My step Dad in Alabama grew the gourds and I stained and sealed them. I used the seed from them and tried to plant gourds this year in TX. My gourds came out much smaller because I did not prepare the soil properly for gourds. Purple Martin Bird lovers (who build gourd bird houses) claim that you need 1 dead English Sparrow for each gourd mound. (Since they are not Native to America, English Sparrow's kill our cavity nesting birds and eat crops. They are therfore not protected by law and can be killed.) Study England's "Boxing Day" (use to be a big day for Fox Hunting) which is the day after Christmas. You will find that children carolers not only sang from door to door but carried a dead sparrow at the end of a pole. This is a welcome sight to any farmer and sure to produce a contribution to the carolers. Anyhoo my gourd gardening needs improvement. Yes, I wondered why some of my pics come out so big and others are OK!!! Thank you, I am still in Photobucket training. Susie

Already Passed, bring down.

I rescued some plants myself yesterday, Stacie. I dug about 30-40 lilac starts and probably as many iris from old sites in our former little town. Rick owns the land that I dug from so it wasn't like I was taking from anyone else. There are still two old buildings on his sections so I took some of what was there around the buildings. I by no means took it all. Some of those lilac bushes were probably 20-30 feet in diameter. Not much blooming on them now as they desperately need to be rejuvinated. I sure at some point the rest will just get plowed down but at least I saved some of it. Now I have to figure out where to plant them that the goats can't get to. Wow, girl, you really made a haul. I think it you took out that big tree over your fairy village you'd have some sun to plant in ;) How in the world will you plant it all in your condition? Holler if you need some help. I'm slow as mollases but I can still scoot around on my behind! MeMo

Hi - I am originally from and moving back to central Maine - Skowhegan area. Yes - since it is lovely sunny if cool and the first blooms are blooming down here in NJ/Pa -I sometimes think it's abit nuts to head north to garden. Schneekoppe is a rugosa with white/lavender blooms - like a white flower in a shadow - lovely - also called snow pavement. I love perennials - many kinds. I love natives - and I photographed alot in my dad's woods last spring - and donated lots of food to the local mosquitos. I've also really been enjoying the tender perennials for the last few years - plants that are perennial and need to be grown for a longer period - and are of course more expensive. I often use them in the jungles I call containers. Some I've grown from seed - lots are available at nurseries (which is often where I work). Here's a list of some of my favorites plants - heavily influenced by the flower show I went to this week - my lists change daily: Peonies - I love peonies - It's the only thing I've planted in Maine so far - bought some pale singles at the CG fair last year. I will miss tree peonies! Phormium - great spikey foliage - good colors Melianthus - also great foliage - lovely serrated edges - stinky though. Coleus - I didn't like these for many years - but now I love them. Unfortunately I didn't keep my favorites over the winter this year. Clivia - I know it's not a garden plant but my orange ones are in bloom right now. I took a photo of an absolutely magnificient yellow one at the flower show to inspire my tiny little hopefully yellow one. Poppies and Irises - Almost any kind. Brunnnera, mysotis, pulmonaria - all these blue for-get-me-not relatives are lovely. I like the pink ones too. Helleborus, Hepatica, Columbines, Thalictrum, Aconitum - hmmm the whole ranunculus clan including of course Delphiniums. The blues are wonderful - and they don't love NJ at all - so I'm looking forward to having happy Delphiniums again. All right that's enough for today. What kind of gardens do you have - what colors do you like? I'm having lots of fantasies - and I have a small field and a large pile of manure - but I have to keep myself in check until I get practical things like walls and floors in my house. bye now agmss