Kate, The photos with the iris and the one with the foxgloves , were taken last month. All the others were taken last Friday. Thank-you Gean and Inga. I am glad you enjoy the photos. Ingrid, I started out with 12 assorted goldfish. There is now about 40!!! They are all very tame and will take food from my fingers. Our cat leaves them alone, thank goodness. She has a habit of sitting on the side of the pond and allowing her tail to drop into the water. The fish come and nibble her tail, whereupon she looks around in surprise and flicks her tail at them. The pots are in the front alongside the village road. They just have temporary pretties in them this year, whilst I am growing some shrubs from seed. Daisy

Thank you, iris buds! I met Jean last Mother's Day when I was taking my mom to the nursery for her present. She pointed out a clematis at a house down the street as we drove by, so I stopped and we got out to look. I walked up to the front door to get a closer look, and a big man opened the door and said "may I help you?" I explained, and he said "boy are you in the right place if you like gardens. Let me get my mother." Jean came to the door and me and mom spent the next two hours touring her spectacular backyard garden. What a fun Mother's Day. We now share plants, magazines, and ooh and ahh at each other's new plants. Jean's garden is about 1/3 acre and she does it all by herself at 70. Wow. Renee

I believe the 1st 2 originally came from Rockytop Gardens. I purchased the last one from our local iris society sale. I love our iris sales. Most of the iris aren't the newest introductions, but I was surprised last year when I got a few iris that were 2008 introductions. It usually takes a few years for the iris to multiply enough to divide like that. I take it as a sign that it is a good iris. You know from local sales what grows well for your area, & they are usually cheap. Sales at ours are $3 ea, & they give bonus plants. The drawback is they aren't nearly as big as those you get at Schreiners & some of the other places, those can be huge. You also can get advice from the person who actually grows it. You really should check if there is an iris society where you are.

Hello Larry, I loved seeing the photo of you with all of our cards -- your iris will be a special garden friend I'll look for every spring in my front yard. I'm especially excited that it came from Massachusetts, since I just moved to Texas from Worcester, MA last year -- your iris and I are both transplanted New Englanders! Thank you again to you and to Lisa for sharing your beautiful iris with all of us -- I look forward to seeing you on Gardenweb! Best regards, Susan (susantexoma)