Thanks everyone for the great comments it is still raining here all do to Tropical Storm Debbie, we have only had rain so far not any winds to speak of though our county is under a tornado watch until 5 pm. The one bright spot of the day is that my work called me this morning and seeing that I work outside in the evening they were cancelling our outdoor activities so Hurrah I get a three day weekend. Debra you asked about my Heron's Cove seedling. I grew it from seeds I purchased on the Lily Auction and it's turned out to be one of my favorites. This is the first year it as bloomed for me. Linda

I'm glad everyone has enjoyed the pics....bugs, chew marks, rain splotches and all. lol Vickie, The Wilkerson's (hybridizers of EYES RIGH JONES), actually had the story of how the flower got its name posted on their website. Nan's husband's father served in the army. If I recall the story correctly...Mr. Jones saw a very attractive nurse walking across the grounds. The drill sargeant saw that he wasn't paying attention and shouted out "Eyes right Jones". I guess this story has always brought a few laughs to the Wilkersons, and hence the flower got its name. The pollen caps are made from stir straws cut to an inch in length and I then hold about 5 of them in a needle nose pliers and warm the open ends over my stove burner and then crimp all the open ends shut with another pair of needle nose pliers. It's a great project for a rainy day, or a winter evening when there isn't much to do. The caps have saved me from losing a lot of pollenating work when a sudden rain shower has shown up right as I'm finishing those last few flowers. Everyone has their little raincoats on so I don't need to feel like I wasted my time. Linda

I thought that the design software would help us set limits on numbers of plants per area but since it has yet to arrive in the mail perhaps Martie is right we should continue on so we dont loose too much momentum. I still however would like to plug our choices into a digital design and will share my attempts and ask for guidance with that as we go along. Below is the list of chosen plants for the vegetable beds although still in the kitchen garden lets move on to herbs (again another area of gardening that I know nothing about). This game is a creation of mutual effort so if you feel strongly about one thing or another or have a different vision please let us know. Should we move the fennel, garlic, and onions to the herb garden or are they considered veggies? The herb garden is 30 x 30 which will allow for nice wide pathways and easy access to plants. Clematis 'Polish Spirit' - Vtskier Turnips - Cady Rhubarb - Mad Gal Spinach 'Prickly-seeded ' - kt Carrots 'Early (Scarlet) Horn' - Bug Tomato 'Early Cascade' - Nhbabs Peas 'Sugar Snap' Tee Pee - Cady Beans - green, yellow and purple with Dill - Mad Gal Basil 'Lettuce leaf' - nhbabs Fennel - Florence - kt Asparagus - Vtskiers Apple 'Golden Russet', espaliered - Martie Eggplant - Bug Swiss Chard 'Ruby Glow' - Cady Onions - Martie Cherry Tomatoes - Vtskier Garlic Nhbabs Globe Artichoke - kt half-dozen sweet bells if they have freezer space for winter use, 4 'Mexi-bells' if seed were still available (slightly warm, wonderful for salsa which I put up in dozens of pint jars each year), 2 Jalapeños, a 'Cayenne' and 3 'Thai' peppers for both heat and their beautiful, compact size. - Solana French Breakfast Radish - Bug Red Leaf Lettus - Mad Gal Cady its your turn to choose an herb.

Hi everyone, Happy Belated Birthday Mary Ellen. Hope it was a good one. I received a wonderful box from Treasa. Thank you so much!!!! I love everything in the box. Here is what I received. Gardening gloves, three different garden figures, a really nice garden book, several different dahlia tubers, tuberose and a flower shaped floating candle. I love all of it and can't wait to plant those tubers. I have always admired dahlia's but have never actually had any. Can't wait to read my new garden book as well. What a great box! It has been raining like crazy here today in Texas but we can sure use the rain. I bought a weed popper gardening tool that is supposed to get the weeds out down to the root so I think I will try it out this weekend while the ground is still wet and see how it works. Have a good weekend everyone. Dianne