I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :) Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!! I counted yesterday: 31 different types in pots 3 of those pots are Andrew 33 pots total 3 different types in the ground 3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them) 2 Wide Brim 1 Tiny Tears 5 NOID in ground 3 clump #1 3 clump #2 1 ½ clump #3 1 mature mini no ID 1 mature mini no ID TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back. That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions. This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist. As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear. Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot. So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position. When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed. But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting. Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”. This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June. And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . . The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch. The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID. So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement. Thanks as always for looking and reading, Ludi

Seems to be lots of this going on. Mine showed up out of the blue (pun intended)for a day this week. They were checking out boxes...I ran for worms. They were here and gone in about 20 minutes. No interest in the worms. I could not identify everybody but I do believe I saw 2 juvi males 2 adults and 3 juvi females. If this IS indeed what I saw I think my questionable "little boy blue" has made it so far. I would like to think so. Havent seen them since. Maybe a nice "good by" befor they left for the winter. Im so glad I was here to see them if even briefly.

Sorry I never got back to this thread. Wow, pbrisjar, my first reaction would have been to walk right back out again! Glad the surprise party turned out to be fun, and that you also got your romantic dinner. Well, let's see, where did I leave off? I called middle SIL on her cell that AM, she said they were in NH and would be at house around 5-5:30, we'd go out to dinner and then they'd try to find a motel. I checked out a local B&B (expensive), stripped all the beds and washed sheets just in case. Didn't go looking for motels b/c I realized it was a holiday w/e and the nicer things would be booked (would have to change rooms at B&B since didn't have any available for 2 nights in a row), didn't want to take time away from cleaning. Asked my dad about air bed but he couldn't find pump so decided ds could try out his new sleeping bag in the study, dd could sleep with me, and DH would get the sleeper sofa (at least Thurs night since he had to work Fri and would be getting up early). They called at 5:30, were still up around Boston, said not to wait dinner for them. I had put the small roast I had thawed out b4 I knew they were coming back in freezer, so DH and I went out with the kids (and my parents, aunt & uncle since I found out it was their 26th anny and we had missed the 25th last year), SILs pulled in our driveway 8pm just behind us. After telling everyone all day her aunties were coming, DD suddenly got shy. She didn't get to visit much b4 I put her to bed in our bed and told everyone the sleeping arrangements - it was really too late to look for motels and of course DH wanted to visit. I stayed up til 11, DH and youngest sis stayed up really late. Oh, and I took advice to throw everything in closet (master bath) and shut the door - put the big 3-bag laundry sorter we use as hamper in master bath, found a standing towel rack (nonheated) we used in old house and put that in so everyone would have room for towels, shoved some stuff I had in study going to yard sale in WIC. Then as I'm bringing them into MBR and saying "Here's unfinished bath and WIC, but please don't open..." middle SIL opens the door b/c she wants to see how big it is! DH had told them we were still finishing trim, but they had no idea how much work we were doing/still needed. Asked me about all the blue tape on floors (loose tile) and walls (marking studs to nail baseboards). Oh, and then the last night after I put DD to bed I came down and found oldest one taking pics of all the wood on the floor of my DR, my LR with no curtains and half (not even all!) the trim pulled off the windows, no baseboards. I asked her not to, she said her DH wanted to see pics. I have to email her some when we get things finished (she took pics of my kitchen island, liked the layout, but I could have gotten the finished trim out of my BR and stuck it in place for pics! My cousin nailed it up a week later). DS had a science test but DD decided to play hooky (I stopped by preschool with a floppy - cards kept jamming my printer so teacher had to print them but I formatted everything for her, told her then that DD hadn't seen them in 4 yrs so she'd be absent). Then they decided we should all go to Mystic Seaport so I have the largest SUV, got gas, drove 2 hr to spend 2 hrs there, was afraid we wouldn't be home in time for Ds so called DH - he could get off early so OK. My parents invited us all up for BBQ so I headed straight there after getting ice DH said they needed, he was bringing steaks and chicken I had taken out on Thurs to defrost. Got to my parents', my dad said steaks were freezerburnt and chicken was frozen, so down to grocery store (30 min drive) to get steaks, potato salad, etc. We ate pretty late, stayed visiting later, at 9:15 I noticed, wanted DD to stay there but she had meltdown, wanted to come home. So about 10pm b4 kiddos got to bed, adults stayed up til midnight or so? I remember everyone had to brush their teeth 1 at a time even though we have 2 sinks so I fell asleep waiting my turn (should have brushed when I did DD's teeth), finally brushed my teeth about 1:30am when I woke up to pee. Other than that, no problem scheduling bathroom. Sat AM took everyone out for brunch and they left since they all had to be at work day after Mem. Day. They were going to stop and see niece in TN on the way (hope they called her!). Turns out DH either is not good at reading b/t the lines, or set me up I don't know which. I asked about miscommunication, b/c I could have had vinyl tile down in MBA so we'd have another shower and prob toilet, heck, i could have gotten a stock laminate countertop from HD and put in sink(s) since I have them and faucets already. Not to mention a railing on the stairs (2 SILs have had DVT and had trouble with stairs but didn't want to take sleeper sofa). Anyway, youngest SIL said she had told DH that when they were planning this road trip (tour of NE) this was the onyl time they all could get off work. If he had told me that (and that they were trying to see other states in NE, not just driving to see us and whatever else they could on the way), I would have *known* they were coming, even if/when she didn't get back to him after "checking with the others." So I told them please in the future call the home phone to talk to us/email me as well as him, so we avoid the mis(lack of) communication via DH. Though DH tells me they will probably never travel together again (or at least not with oldest sister) b/c they were about ready to kill each other after a week of 24/7. I did hear (driving DH's car back from my parents with single SIL) about how owner of car was having fits over the way the other 2 drove. And youngest SIL was glad to have ds's room to herself since the other 2 snore. So it was a whirlwind visit that really didn't last much more than 1 day. I think they enjoyed having someone else do the driving but still being able to see (a little) of the area that day. Dad was going crazy cooking everyone's steak to order (since they were being polite about what they considered "cooked", talking to a family of vampires LOL, my dad kept throwing it back on the grill when they said "Wheeeeel, a little more than that..." and "Umm, yes, I can eat it like that." when they should have just told him well-done). But I think they appreciated having 1 dinner at someone's house. I know they enjoyed visiting with DH, and oldest was showing my mom pics of her grandbabies. DD enjoyed meeting them, she said she missed them after, promises (?) she'll be a good traveler if we go visit them sometime.