Oh me, oh my, what a day we have put in! DH and I cleaned the pond in our front yard..had completely filled into one mass of cat tail and waterlily roots. Hardly room for the goldfish. Took two of us to pull the mess out and cut it into chunks to handle. I freed the orgional pots and now have them replanted one cat tail and THREE water lilies. WIsh I could give the extras away to all of you, as I have so many but I don't mail plants! We planted my Edgeworthia Chrysantha in a corner of the rose garden and put down landscape fabric all around it so the area no longer has to be mowed. We staked up an 8-yr old Great Century rose that blew down in one of our thunderstorms...just uprooted and over it went! Tied up Dr W Van Fleet to the back fence. Planted a golden leaves corkscrew holly, a CHinese Fringetree that had alread spent last summer in its pot (because I didn't know where to put it) and a golden thuja (to use for cutting) Then I remembered my 6' Diablo Ninebark sitting in its pot at the back of the MoonGArden and a new bridalwreath. Got help from Hubby planting them. We still didn't get my little TIGER SUmac planted but he has gone off to mow his dog-walking paths (He finds it good entertainment and exercise... LOL). I am SO HAPPY to get my plants into the ground where they atleast have a chance! Still gotta find a place for my HEss blue doug fir, but I know where I want it and it will have to be fenced in to protect it until it gets some good growth on it. I want to plant it where I will view it against some cinnamon-barked madrones from my office window. My little Korean Firs that I started from seed about 8 years ago are growing nicely. I think they will hit 5' tall this year atleast and at last!I Adopted 2 Korean daughters so have to adopt all interesting Korean plants too! Well, got my stands going again today with the left overs from the wedding. About all we have now are the first peonies about to pop and the iris that weren't picked for the wedding and the early roses. Am doing both stands while Delinda is on vacation. Will go down and check on them (Actually bring home any flowers left and close them) after I have rested a bit.

Stephanie, I found the plant at a local perennial nursery and bought one to try it out. I have now killed three plants and have no idea of what is going wrong as this flower bed is a dream come through as far as soil, drainage, etc. The nursery where I found it in St. Louis specializes in many types and varieties of perennials--it was not a big box store so you may find it at a local specialty nursery. Good luck finding one (and hope it thrives well!) Teresa

Well, the tree man has come twice this week, both times when I wasn't home...must not know how to use a cell phone! HOpefully he will come back tomorrow. Jeanne, this was the order from flowerbulb.net just to make up the varieties they had less expensive (or that Colorblends didn't have). The first year I got great bulbs from FLbulb.net and they had a wonderful selection at low prices. Each year the selection gets smaller and they went from boxes of 100 to boxes of 125. So I got the Christmas Marvel and Christmas (Present?) for forcing for Valentines day, daffs Actea, something yellow, and jack Snipe, Tulip Abu Hassam, Aladdin,Arabian Mystery, Yellow Dutch Iris, Blue dutch Iris, More muscari (Can't beleive I can't get them to multiply fast enough for the number I use in spring bouquets!, Frittilaria meleagris, and allium moly. That is all I remember right now anyhow. But these were just the tag ends of my orders! I bought most of the rest of my tulips from Colorblends and only bought from VE what I couldn't find elsewhere, Like Green Village. I bought my Daffs through daff depot, that is a part of Colorblends. I am really looking forward to seeing how the color blend tulips go, especially those French ones! And Jeanne, I only have about 6 weeks to get my bulbs in before my new "daughter", Sunny,(My Adopted daughter's identical twin sister, age almost 25) arrives from Korea. I can teach her to plant bulbs but I don't think I should exhaust her with it! My Time schedule should work out OK though, especialy if the tree guy does show up to look to tomorrow and schedules an appt! (And October isn't back to back monsoons!)

LizaLily, This came in my email box today, from Donna in the Garden, writing The Garden Dirt. "If you're buying tulips, daffodils or hyacinths for outdoor planting, buy extra for indoor forcing. Besides the bulbs, you'll need: potting soil (lighter mixes are preferable); plastic, terra cotta or ceramic pots (at least twice as deep as the bulbs) with drainage holes; a dark, cool location. Step by step: always start with clean pots; fill the pots with an inch or two of potting soil; place the bulbs on the soil and backfill around the bulbs. Water thoroughly. Place the pots in a cool location - ideally in a refrigerator where the temperatures are between 38 to 48 degrees F. Remember you are trying to simulate the same conditions they would experience if grown in the garden during the winter months; they need the constant cold and darkness for 10 to 12 weeks. After the requisite 'chill', introduce the potted bulbs to warmer temperatures (60 degrees F and gradual light. After 4 to 5 days; place the pots in brighter light and slightly warmer temperatures. The leaves and flower buds will continue to expand; you'll be enjoying colorful blooms in 3-4 weeks (give or take). The flowers of forced bulbs will last longer if kept on the 'cool' side - 65 to 70 degrees F. Excessive heat will reduce the longevity of the blooms significantly." Does this help any more? The URL will take you to the blog, where you can subscribe if you like. I receive a daily entry 5 or 6 times a week. Here is a link that might be useful: Daily Dirt