Kathy, have you been in my DVD cabinet??? ;-)) IJ, Children of Men was hard to READ, and I usually love P. D. James's work. It is in my Netflix queue 'cause Clive Owen rocks. My mom liked Fracture and Shooter and I have Hot Fuzz (if you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, you should!), 300, and Zodiac waiting for early next week. I have "Damages" waiting in the DVR. And Deja Vu (Denzel!) and Kickin' it Okd Skool ('cause Michael Rosenbaum from "Smallville" is the man). Two from the BBC for those of you who don't get BBC America: MI-5 (if you like 24, you will LOVE MI-5, their baby-faced cutie spies could whip Jack Bauer with one hand, and I love me some Jack Bauer!) and Waking the Dead (CSI meets Cold Casee with similar, enigmatic, troubled, driven, leaders).

Just got back from a weekend away for a party for my DH's grandmother's 100th birthday! It was amazing. I've now been having fun reading everyone's experience with garden craziness. Renee, maybe those folks wanted to teach kindergarteners their shapes?!? I never knew Crape Murder was so common. On some of my trips down south I have seen some "weird" stuff done to them. Luckygal, that amazes me that someone could cut down a shrub when it is blooming and showing off its full worth. Louisianagal, thanks for that website. I have only had a chance to quickly peruse it, but it looks quite interesting and right up my alley. I must admit to you that I also would love to prune other's trees. Sometimes I wonder if I could sneak into the yards at midnight and do some undercover pruning. I wonder if the homeowners would even notice that their crabapple suddenly looks like a tree instead of a scraggly shrub. Do you get grief from your neighbors because they think your cottage style is not tidy enough? Are they neighbors that have perfectly manicured lawns and pour chemicals all over everything? You probably have such a circle of life in your garden that they would never even be able to imagine. Lf, I also love the trees at power lines that have had their middle branches chopped out so they straddle the lines and look deformed. Do they not chop the trees down because they don't want to deal with the stumps? I've never been able to figure that out. Hurlee, up for a game of "Duck, Duck, SHRUB!!" I can't even picture what that circle of shrubs would look like. Any chance you can get a picture of it, or is it something you just have to see in person to believe? Christin, the worst part about the random cutting of the magnolia is that it was perfectly placed (by the homeowners prior). If they had only limbed it up I don't think I would have been so shocked. They just wacked away at almost every branch and but it back for no apparent reason. It is in a semi-circular border as the focal point in front of their big window in the front of their house. It is far enough away from the house and there is nothing that it interferes with. It really was one of the most beautiful stellatas I've seen around here. I still can't figure out what possessed them to cut it. Do you think those neighbors who buzz-cut their birds nest spruce talk about you saying how crazy you are nipping away ever so carefully at yours!?! LOL! It's truly amazing how many people think electric hedge trimmers or worse, chain saws are the best pruning tool. Yes, in some cases it's just the ticket, but then I think some people get a bit carried away about making quick work of something. Prairiegirlz5, I want to cry that they cut down the tree! That is terrible. It never ceases to amaze me how attached gardeners can become to plants, shrubs and trees that aren't even in our own yards. There are so many beautiful things I see and when someone commits a crime against it I get so sad. I really am a bit in mourning about the magnolia tree my neighbors cut. I know it sounds crazy, but I look foward to that tree blooming every year. I hope it survives. Kathi, I must admit when I was a new gardener in my first year I was a bit of a liner-upper. I read everything about the plants and then sorted them by size and planted accordingly. But then I guess I realized that half the time the plants don't always "do" what they're supposed to do which is probably a good thing because it made me realize a more relaxed look is much nicer. Silverkelt, I have to agree with the orange mulch. I'm not a fan of the way it looks, but if it were a little more natural I don't think I would mind it as much. I've heard over and over that it is shredded pallets dyed red so I have to assume that is the case. If it were some kind of "real" red cedar or something, that might be a little more palatable. The thought of people paying good money for something treated with dye doesn't sit right with me. Thanks for the info on Knockout roses. I've been thinking they are not for our colder zones based on what my one rose looks like in my garden compared to the amazing Knockouts I see down south. Gardenweed!! You definitely get the blue ribbon for the best story! That is insane!!!

If you are a member of any of the plant societies - North American rock Garden society, hardey Fern Foundation, american Rhododendron society, whatever, and attend their local and national meetings you will see a lot of really great private gardens. One garden I am dying to see is Frank Cabot's "Les Quatre Vents" in Quebec. Stonecrop is another of his and now I understand he has one in New Zealand.

Stuff I put on top of the soil invariably makes it's way INTO the soil because I have lots of busy and voracious worms. I have watched a leaf being dragged under the surface in a matter of moments. And the mere act of harvesting turns the soil as vigorously as digging a trench. Unless we are talking about the actual spade using, the 'on top or underneath' distinction is no way clear-cut. My only real concern is to ensure the surface oi my sandy soil is not exposed to the leaching winds and rain...and a winter coverage of weeds is at least as useful and effective as any other mulch...just looks a bit tatty. There is a big difference in how I garden for paying customers and how I conduct myself on my own plot. I know which method I prefer On one hand, I am responsible, careful, pay attention to the science of horticulture and am often slightly anxious. On the other, it is all a lot more anarchic, experimental (and often murderous), still slightly anxious but always joyful sense of 'so what'. Horses for courses. I had been happily posting on the ARF forum for 15 years or so when the issue of soil amendments came up. One experienced gardener filled the planting holes with bushels of hay...and would not even entertain the idea that this was not the solution she imagined. And we hadn't even got started on the thorny issue of cutting back(or not) after transplanting. I ended up being sent to disney and felt really dismayed about the whole argumentative situation because of gardening practices. Now I am older and a tiny bit more circumspect, I just don't get so exercised by how other people do things so much...and I certainly wouldn't fall out with anyone because they got a bit secateur-happy.