I just had a heck of a day and came across this post. i can't tell you how it changed my mood. thank you soooo much annie for posting!

lol Phil, I got mine at a flea market for 50 cents as a few leaves and now every few years I have to cut it back to 8 feet tall to fit in my house, I have to bring it in, my winters are too cold for it. Some day I'll find the pics of my orchid cactus, another tropical, blooms all winter for me. Janice, I am in total awe of your pics, like WOW, bit time WOW. Now I Know the area your are in, they wouldn't happen to be taking in the Hocking Hills area? I ask because I have told you grew up in Columbus, but did go to the Hocking Hills area many times and those pics remind me of that area. But then again, being where you are, they could also be other areas, you really do live around some wonderful natural beauty. But then so do I, I'm not all that far from Hinckley, that is where the hosta dog and I like to hike the most, such wonderful sandstone formations. Sassy, you do such important work with your crocet, I couldn't imagine having to be a parent knowing their child was going to die and having just a little something to wrap the precious thing in during it's last minutes. Please keep up your work, you may never get a thank you, but you know how much the little things matter in your heart. Mc, looking forward to your pics of the mosaics when you have time. Just got to remember to check the ot post for this post, lol. Von, I have a passion for photography too and like you, always seem to end up being the photographer for events. It is a hobby I would like to pursue more, I don't have a fancy camera, but I think my pics turn out fairly well. We won't even go into the needing glasses bit to do my cross stitch, sore spot there, don't you hate getting old, lol. And Woo Hoo on the first grandbaby. And tick, boring is sitting in front of the tv all day, you have a life so you ARE NOT BORING!!!!!!!! Hostaholic, now sewing is something I have never got into, I can sew, have a sewing machine, just not my thing. But great you do it for the kids, they need all the help they can get in these school productions.

Hi all, I'm just loving these posts, they really lift the spirits on these very dull days. We're still dealing with the fog up here, I've never known it to hang around for so long. Seriously now, I have another plant that I just had to have and I need some help on how to grow it. A few years ago I bought a rooted cutting of a shrub named Dichroa febrifuga at the U.B.C. plant sale. It 's evergreen, has lovely blue flowers,then berries, it growth, in opinion is like a hydrangea. I believe it comes from Asia. It doesn't winter well for me outside so I've dug it up, planted it a container and it's wintering in the greenhouse. I'm guessing it's marginal here in Z7/8. Any ideas out there? A......

Doh, I realized I typo'ed my Pine. I'm not sure what I was thinking of, but the correct spelling is Pinus parviflora 'Hagoromo' . I apologize to anyone who was googling it. KT - It's listed as growing an inch a year with a height of 2 feet in 10 years. I suppose that's how old it is, so in another 10 years it might be 4 feet, which would be perfect! DTD - Yes, that is black Mondo grass, and a very short catmint, though I don't know what specific variety. It was spread all through my garden, but I noticed it bloomed at the same time as my fothergilla, so I gathered it all up and planted there for impact. It worked! prairiemoon - Yes the garden is much longer, but this is the only part that has more than the odd tree. Next on the list to do is decide on a azaela/rhodie combo for the midsection. Here is a link to that thread: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg0721362225427.html Claire - Thank you for your kind words! I'm having fun and can't wait to see how the rest of the area fills in. Here is a longer view of the bed. You can see the Cornus' position better. There is lots of space behind and to the left of the tulips that needs to be filled in. From Garden May 9 2009 Lisa Here is a link that might be useful: New bed discussion