Vera, your gardens are always a welcome sight. The only planted pot I didn't empty out last Fall had Nicotiana sanderae in it with Zinnia. I've got lots of little selfsown Nicotiana seedlings sitting in that pot to be transferred around. They're the lime green flowers. After looking at the alata I think they'd be more impressive blooms. No fragrance on sanderae and shield bugs constantly sit right in center of flowers. At least critters don't eat those plants so they're worth some space. I know it's backbreaking work to get out all those rocks but I'd have to buy them for garden borders here...and I do want a rock garden somewhere, sometime. The only thing in the dirt here at my father's is gravel. When the shovel hits something solid with a "clink" it's either more gravel or Chinese Wisteria runners the diameter of the shovel handle. Thanks for sharing pics of wide open spaces with sunlight and healthy gardens!

Beautiful! I'm so envious of your alliums - I planted some bulbs last fall and they didn't bloom. Oh well, seeing yours' has inspired me to give them another year. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Jim! Sorry I didnt see your response. I notice that we both reply to messages at the same time pretty often, haha. We got about 2 days in the mid 90s already this year (and more than our fair share of cool weather), but I'm hoping that once (if) the 80s every get consistent the P. geayi will finally flush! I wanted some blooms this year! I agree, Ensetes are definitely one of the fastest growing bananas and I think part of the reason for their fast growth is their cool tolerance which gets them to start growing in the spring when days are only comfortable and not opressively hot. The sabas should get some good growth in with the warmer weather this weekend and hopefully warm weather will be permanent soon! -Alex

Raynag - Your 'splash looks perfect, like it's always been there which always says to me that it's just right. Must make you feel great. Shannon -- Thanks for the kind words about my kitchen. We just had it repainted as I wasn't loving the original wall color over time. One detail about wall color which may be useful to someone (though I know yellow kitchens are not as hot as gray right now): my cabinets are Plain & Fancy Lemon Chiffon (painted). The Farrow and Ball House White paint is nearly a dead on match. I had everything repainted in that color and I feel it improved the look of the kitchen since the walls and cabinets blend seamlessly. I know many folks want a contrasting wall color. But my thought is that with a kitchen where the cabinet runs are broken up, or there is not an overall "cabinet look," and where there are colored cabinets that lend themselves to this (or small install errors to minimize), the blending in of the walls and cabinets really helps pull things together.