raised in the Seattle area, had spent about 15 years down here, moved back for a job change and to be closer to family. He quit his job to return here after 18 months. As he described it, he'd gotten accustomed to better weather and had forgotten how dreary it could be for days on end. I'm sure there are those who like it gray and damp. Seems like gardengal is one of them.