This was a great thread to read after having moved back in the summer - some very good advice. I was very conflicted about moving but I think it was clear to me that moving the garden wasn't going to happen. As it was I did take well over 100 perennials I potted up as they emerged in the spring (they were mostly splits of plants that really needed it). To be honest this was really too much...I spent a whole week moving car loads of plants before and after work and was already completely exhausted from moving the house. The new tenant at the place asked the landlord if she could contact me about the garden but in the end I said no. Of course a big part of me wanted to still be involved with that garden but I knew I needed to make a clean break and focus on my new garden. This fall I planted about 1300 bulbs and cant wait to see them if this winter ever ends.

Tom: I am not familiar with red pine in your area. Here in northern VA red pine is not an option. In Garrett county MD they are planted for pulpwood, but have problems with beetles and annosus root rot disease after 30 years or so, and no one is keeping any to grow for timber. In my pine plantings, a few of my red pine are beginning to die. I have been very careful to treat all the stumps of any I cut to keep annosus out, so I am not sure what the cause of the mortality is. I haven't confirmed anything. I keep the trees thinned out so they are vigorous, and should resist beetle attacks. I see evidence of beetles, but I am not sure if they are primary or secondary contributors to death. So, in the area of my timberland I would not recommend planting red pine. But your area may be different. You already have native white pine, and I love those. If I were starting over at my timberland with plantings, I would do larch Norway spruce, and white pine as the main species. Does your forester have any recommendations about the red pine? Has he talked about any risks? In my pine plantings, the Norway spruce, the white pine, and the red pine do well together. The Norway spruce started a bit slower than the red and white pines, but they got going fast enough so that they grow up with them well. With the red pine, I was afraid they would be outstripped by the white pine and Norway spruce, but that has not been a problem. The Norway spruce and the white pine are growing faster, and will eventually be much taller, but after about 40 years, they are still compatable. Of course, you can plant them in seperate blocks, or mix them. I would do some of both kinds of plantings. One consideration with the red pine--the trees don't assert dominance in a stand very readily, which means they need artificial thinning to maintain a healthy stand. Norway spruce will sort themselves out very, very readily, with the stronger trees overtopping, and eventually supressing the less vigorous trees, so they don't NEED thinning. I thin mine to enhance growth a bit, and make the stand prettier, but after 200 years, unthinned NS stands will be just as fine as stands that were thinned. The same is true of white pine, but in my experience, the best trees don't assert dominance quite as readily. As for larch, I just don't know. My guess is that they will be like white pine or NS in this regard, but I don't know that for a fact. So, my bias here is to plant much more white pine than red pine, but I am sure that red pine, which I assume is native there, is for you a much better bet than for me here. Some say red pine is native to the area of my timberland, but I really don't agree. There IS an outlier of native red pine in one spot in WV, but for me that doesn't qualify it as native to Garrett County MD or other places where a naturally growing one has never been seen. As for your not focusing on planting tamarack, I agree. The native species are not always best. We have native red spruce in Garrett county, but they are far inferior to Norway spruce--no contest. But if you have a very wet area, go with tamarack. They are short lived compared to other larches, but occasionally some have lived well over 200 years. As for NS seed source--boy, this is tough. I wish I could see your seedlings from Itasca. If some of them are growing very, very fast--that's something! You may not be able to do better. But, are some growing very, very much faster than others? Are there a fair number of "runts." If so, that could indicate that some of the seed is coming from trees not cross polinated. Two possible solutions: you can either plant them at tighter spacings to give you more trees, and thus more really fast growing ones. Or you can try to mix in seedlings from another seed source. The Musser may be a good choice, but, what performs well for me here might not do so well there. Also, You should check and see if Musser has made any changes in the seed they use in the last 6 years or so. If so, I know nothing about what they might be offering now. One thing surprized me a bit with my NS here. The finest strain I have seen in the higher elevations in the Appalachians was a stand planted near Glady, WV. I dug up some seedlings and planted them at my timberland. I since dug three of those up again and planted them here in the hot and dry northern Shenandoah Valley. I am stunned by their performance here--all three rank as the best of those I have planted here, with the understanding that most of the 400 or so I have planted here are too small to really evaluate yet. But that that strain does so well in the cool wet mountain environment, AND down here, has surprised me. Unfortunately the stand near Glady was cut three years ago--a real shame! I am not sure what you should make of all I am telling you here, but NS is a remarkable species in its variation and adapability. Well, keep me posed on your plans and progress. Oh, I am becomming more and more an admirer of Thuja! --spruce

Oh yes, I also love the platter, it can be used for so many things. Plus, now that Diane has a new book, her GD is going to be a part of this swap too, another participant! The scoops look interesting, I can see that we're going to see pictures of more of Diane's baking, which is a real bonus. It's a very nice package, Pat, you did very well. Annie

ellen it was in the other what are you baking thread..here you go!! funky ...here is the recipe. It is from a blog Chef in You but I changed some things . It is the best white sauce I have ever tasted. If you make it in a 13x9 pan you will have to double or triple the sauce, likewise if you use store bought lasagna noodles you will need to thin the sauce a bit and use more. They soak it up more than the homemade. It is worth it to use homemade since they can be rolled very thin and then use a lot of layers...very delicate. Ingredients For the Bechamel (White) Sauce 2 tbsp Butter 1/2 cup finely chopped Onion 1-2 tbsp minced garlic 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 1-3/4 - 2 c cup whole Milk 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1/2 tsp Salt ( to taste) 1 Bay leaf Ground Pepper to taste 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated melt butter and saute garlic and onion. Add the flour and let it cook so no raw taste to sauce. Stir constantly. Add milk and stir as you add. Add salt/pepper and bay leaf. When slightly thickened add grated parmesan and stir well. Set aside. If you are using store bought pasta sheets you will want the sauce to be doubled and somewhat thinner as the store bought sheets are a lot heavier. Add the cooked /drained spinach from below to the white sauce. Stir well . For the Pasta and Layering 15 homemade thin Lasagna Sheets cut to fit 8x8 pan( I used 3 homemade per layer and did 5 layers) 5 oz Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese and dash of salt-beat till smooth and set aside 4 oz fresh Mozzarella Cheese, crumbled and set aside 1 c parmesan grated and set aside For the Spinach : 12 oz bag frozen spinach cooked and drained well ( press with a spoon in sieve) 1/2 tbsp Salt Simmer frozen spinach till done and drain well. You can save some of the liquid and add back to white sauce if it is too thick. For the mushrooms: 1/2 c finely chopped onions 5 oz sliced baby bellas...can use button mushrooms saute onion and mushrooms in butter till tender. Set aside. Now to layer : put very thin layer of sauce in bottom of greased 8x8 pan. Lay 3 sheets of lasagna on top. Spread very small amount of sauce over noodles and then sprinkle with small amount grated parmesan. 3 more noodles and some sauce and all of ricotta spread thinly. 3 more noodles and sauce and 1/2 of mozzarella. 3 more noodles and sauce and parmesan. Last noodles , last of sauce, last of mozzarella and last of parmesan. You can see these are all very thin layers. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 45 min. Remove foil and let it brown on top for about 15 min. Should be bubbling. If edges of pasta brown it is OK. Homemade ones taste great when they brown and are not tough llike the store bought ones. Enjoy !!! Makes 9 squares.