Annuals are, as you said, plants that come up, flower, set seed, and die in one growing season. This season, however, can be variable. For instance, larkspur are planted in the fall in the south, flower in the spring, and die when the heat moves in. Yet, they are annuals. Your moss rose (portulaca) is a hot weater, self-seeding annual. If you grew it in an area one year, even though you pulled out the old plants at the end of the summer, it had already dropped thousands of seeds on the ground during the summer. The next spring, when the soil warms and the sun shines, up those seeds come. Moss rose (and many other annuals) that seed so generously are often called "annuals that behave like perennials". They are beloved (and occasionally cursed) for this trait. You do need to realize that if the varieties you grow were hybrids (as many portulacas are), when the seeds volunteer, they may very well not be the same colors as the ones you planted in the first place. Some gardeners actually "select" their own colors, by watching volunteer seedlings carefully and pulling out all except the ones they want to keep. Over a period of years, by allowing the desirables to set seed and denying this to the undesirables, they can get nearly all the volunteer seeds to come true. Now, for the dianthus. Botanically speaking, dianthus are bi-ennials. This means they come up from seed and make roots, stems and leaves in one year, overwinter, and then bloom, make seeds, and die the next year. "Bi"-meaning two. "Ennial", meaning year. Get it? This being said, there are lots of kinds of dianthus. Some do exactly what I just described. Some are self-seeding, so they volunteer. And some are very perennial-like in their behavior. I have some that are perennial-like. They return reliably, but to keep them in top health, they need to be divided every other year or so. I discard the old, tired centers, and replant the fresh, new divisions. It sounds like this is what you have. The funny thing is, one of the best perennial-like dianthus I have was in a six pack of the bi-ennials that I bought one fall. The other five bloomed the following spring and died when the heat moved in, but that one didn't. I have had it for several years now and have divided it and spread the wealth all around. Another one I have was a pass-along from a friend who got hers in the same way. Another, I ordered from a nursery. As you can see, dianthus are quite variable. (Just another note, MOST dianthus don't like the south's heat and humidity. But, as already stated, there are notable exceptions.) I'd say this one you have is a true keeper, for the odds were totally against it. Very few plants would have survivd that long in a four inch pot, let alone inside. I highly recommend that you put all the divisions outside, and give it some care. Sounds like a winner to me. Just so we cover all the definitions, a true perennial is a plant that, although the above-ground parts "die" each year, the roots do not. So, they are said to go "dormant" each winter (or sometimes summer, depending on the plant), and then the roots produce new stems, leaves, flowers, etc the following spring. Although most perennials can be grown from seed (though not necessarily easily), most do not bloom the first year from seed. But, since they return year after year, they are called perennial. The definitions are pretty clear-cut, but as you can see, the plants don't know that, and there is a good bit of blurring of the lines. Hope this helps! :)

I find it strange that so many people are trying to grow northern vegetables following a northern calendar in FL. No wonder you're having so much trouble! I'm in central FL 9B and I grow stuff all year round - but what I grow changes with the temperatures. For example, this past year in the cooler months (late fall/winter) I grew lots of leafy greens like lettuce, chard, cilantro, garden and red sorrel, bok choy, radishes, carrots, and peas. I've got a few pigeon pea "trees" (they live for ~5 years and produce pigeon peas year round. They are drought tolerant and infertile sand tolerant). I've got straight Myakka sand and I haven't been amending. To my surprise, quite a few plants were very happy in my infertile sand. The only thing I do is occasionally add some coffee grounds once in a while or some diluted urine. I'm now in the process of making and charging biochar to long term improve the fertility of my sand since any compost I added in the past disappeared almost immediately (to be honest, it disappears in my compost bin before I even really get a chance to use it). In October I started tomato plants from seeds - now that it's March they are flowering and fruiting. Everglades tomato is a FL native tomato that can perform even during our crazy hot and humid summers. There's also Floradade tomato, which was developed in south FL specifically to cope with the brutal summers and can handle up to 100F. I've got those sprouting now (mid March) so we'll see how they do. There are at least 10 other tomatoes I know of that purportedly thrive even in FL summers but they will not be the tomatoes everyone knows in the north. If you want to grow northern tomatoes, just do it in the spring; most tomatoes will drop flowers by June due to the heat. If you can keep the plant alive through the summer (usually by shading it from afternoon sun) they will start producing again in the fall when temps cool down. I've also got sweet and hot peppers, sweet potatoes, cowpeas, eggplant, callaloo (amaranth), garlic chives, lagos spinach, New Zealand spinach, Ethiopian Kale, Malabar spinach, Roselle, Cranberry Hibiscus, Chaya, and Moringa for the summer. Rule of thumb for FL gardening: Southeast Asian + Caribbean veggies do particularly well in FL summers and "northern" veggies grow well here in the winter. As for fruit trees... stop trying to grow what does well in the north and grow what does well here. I've got a monster guava that I never fertilize or water and can deal with the occasional cold snap. Mulberries also do particularly well - they are basically zero maintenance (no extra watering, fertilizer, thrive on neglect). They fruit multiple times a year (mine are flowering now). There are plenty of other options if you look.

Andy, your beans are still NOT there? They should be. I put them in the PO mailbox last Saturday. Even if they did not pick it up until after the weekend and the holiday (Tuesday), I would think that you still should of had them by now. Although the mail has been messed up here on the East Coast because of all the snow storms. Maybe that is it. I had emailed Sandhill because I never got their catalog yet this year and usually I have an order in to them by now. I did finally get the magazine 2 days ago, but they wrote me back saying that they sent it out all the way on the 7th of January, and that they had other people from the East inquiring about where their magazine was too. So, I hope that is it. Donna, hers was sent out the same day as yours Andy, and she got her seeds, however she is right on the East Coast like me so that could be why. Angelady, did you get yours? yours should of been to you also since it was in a priority mailer box. Well Andy, I would not worry yet. Just please let me know asap when you get them so I do not start to worry! I would think Monday they would have to be there after all of this time? Shucks, I was hoping to see you post that you received them. Also Andy, incase I forgot to write it in your envie, I have some greasy beans coming to me at some point. When they get here, I will be sure to send you some. I was able to find one to put in your envelope though. Christy

I had a dog who forgot how to drink in her old age - some kind of dementia. She would stand at the bowl and lick the air. I tried every bowl known, but she still wouldn't drink. My vet gave me a large plastic syringe, and I would get water into her that way. I put the tip between her side teeth and cheek, and slowly squirted it in. She swallowed that just fine. I also put her dog food in diluted low sodium chicken broth - about 1 part water to 2 parts food. I know your dog still drinks outside, but supplementing with the syringe method will help keep her hydrated. You can probably get one at Petco - it's called a feeding syringe. To make sure she is not dehydrated, check her gums. They should be pink and slick. If they look dry and are tacky to the touch, she needs more fluids. Good luck ~