Aha, you're just having a moment like that commercial girl, "we like it, we want more, we want more!" I've probably already mentioned her in this discussion, she's my hero the past few weeks. So you've got a lot going on, but it just doesn't seem like enough. I think you're in good company, with EVERYONE! I would get more stuff, but I've got everything they have that I want, at least for now. Probably the same in your pots too. Literally no sun? If you told me that already, I'm too busy remembering the words to 2000 songs instead, you know how those brain cells just do whatever they want. Guess that would explain why I didn't send any, knew that at the time. Speaking of close, and being forgetful, Mother's Day is Sunday. Is everyone on top of that situation? After lunch, I'm going to "finish" those mini gardens I've been babbling about. Will put pics in the thread on house plants when ready, might b tomorrow. Julianna, your beautiful mosaics and seashells got my mind going on those quite a bit. You wouldn't know to look at what I've done but believe it, a flood of ideas, not even necessarily related, germinated because of looking at your beautiful work. It made me want to make everything not only more pretty, but much more personally detailed... in general... about gardening in particular.

WASH the ROCKS FIRST!!! I do not use rocks as a mulch, but I do have a dry stream bed and another area with decorative rocks. I use a heavy amount of newspaper and then a double-layer of the good weed barrier. My stream bed is made up of all pebbles that I have dug up during gardening (I live on Long Island - a "boulder" here is anything bigger than a foot; a "rock" is anything the size of a fist; we mostly have beach pebbles). I literally wash all the dirt off my rocks before putting them in the stream. The rocks you buy in bags MUST BE WASHED as well!!! I bought some pretty rocks for a walk-about around a planter, and I realized that there was so much rock dust in the bag that weeds were bound to grow in it, so they had to be washed first. Here's my rock-washing technique (using pots with holes doesn't work - all the dirt collects in the bottom): I have a 2ftx4ft garden cart that is made of a steel mesh, so it drains. I cut a piece of window screen to fit it, then dump a layer of rocks on top and use a sprayer hose to power wash them. Note: Eventually weeds will grow down into both newspaper and weed barrier. Heavy newspaper will last a few years though. Weeds grow in cedar mulch as well, but they are easy to pull. Be careful with newspaper/ weed barrier if you have groundcover bulbs - they will eventually push their way up and it looks really bad. Also, if you have shrubs, do not put the newspaper too close - the newspaper will block any fertilizer you apply. DO NOT use impermeable plastics as a weed barrier - you will kill your plants, create puddles, and DESTROY the beneficial soil microorganisms. Plus, when you lift up the plastic (even after a few weeks) it will REEK like a landfill (due to anaerobic decomposition). Newspaper smothers weeds below ground, but I have just discovered that even doubled-up weed barrier does not stop small weeds from rooting into the ground. I have a small berm that I am trying to create a moss garden on with chunks of recycled concrete, and my moss keeps being invaded by grass, so I laid down a thick layer of weed barrier on the berm last year, then put in the concrete chunks, hoping that would stop weeds. Well, this spring I found a baby Maple seedling that rooted itself through 2-3 layers of weed barrier into the soil beneath. Now I have to remove all the concrete and smother the area with newspaper, then weed barier (seems to be ok for grass weeds), and then I'll probably put down a layer of sand-clay mixture that will harden into cement before the concrete chunks are put back. There is nothing worse than removing weeds from moss - the moss gets pulled up with the weeds. Even though I washed the rocks for my stream, I cannot keep all the dirt out because leaves fall from the trees and then decompose into dirt. So, if I start getting weeds there I will try either the vinegar or salt-solution remedy (my mother sprays ammonia on weeds that pop up between the bricks along the driveway). All the plants along my stream are at least one foot away from the edge, so hopefully I won't kill them.

Man that really sucks, but mowing over it will actually make it worse because of the plants ability to take root from single pieces of plants, even a single needle can become a separate plant. A lot of succulents are able to do this quite easily. I still have the stuff growing back, but most of it is growing underneath bushes and other plants and just pull it when I notice it. I got rid of periwinkle the same year, 2 years ago, both have a few plants popping up here and there my next door neighbor planted English ivy, and it is spreading into my yard, I'm going to ask him if I can pull it eventually and offer to plant an alternative that isn't such a destructive plant. English ivy in Michigan isn't usually so bad because of the winters here, but a few warm winters and it could become much more invasive.

Amserelda: I'd like some hens and chicks, please, to add to my collection. I'm not picky -- anything will do! Serpent Moon and I appreciate the Crown of Thorns cuttings -- she has already requested it for us. Would you like a cutting of Euphorbia trigona? Skybird: We already have some sedums from you, from the fall swap. I'm not sure what Serpent Moon has requested, but I'm fine with you giving some of them to others who request them. ---------- The tomatoes I planted a few weeks ago are still sprouting. I take back whatever I said about the potentially low germination of the Costoluto Fiorentino tomato seeds. Even though I saved the seeds over a decade ago, they are still in good shape. I have 3-4 seedlings per pot, of the 3-4 seeds planted per pot. If you are careful, you might be able to separate out the seedlings and pot them up separately. I don't think any have their first set of true leaves yet. If anyone wants seeds for them, please let me know and I'll package up some for you. Ditto for the seeds from the cherry tomatoes I grew last year from Plant Swap plants -- Black Cherry, Sun Cherry, and Riesentraub. All seem to be germinating well this spring. Costoluto Fiorentino looks a lot like Costoluto Genovese, for those who are wondering. It's a medium to large sized tomato with lots of ribs, rather like an accordion. They're a booger to peel if you're making sauce. The flavor is quite reasonable, and they grew well in my Oregon garden (coolish dry summers, fairly short season). The original seed came from Sementi, a gift from a friend who had visited Italy. I'll go through the thread this evening to write down names of people who've requested specific things. I'll make coleus and geranium cuttings tomorrow, plus maybe a few Euphorbia trigona cuttings in case anyone wants a thorny but vigorous succulent as a houseplant. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!