What a gorgeous Ernest, Marcia ! You must have the perfect plant, soil and zone for such a remarkable plant. Clematis actually love clay soil that's been ammended, from what the experts say. The clay holds moisture very well and it is full of organic nutrients. I'd plant a ton of clematis in that soil of yours ! It's golden. Suzy

Well it's been a while and I wanted to follow up. To all who responded, I want to say thanks for all your help and advice. It turns out a little patience and some fertilizer was all it needed. It was busy growing other shoots. The one in the picture actually died and 4 new ones came up. They are growing very quickly at present 3 ft! The trellis is filling up nicely! Thanks again! Tammy

Good Morning, Everyone! Smoke, thank you for the photos and info on those peppers. I hope you don't think I was trying to discourage anyone from trying them, I just felt bad that I couldn't give them any information on them. Wouldn't it be neat if we could name one of the peppers Smoke's Mystery Pepper, or Smoke's Russian Roulette Pepper? You would be famous : ) BTW, do you grow your own Mexican Oregano, or buy the dried leaves somewhere. I have a perennial herb bed, and grow lots of annual herbs in pots, but haven't tried to grow that one yet. I do know that my dried herbs taste waaaay fresher than what you can buy at the grocery store. My husband bought a smoker a year or two ago, but I hadn't really given any thought to making my own dry rubs before. He can't tolerate much heat, but maybe I can come up with a blend that incorporates some milder peppers as well. Thank you for the inspiration!!! Thank you, Tanya and Randy, for the kind words! Even though the swap has been kind of time consuming, I have learned so much from all of you pepper enthusiasts, and have been able to try a few new varieties, so I think it has totally been worth it. I hope you guys will feel that way too, when you get your packages back. Tanya - The Naga Morich is gone, but I've added the following to your package: Bhut Jolokia Cascabella A Smokemaster mystery pepper Randy - The Volcano is gone, but I've added the following to your package: Black Pearl Quadrato Rosso D'Asti PI 260250 PI 438638 I'll check back later today. I've got to run to the post office to drop off the first batch of packages. Bonnie

Hurray! I got my package from Diene today! Diene, you did a fantastic job of selecting plants I don't have. Lavender made the whole box smell delicious. 2 different sedums that I do not have will go in my sedum bed. Yarrow-perfect for cutting. Astilbe for the shade garden. Golden Bleeding Heart- I love it! I also received a lovely natural sand dollar and snail shell, a wind chime and a terrapin as well as seeds for crocosmia, bachelors buttons and stocks. The terrapin is going in the vegetable garden where the living prototype is eating my tomatoes. Maybe they will think the area is too crowded and move on? Vela, I am glad you liked your box. You have been a great hostess! I won't be participating in the next round. I am busy with the wedding, and there is not much in the garden right now that I would feel comfortable digging up; too hot and too mature. With the water restrictions we have been placed under, it is really hard to keep everything going. I will be peeking in now and then to see what everyone receives and how things are going. Late July, early August is a great time to divide iris and daylilies. Hopefully one of you will host a swap then. I have lots of those I need to divide and obligating yourself to a swap is a great motivator. Some photos from this morning: Fuchsia Koralle Shasta Daisy Sunny Side Up a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"> Pentas, Grafitti Pink Morning Glory, Flying Saucers