I tried growing Amaranthus tricolor 'Early Splendor' from seed this year, which sounds a lot like the one you've got. Amaranthus are very easy from seed and fast-growing, and I've grown them before, but this particular batch is just refusing to grow! I want big, bushy 4ft plants for my borders - what I have at the moment are puny 1 inch seedlings (if that!). I They look so beautiful in the pictures... http://www.fothergills.co.uk/en/amaranthus-early-splendour-2476.aspx http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/12311/ http://www.aujardin.info/img/img5/amaranthus_tricolor_v_early_splendor_red.jpg ... but they just aren't growing! Sorry that doesn't answer the question as to why your plant isn't growing, but at least you're not the only one having problems with this variety!

Lovely little piece of Kansas you've got there, Larissa! We've got about 5 times that amount of snow... and yesterday was so cold that I tried to shovel the sidewalk, and gave up after about 10 feet, or so! I headed for the warmth of the house so my ears and face could thaw out! We were below zero... WITHOUT the windchill! It was so cold yesterday, that the dogs were limping on three legs after being out long enough to relieve themselves! Frostbitten pads on paws are a real danger in this kind of weather! I spent all day, and half of the night, rearranging the Jungle and doing some deep cleaning... sucking up cobwebs and furballs, washing windows and dusting... it's amazing what you can get done when your husband isn't underfoot! :-)

Oh bobby - what a great offer! But only if I get to sit with you while I eat it. Rosie - perhaps we could just trade first borns .... I will save you both some seed.

Oh my stars! Thank you all so much for chiming in on my color scheme dilemma. Allison, Graywings and Teacats, I am (unfortunately) white wall challenged. I love the look for other people but I've never liked a single room that I've painted white myself. (And I've painted lots of them.) My off whites always look dingy and my creams -- too yellow. The stark whites I've tried were too, well, stark. I just don't have the genes for it, I guess. shermann, Blue was my first thought but I hadn't considered something muted, in the same hue as the carpet. My mind was more on that spa color - but I think I just like that color. I really can't picture it in the room. My second blue choice was navy - but the room is long and narrow and I thought it might look like a cave. "... enhancing but rather invisible, something that enriches but isn't obvious. I love the way color in some rooms envelopes and encircles the furnishings." This is exactly what I want and I thought your blue might get me there, but then I read about the taupes and tans. Lindac and kswl, I love taupe. I have a shade in my livingroom that's a lot like china doll, a lighter shade of it in my kitchen, and it's in both baths too. But when I hold the pink and white quilt up against it -- ick. I think it is the particular color of pink that is working against the taupe. juliekcmo, That davenport tan sure is a pretty color. Like the navy that I considered, I worry that it might be a touch too dark and cavelike in my long, narrow room with just one window. camlan, I love all the pale grays I've seen popping up in rooms lately. The only thing that makes me nervous about it is -- I think my gray skills may be no better than my white ones. The light green, oh how I wish I was brave enough to try that. I think it would take someone more talented than me to pull together all that color though. But tan ... les917, I think we have a winner! When I read your post I could "see" this room come together. I even know exactly where I'll place each piece. Fair warning: It will probably take me months to finish this room. It is the larger of the two "kids" rooms. As such, it was first inhabited by my son. His mission, until he went away to college, seemed to be to hang as many skateboard/video game/rock band posters as possible. When he moved out, daughter moved in -- and so began the faux asian phase, with even more poster holes. After she left for school my mentally ill brother came to live with us for awhile. This was the portion of his illness where he was delusional. He had grand plans of becoming a famous artiste ... and hung up every drawing he completed. And he was prolific ;) He also had trouble with decision making and tried his flat screen tv out on three of the four walls, without patching the resulting holes. So. The Plan: 1. Patch 10,000 holes. 2. Either remove spilled paint from baseboard or repaint all trim in the room. 3. Paint. By "neutral light tan" I'm thinking you meant something in a straw-ish color more so than the redder or bluer tans? 4. Ask BFF re plates. (She recently inherited more blue and white than she knows what to do with.) 5. Purchase new bedding in crisp white with navy. 6. Haunt thrift stores for vintage fabrics for accent pillow covers. I couldn't find the butterfly one on the Land's End site. I love the geometric one but I am cheap and think I can find something I like just as well for a couple of bucks and some time. 7. Drive 100 miles to nearest Ikea or find similar chair closer. 8. Purchase mattress ticking. 9. Con m-i-l into making pillow covers and curtains. 10. Find matching drawer hardware to replace one that is missing on dresser and decide whether to refinish damaged top or cover with vintage dresser scarf. 11. Refinish top or locate aforementioned perfect vintage scarf. 12. Hang photo and artwork. 13. Accessorize. 14. Enjoy fabulous new room! I'll be sure to post photos when it's finished. And again, thank you, thank you, thank you!