We really would like to help your plants stay alive over the winter - I assume you had intended to attach a photo or perhaps you hit submit message when you meant to add?

Wow, jan, you make me blush! I'm glad you like my gardens and I'm sure that photo selectivity makes them look even better than they really are. I love my gardens but have always thought it was more a beauty as in *the eye of the beholder* more than anything else!! I have much to report but no time just now. We are set to take our grandboys to see the latest 'Winnie the Pooh' movie tonight! I have taken a lot of update pix and it will take me some time to upload them to Photobucket, but don't give up on me! Les--I agree with you, all our dogs are show quality, even if it's our own *show*!! And thank you for your kind thoughts coming my way about our small trauma this summer! north53, please let us know how your hosta fared with the Ash coming down!! I bet your arborist did do a good job, afterall!! Just have to add, tj, (I became off-topic with our dog pic) I agree with you--Standard Poodles should not be presented as foo foo dogs at all. We are amazed at Callie's agility and speed and predatory inclinations! Wow--this is NOT a foo foo or froo froo dog, although she can be quite the prissy, I must say! The froo froo cuts were originally designed to insulate the joints of the dogs as they dove into the cold waters after the duck kills! The shaved down areas were to facilitate fast swimming but the joints needed the protection of the longer coat. I prefer the puppy or lambs' cut myself, but we needed to 'clear' her coat to allow the steel-gray color to begin to be more apparent. They go through a brown or chocolate color stage first, then gradually the 'blue' that becomes their final coloring at about 2 yrs. More later...

"Baby gladiolus" are the hardy type (cross between G. colvillei and others. I bought mine from a cheapie mail order company (burgess) where they simply marketed them as "hardy glads." They are shorter, only up to 2 feet high, but just as pretty and do not need to be dug up. Hardy to zone 5.

Good point. Absolutely he should get as much as the rootball as possible. That's why I said to dig down all the way with a big shovel - in my garden, that is sufficient to capture the root ball as it's not as big as you might think. I can see that in fluffier soils people might plant their bulbs deeper or the rootball might spread out more. The point of taking out a big chunk of soil is to keep as much of the roots intact and help them not dry out during processing into pot their short term holding places. I have used cardboard boxes to hold plants for swaps, etc. They work pretty well for about a month and are dirt cheap. Might be useful if you run out of pots for a stop gap.