Only 9 of these 41 were among the rebloomer last year. Several of them are first or second year plants...or like Winner's Trophy and Cosmic Kaleidoscope that were here but did not bloom last year. Also, more of these seem to have multiple re-bloom scapes instead of a single one or two. I am not responsible this year, because while I did feed with alfalfa meal and with fish emulsion, I did not continue to feed like I did last year because the blooms started sooner. Jean, I hope you get a lot of rebloom too. Debra, it sounds as if your re-bloom has started out well. I'm curious to see what tomorrow wil bring. kay

Bruce, in looking up the double flowering hosta, one hit was for Tony Avent's piece on his nursery website about fragrant flowering hosta. He was writing it I think not long after Aphrodite came available. One of his statements was to the effect that people south of Baltimore seldom got to see the fully opened blooms because it takes moisture, humidity, warm days, and cooler nights--or else the blooms turn to mush. I believe your location somewhere around Baltimore's latitude (not close to Baltimore, but westerly from it), and in the foothills at least of mountainous area, could give perhaps cooler evening temps. Sounds like a spot ideally suited for the plantaginea to bloom spectacularly. We have had a lot of rain on a regular basis. When it rains, the temps drop from the 90s down to 80 or thereabouts. Not exactly cool, but better than 90! If it is a temperature drop and not an absolute temperature that is the secret, then perhaps we might have a couple of the buds open anyway. I am anxiously awaiting the fate of my lone Aphrodite scape showing some white on its lower buds. Regardless of what happens with this one Aphrodite this year, I note your quarter-century (wow just think about THAT) dedication to perfecting conditions for the lovely Aphrodite. I don't have 25 years left to spend in any fashion, but what remains might as well be spent waiting for flowers to bloom, instead of watching paint dry. :) Your updates are unparalleled and thank you for sharing them here.

Chase, would this be what you are looking for? jude Posted by stacy3 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 18, 09 at 8:45 Hi Duane. I love this pasta dish. Absorption Pasta with Garlic Scapes and Wild Mushrooms Stephencooks.com Serves 4 as a side dish, or 2 as a main course. 8 oz pasta (I used orecchiette) 1 medium onion, 1/4" dice 2 C low sodium chicken stock, simmering 1 C heavy cream olive oil 2 T butter 4 oz assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced irregularly 4-6 garlic scapes 1 oz Parmeggiano-Reggiano, shredded 1 T truffle oil 3 oz baby Swiss chard, stems removed, chopped coarsely salt, hot sauce, to taste Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium low heat and allow to boil gently until reduced by half. Saut� the onion in two tablespoons olive oil about 6 minutes on medium heat, stirring, until translucent. Add the pasta and toss in the oil until the pasta pieces are well coated with oil. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock, stir and cover tightly. Reduce heat to medium low and allow the pasta to simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. After about 10 minutes, give the pasta a stir and see that there is still adequate liquid in the pan. Add more stock if necessary � different pastas will absorb different amounts of liquid. It�s not necessary that all the liquid is absorbed so keep the bottom of the pan wet throughout the cooking. While the pasta is simmering, heat some olive oil in a saut� pan until very hot but not smoking and sear the mushrooms, tossing constantly, until they are browned at the edges. Remove to a side plate. Toss in the scapes and sear on all sides until they start to show some black blisters. Remove to a side plate. Add the 2 tablespoons butter and stir, scraping up any bits from the pan, until the butter turns a golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in the reduced cream. When the pasta is cooked, stir in the butter/cream mixture, the cheese, the Swiss chard and the mushrooms. Allow to stand for a minute or two to let the chard cook, correct seasoning if necessary and then turn into the serving bowl. Arrange the seared garlic scapes on top.

Ohh!!! My doctor said baby toenails often look ingrown but usually aren't. I haven't even looked at all at Nyomi's much and when I do, they are still too short to cut. I cut her fingernails with a great baby nail clipper with a big bulb/holder thing at the end so it's super easy to grip and control. I actually enjoy the challenge of it for some reason and have not *yet* cut her. My only advice, and i hope it makes sense in writing is to: push back the nail from the finger and make sure that you just have nail...like you really have to look (i know how small those darn fingers are), and then cut. That may not make sense, but I know how hard it can be! I'm sure a lot of people have done it! Some people put gloves on their babies because they are nervous about cutting their nails... love, jami