Congrats, Midnight. Growing a clivia to blooming size from seed is a great accomplishment. I hope you'll start a separate thread with pics once the blooms are open. Great plants! Socks, Disneyland and I have a lot in common, heh heh, and no, not because I'm "goofy"! I like a lot of the plants they use, and how they create such cheerful/jarring combinations. I just planted a bare root 'Disneyland' rose, which, while not jarring, is certainly perky like the many they have planted there. I've been gardening since I was five years old and have reached the point where I just plant what I enjoy and what makes me smile, so "tastemakers" be damned, lol. The brighter, taller, and stinkier, the more I like my orange marigolds. I actually struggle to find non-dumpy dwarf types. Usually I get them from Select Seeds or Seeds of Change...what about you? Take care, Grant

If you should be coming the weekend of May 7&8th, the Victoria Conservatory of Music has lined up 16 private gardens to visit for a nominal charge of $25. This event takes place every year and the gardens change every year. I have now attended three of these events, and most of these gardens are really superb, full of flair and innovation. I second Royal Rhodes garden (free), the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific gardens (small admission charge)and UVic's Finnerty Garden (free). Also, UVic has a wonderful facility to the north of the peninsula called Dunsmuir Lodge with breathtaking scenery from its dining room which features a fabulous buffet for lunch and a great menu for dinner. It also has accomodation and is just a bit north from the route you would take to Butterfly World and Butchard Gardens. It is a wonderfully quiet location, perched next door to John Dean Park with lots of hiking trails. Another restaurant no one has mentioned and one of my favourites for great cusine is Camille's in downtown Victoria. I believe the Carden Street Cafe was closed the last time I drove by. On some of our little weekend get-aways, we have stayed at some absolutely wonderful B&Bs, and really recommend this as a great way to get information about things to do and places to go. If you are going to Tofino, the Wickaninnish Inn (if it is in your budget) is a truly wonderful experience. Each room has a private balcony where you enjoy the roar of the breaking waves on the beach and romantic sunsets. The dining room features all organic and unparalled cuisine, a wonderful private dining experience and the most impecable service. Enjoy your visit to the island..we did and moved here 13 years ago!

Now is about as late as you want to wait to start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants for setting out in late May or early June when night time temps do not fall below 50 and soil has warmed to 60. You can set them out earlier if you use wall of water or other protection. Tomatoes tolerate a little more coolness than peppers and eggplants. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower can be started now also or direct sowed in April or later. Most people direct seed their lettuce and some people are already doing that in more sheltered areas of Portland. Of course the garden centers will also have lots of veggie starts but they generally offer the tomatoes and peppers way too early trying to temp us into buying them before it is really warm enough to plant them out. BEWARE OF THE SLUGS THEY WILL DESTROY YOUR LETTUCE AND DAMAGE EVERYTHING ELSE. If you are worried about toxicity there is iron based slug bait which is more expensive but not dangerous to domestic or wild critters. There are two mail order seed companies which specialize in NW veggies Territorial Seeds and Nichols Garden Nursery (which is in your area) .... goggle them. jwww

Hope you have found some good heirlooms to try this year. You had a pretty good selection last year. Cherokee Purple is one of my favorites. Sun Gold is the only hybrid I grow. A really neat cherry is Black Cherry. Looks like a mini Cherokee Purple and more prolific for me than Sun Gold. Black Cherry is not an heirloom, but an open pollinated variety. You can save seed from it. It will grow true. For future reference, look at Sandhill Preservation, a family run seed catalogue in Iowa. They are on-line. Don't remember their exact url, but you won't have trouble finding it. Huge tomato section, including some very rare and interesting ones. Do not let anyone tell you we can't grow delicious tomatoes here. We can, but it takes some planning. You need to start your own seed. I start mine in February or March. But I have a mini greenhouse to put them in later in the spring, and not everyone does. Choose the sunniest spots in your garden for the plants. I have large trees around me, so I have to plant in the same places yearly. By all means experiment with walls of water, hoop houses, cloches, wrapping tomato cages with clear plastic, planting near walls or driveways or in pots and hanging baskets. All can be effective. And one of the most important ways to get a big and delicious tomato is to grow one that consistently grows big and delicious. I've traded for some terrific ones in the tomato seed exchange forum here on garden web. Neves Azorean Red grows huge and yummy tomatoes, but I don't think too many catalogues have it yet. This is the latest grower in my collection. Probably over 90 days from transplant. Even with my limited sunshine, my biggest tomato grew over 2 pounds. One that is easier to find and grows around a pound and more for me is Aker's West Virginia. And the stems are huge on this one. Very sturdy plant. You've already tried Cherokee Purple. I have grown it for years because of the taste. A really nifty book with excellent tomato info is Dr. Carolyn J. Male's, "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden." She is also a valued contributor here on garden web, mostly in the tomato forum, but sometimes elsewhere. The book has terrific pictures and history of the tomato variety when known. Although I love and appreciate Territorial and Nichol's, I do not rely on them for interesting tomato varieties. I did buy the Beaverlodge Series and Orange King from Territorial this year, just to try them, but they don't have that many interesting tomatoes. That said, I love them for most other seeds and their excellent growers info. Tomato Growers is excellent and so is Baker Heirloom Seeds. I did not care for Siletz and I have not grown Willamette. Most folks in the northwest seem to be under the impression that we can't grow delicious tomatoes, but must grow only the boring earlies. Untrue! (Although it's a lot harder around Seattle and the Pudget sound area.) If I recall correctly, the Delta Farms folks retired. All the best to you for your 2006 garden. Mary