The single most important part of growing from seed and hybridizing is having a positive attitude. If you think you don't have seed, then you might as well not plant it, and the result will be nothing. But, if you are wildly enthusiastic, then you plant what you have and then you learn that indeed there were seeds there and you have plants. A case in point. My late friend Bartley made this important strep hybrid baaack in the late 70's, which he named 'Mighty Mouse'. It was the first mini strep hybrid, a cross of a seedling from a tiny strain called 'Cape Beauties' x johannis, a species. The 'Cape Beauties' were a hybrid strain created by Lyndon Lyon, from a cross of cyanandrus x erubescens. No one that I know of has ever seen erubescens--it must be long out of cultivation and never reintroduced. But, cyanandrus is around. The 'Cape Beauties' are tiny short lived plants for terrariums. I think someone still has it going but I haven't seen any in years. ( Note: for Larry--the last person I know of who was making seed of the Cape Beauties lives in the Denver Area and is a member of 3G's--Marlene Beam. If you get inspired you might contact her and see about getting some seed! (and some for me too!!!). Anyway, the hybrid 'Mighty Mouse' is still around. It is a smaller grower than the compact streps like 'Joker', with smallish pale blue flowers. The jist of this story is that everyone thought that 'MM' was sterile, as the pods that formed when pollinated seemed to be empty. But Bartley knew differently and he told me--a pod will contain about 7 seeds. Since the seeds were so tiny it was hard to find any when the ripe pods were opened. I made a cross using MM and I got two seedlings from a seemingly empty pod. He used MM to make compact hybrids similar to 'Joker', which in fact is a Ford hybrid made from Bartley's hybrids resulting from MM. The next generation hybrids in fact turned out to be fully fertile, hence the hundreds of named compact hybrids. To distinguish seed from chaff is not that hard. First of all, be careful in opening the pods, Try to clean them of any sticking seed without mashing up the pods. Let what falls land on a clean white sheet of paper. Then using you eyeballs or a magnifying glass, look carefully. The seeds will be uniform little things, tiny but of the same general shape, color and size. Chaff will look like little pieces of stuff--irregular, flat, inconsistant. I recently harvested seed from a kohleria pod that appeared to be empty. Now, kohleria seed is even tinier than strep seed. I kind of think that this time I got no seed, but I planted the dust anyway. It often takes about 3 weeks for fresh gesneriad seed to germinate. Old strep seed can take longer--up to several months. So, don't be impatient. Jon, trying my best to be wildly enthusiastic.

Teresa, Thanks for catching that. No! it is bone dry. I've been out since 8 cleaning out gardens and when I got tired mid-afternoon I did that look-up to justify sitting my 60-year-old bones down for a good rest. My gosh, what a luxury to have a) a spring weekday off and b) beautiful gorgeous perfect weather to work in the yard and c) promise of rain tomorrow. ;-) --MH

Oakleyoak, People in the US may decorate in a "French County" or "English Cottage" style but it does not always translate to what I have seen in France, England, Italy, Mexico and other counties I've visited. Our decorating styles in the US tend to be heavily influenced by what the retailers push as the trends to be followed. When in Spain we stayed in a beautiful hotel that was so ultra contemporary that, to me, it seemed cold. Yet it was in a historic area in Barcelona. It's all good, even if not anticipated! In fact, maybe it's finding the unexpected that makes it so much more interesting.... I've never seen any other country try to interpret Americana. They tend to be proud of their heritage and embrace it, which means different styles depending on the country. English Cotswalds means chintz and a layered look, whereas London, being more cosmopolitan tends to be contemporary. When in Italy we had dinner on several occasions with a family in Tuscany. Their house was very traditonal on the outside but ultra modern on the inside. The kitchen was very utilitarian with all stainless steel appliances and countertops. It was small by our standards but functioned extremely well. When it England we stayed with a family in the Cotswalds. Their home was traditonal English in both design and furnishings. What was most challenging to us was the lack of screens and the proponderance of flies while we were eating......ick! We have had Italian guests here at our home in New England. One commented that "in my country the houses are very old yet are decorated in a modern style, whereas here your houses aren't old but are built and decorated to "look old". Yes, so true! He was getting a doctorate in architecture and was very interested in such features as a central chimmney and multiple levels for living. Another thing that we have heard from many of our international visitors is how fortunate we are to have over an acre of land, yet be so close to a major city. What I enjoy most about traveling is seeing how others live!

I appreciate the feelings that some of you have for glue traps and I whole heartedly agree. However, I had to make a decision that was best for my family. I tried snap traps and the electric box thing and no kill traps. I did not try poison because I think that's even worse for the other animls that might find him. Nothing worked. Since October, nothing worked and I tried many different baits. At some point, I had to put he health and sanity of those I live with first and I can live with that.