an orange seed will OLNY produce a orange tree BUT the fruit may not be like the parent it will NEVER produce a lemon/or marigold. That said your pepper will produce a pepper plant BUT the fruit may not be exactly like the parent by the way the fruit will not be a "hot" pepper but will be a "sweet pepper"

Hi again everyone - loads of great info. Gonzer, those points about T. xerographica habitat help it all to make sense - thanks a lot for that. Tamera, I've been starting to plan what I can put out in the front yard now I finally have my new fence up to keep the @#$%! deer out. Hadn't thought of a frangipani (deer chew them up and I'm still trying to get my head past that), but that would be just absolutely perfect! Especially terrific with no leaves in winter - and nice big leaves that won't clog up all the broms when they fall off. A trip to the nursery will happen shortly. Thanks a lot for the idea. By the way, that tall silver Aechmea? looks fantastic in that setting - the one with 2 or three different plants in the pic. Can you let me know what it is? Thanks. Cheers, Paul

Well I just had to share this b/c i was shocked (and yet really shouldn't be....I mean i always complained I lived with slobs, but who knew it would co$t me) Since the end of Sept. my roomates and I have split up and moved to different communities... this morning I received a letter from our old apt. community letting us know we owe $410!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEGADS! There were some minor charges then a $920 charge for replacing/repairing carpet (they took $460 off b/c of depreciation). Stupid parties they had with friends who spilt wine & bloody marys .. then they never clean up till much later.. or i'd just attempt to oxyclean the stains after a few days went by b/c you could never expect my roommates to follow through on anything. oy... an experience i'm glad is over. Just an update/ vent. thank you.

The quote I like is: "Even a broken clock is right twice a day". The kind of artist you might be thinking is probably one of those bohemian creative types who have work in galleries or art shows. I'm more like a craftsman with a lot of technical rules to carefully follow, the work is tedious and labor intensive. I used to be a draftsman for oil companies but that didn't mean I knew very much about the oil business. Its pretty much the same way with what I do now. Quercus, in defense of Oklahoma I don't see us as being in state of denial, not caring about what we are and could have. I don't sense hostility and I especially don't sense conceit disguised as inferiority from people here. Its more like many are pretty set in their ways, old habits die hard but mostly people don't think of such things because its never even been presented as something to think about. Most of the people are down to earth, unassuming and very friendly. People who move here or visit almost always comment on how friendly the people are. Zach, come to think of it, I haven't personally met a single native plant freak in person, I've only read that stuff online & I know what you are talking about. Because of water shortages, or more precisely the higher water bills, native plants are catching on here. I see stories on the news about seminars, education and native plant sales. If the stores sell them, folks will buy them. Trends seem to be slow in getting here but they do eventually arrive. As it is, I'm proud of what OKC is doing with the native grass plantings around the capitol and several developments downtown with the Riverwalk, Stadium, Bricktown etc where the city has put in many new features that celebrate our heritage, history and native plants. As far as people getting in touch with their surroundings here and landscaping accordingly, that would mean tall grasses and wild plants which to most people look like country weeds and it would result in yards that looked like overgrown weedy messes, which is against city codes. Its not going to happen. I think Tom mentioned something about that weedy look some time back and how awful it usually turns out. Its challenging to have a prairie garden, it seems like you are always about one season away from complete chaos and a mess. I sort of like that kind of challenge myself, makes it seem more appealing because it gives me something like a puzzle to think about, continuously planning and problem solving.