I somehow had the thought that this was only a temporary situation I've only ever lived in the Northeast, but when I've encountered them they always have been a temporary situation. Of course, the species one encounters in the Northeast are adapted to a climate with a serious winter. You may be encountering a species that doesn't have that adaptation since you don't live in a climate with a regular killing frost. As to their discretion, they're always rather small bees (maybe one sixth the size of a honeybee, maybe a little smaller than that). They may move in and out before you realize they're even there.

Thank you, Norma, for the advice! I have learned so much from you already from your past posts and I know that your wisdom is held in the highest regard here on GW. Hi Puglvr - I'm still learning to grow them and I think I'm in the process of slowly losing my jovibarba and one of the aloes. :-( They were victims of a previous potting into very sandy soil, I'm afraid. It's been a constant learning process but I'm so glad that there's such a great group here on GW! Josh - I don't have a camera right now, and there are some pictures of jades that I'd love to share with you :-P In the meantime, here are some pictures that I took two or three weeks ago -- can you tell I love succulents that form rosettes?! :-) This echeveria has formed into a really pretty emerald-colored clump with one large "mother" rosette. I thought this one was a goner from the peat mix at HD. It dropped nearly all of its leaves back in June, but has rebounded nicely and is forming new baby rosettes on the stems and even flowered! This jovibarba is flowering as its last gasp of life... I think I watered it too much when it was sitting in sand and I think it's rotting because the rosettes are kind of shriveling up and dying. ... and from the planter of semps... Hopefully they'll make it through the winter outside!

Kathi, yes, they're nicotiana. Last year I planted nicotiana Aztec, just one plantÂan impulse buy at the farmer's market. It reseeded this year. I don't know if Aztec is a hybrid, but this year's plants are the same white, at least. I was going to add a few more pictures, but I just put them in the Gallery, where I guess these should have gone in the first place. Sorry about that! But happy to meet everyone. Susan

sidos_house - can't show my garden all at once, but below are some pics of bits of it showing more than one rose bush. Because my house is in the middle of our 1/3rd acre lot, and because I use 3 sides of it as a three story rose trellis, I can only take pics of parts of the garden at a time. I started counting all of the different "views" I can take pics of, and gave up when I got beyond 15. Jackie Here is the back of the house (roses are Cl Rainbow's End, Blaze, Cecile Brunner, Reve d'Or, and Sombreuil) Here is the SW corner of the house with Cl American Beauty (this rose was growing in 3 places when we moved in - it must have been a favorite, or just a survivor) Here are two pictures of way out by the sidewalk in front of the house - the first one is South of the driveway, and the other one is North of the driveway (second one was taken in March).