Johanna, sorry about your hen, hopefully she will heal up just fine. Several of my girls have taken a beating because I have my older roo, Rocky, and kept his son that I hatched out. I knew I would be getting more layers and since Rocky has made such a wonderful roo, I wanted to keep his son. He's a nice bird as well, but like you said, young and "eager." Rocky is an Iowa Blue so is handsome but not too big. He has a very good temperament. I am only going to start my tomato seeds inside this year and always sow them on my birthday, Mar 30. My little present to myself, LOL. I usually do a variety of things but decided to just buy pepper plants locally and winter sow my flowers and other veggies. I take 2 liter bottles and basically make tiny greenhouses out of them, complete with soil. Toss the seeds in there and put them outside, either in a box or somewhere where they won't tip. It can freeze, snow, blow and those seeds will pop up just beautifully when it is time. It has saved me a lot of time and space inside and the plants are vigorous because they are already hardened off. Lori

Vicki, do they survive the weather and soil, and keep blooming following years? I did buy most of them at 50-75% off, before Christmas, and could not resist, though most people around here do not plant them, and say they don't come back. i have made alot of of soil amendments, so hoping they will. After scouring all my books for a yes or no, I planted them w/o any, confident, giving them a good water soluble 10-110 fertilizer when the poke out of the ground. Some were already growing, close to 300, 30 holes, daffodils, tulips, muscari, and some lily of the valley in the part shade areas. It was a lot of work for just one shot, hoping to be WoWed by them for several years, at least.. The last ones were tucked in about 9:30pm tues, just before the tornadic weather came through and hit our little town, they are well watered in. I will let you know how they do, for futere reference for anyone else planting them last minute.

If anyone is interested in getting a jump on spring planting (like me- I just can't help it sometimes!) I'm having a little bit of an open house tomorrow for my neighbors, because I'm clearing out some plants and garden supplies and really didn't want to just throw them away. I'd love to save it all for the spring trade- there's tons of plants I'm looking for- but I they're taking up too much room :) Here's a list of things I'm getting rid of, and if anyone would like any of it, just reply for my address and you can come over and get what you want, first come first served! I'm in the Decatur/Emory/Clarkston area. 2 lady banks climbing roses 1 red flower carpet (miniature blooms) standard tree rose 2 unknown multicolored climbing roses (I forget the varieties, mea culpa) 1 unknown climbing yellow rose (excellent repeat bloomer) 2-3 climbing roses whose name I forget but who have white blooms with hot-pink-edged petals, very pretty 1 red climbing rose called Altissimo (single blooms, very bright red) 1 miniature light-pink climbing rose 1 truly enormous climbing new dawn rose. this thing has stems inches across at the base, and until we cut it back for transplanting was probably 15 or 20 feet up in the air. it kills me to get rid of it because it literally blooms all year, but we just took down 4 big trees and I have nothing to support it on anymore. I'll need some help digging it up from whoever takes it. 1 hybrid tea rose that hasn't been blooming well for me, I forget the variety but it has small pink blooms While I'm at it... I also have 2 rigid pond liners for a pond that never really got built (these will be a job to extricate, as the area has gotten weedy, but they're pretty nice still) some pond plants that were growing in the sort-of pond any number of rose of sharon plants that my husband would LOVE if someone wanted to dig up and take. Want a rose of sharon hedge? We've got you covered. They bloom pink, white and purple and get 6-8 feet tall if not cut back. strawberry starts from runners the azaleas in my front yard (they bloom white) are all slated to get removed, so if any of you want a dozen azaleas (or even one!), we would be extremely happy if we were saved the effort of digging them out. They're in a very untidy area, though, with ivy mixed in. I believe there is also some forsythia mixed up in there that's up for grabs. And I have some flowerpots too (some are quite large), and some gardening chemicals, which I'll set out in the driveway. a large, bright-blue rain barrel (spigot not yet installed) tons of crocosmia Quite a few grow lights and light fixtures for seed starting There's probably more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

I'm getting out of control! I just ordered another, bigger, blueberry bush - Semi-Dwarf Northland, a Pixie Crunch dwarf apple tree, and some Purple Passion asparagus starts! I wanted to hold off on the asparagus since I don't even have the ground ready yet and since it lasts 20+ years, I need to put it in the right spot from the get-go, but I couldn't resist. I almost bought some strawberry plants but I don't have room for what I already have yet so I told myself, stop!! Deanna - I have a marseilles fig and I love it. I grow mine in a pot and put it in the garage every winter and the next spring it leafs out and grows fine. The buds on mine just broke this past week as a matter of fact. It's now on my back, 3-season porch waiting for the temps to warm a little bit more before I move it out onto the deck. My grandfather used to bury his fig every year and my brother does that with his, but I'd rather keep it in the pot and just take it in. Altho it's getting a little big now. I'm going to have to keep it at the size it's at now if I want to still be able to take it in every year! My back is going to be killing me by the time I get all that lawn dug up and the veggie bed in order! I always bite off more than I can chew every spring and you'd think I'd learn by now, but I never do!! The next spring I'm doing the same thing again! Lisa