While there, I spent several hours with Jack in 45* temps and horizontal rain. We talked about the collection & each tree's (all of those pictured above and a few more) history at length, and then went to look at the 30-40 trees that were in the collection, but usually out of the public's view. We then went to his home & spent a considerable amount of time reviewing his trees and looking at his indoor set-up where he grows MANY temperate trees you're not supposed to be able to grow indoors. We toured the grounds with the guy from DC in a covered 'limousine' golf cart with side curtains. Everyone was really hurried about their business because there was a sense of urgency to get out of the rain, so I never got the chance to ask the question. I asked Jack, but I didn't get anything definitive from him. I haven't forgotten about it though. I had composed a letter/message yesterday articulating the question in such a way that I would get a technical answer, but as I was correcting the message I hit a 'wrong key' and lost the whole thing. Frustrated, I abandoned the idea for the day. ;o) More when I DO find something out. Al

Hi Carol, Thank you for the kind thoughts :) Hail this big sounds like a heard of horses when it's approaching and when it hits-it sounds like a dumptruck dropping a roadbed above you. It wasn't over with quickly,either. In some ways we were so fortunate. We didn't lose any windows because I've replaced broken storm windows with Lexan over the years. My jaw did drop when we got the first repair estimate, a full 1/5th of the value of the house ! The greenhouse is not covered under the homeowners policy so that is out of pocket. I have it covered with 20mil plastic as that is all I can find right now.Roofing supplies are out of stock cause the damage was so widespread. Hi plant_guy, When Lexan is back in stock I will be using it! I had been using 2 layers of the ribbed polycarbonate with a spacer and an inflated layer of 20mil plastic sheeting over it. I expect to replace the sheeting every year or 2 but not the polycarb. So far Charisma and White Christmas are gonners,they turned into mush.The seedling that looks like Pink Impression has survived surgery and the rest will probably be ok in time. The bruising is deep into the bulbs and I'm keeping a close eye on them. We did get a break with the last round of storms, just rain & thunder :) Lora

My sympathies. Goodness. Count me in with the fence crowd. What is that saying about good fences make good neighbors or some such? However, as pointed out, fences don't solve everything. I think mine is a 6 ft privacy fence. I live on a slope that looks down on the house behind me. My dogs (especially one) notice everything...they can see into several yards. They aren't out much (house varmints) and I am usually with them when they are. I have found an arrow in my yard/garden from the kid on the back corner. A real arrow, mind you...the kind that could cause harm. I made it a point to stand on my deck where he could see me and watch him practice...and he was very careful, had his target positioned the other way...I've kept the arrow. Directly behind is an obnoxious child who yells out "stupid dog" at the top of her lungs...not so much lately, as my neighbor on one side (both of my neighbors on either side are wonderful people...I am very lucky)...happened to be outside when she (the child) yelled this (the mother was out with her...)...and my neighbor said to me (very loudly...they already know about this), "Who is that RUDE person?" The mother and daughter went in shortly after that...and amazingly, not much has been heard since. I would love to live without neighbors so close (although I would miss my great neighbors)just so my dogs could be dogs (they are extremely well behaved). However, they are getting old now (the dogs....me, too...lol) and we are comfortable here. Ladypat, you did the right thing in reporting this to the police. That sure sounded threatening to me. I would definitely go ahead with the fence (as high as you can make it) and watch the dogs while outside, too. Look at it this way, the fence will also keep you from seeing things over there that you'd rather not. I think I would not answer the door when that neighbor comes over. I am sorry this is happening to you. Sometimes it seems the police have their hands tied...until something bad happens. We lived in a nice new neighborhood some years ago that started having some vandalism issues. Someone broke into my husband's truck (parked in our driveway). We called the police and they were very nice, very responsive. But, basically, we were advised to put out security lights, motion detectors, etc. I remember thinking...wait a minute, we're the victims and we have to take all the actions, spend all this money to keep lawbreakers out?? But, that's the way it is... Take care now.

I don't worry about using Slug-Go. I normally only have to use it once or twice at the beginning of the year and that's it for the year. I use it more for sow bugs and pill bugs than for slugs or snails. When I first learned it had EDTA in it, I wasn't happy. However, all our pets are fenced out of our garden by an 8' tall fence, so I can control whether they are allowed in the garden or not and I simply don't let them into the garden for a few days after I've put out Slug-Go Plus. We still have plenty of earthworms, so if it is killing ours, I cannot tell. Again, though, I only put it out once or twice and year and it disappears pretty quickly. Since we use lots of mulch, the Slug-Go disappears into the mulch anyway, so I doubt a dog or cat could find it in the mulch like they could if it was sprinkled on bare soil. When we are discussing the use of organic vs. synthetic products, I try to always emphasize that a product is not necessarily safe just because it is organic. There's several organic things I won't use....including Rotenone and Sabadilla. Actually, the older I get, the more things that move onto my "don't use" list. At the rate I'm going, there's not going to be much of anything left that I do use, except for hand-picking or cutting pests in half with scissors.