I think we're going to have to have an electrician come in and rewire the house or something. The bathroom, the two fan lights in the kitchen, and the lights in the main room in the basement go out all the time. Doesn't matter what kind of bulbs we put in there, they burn out. Yet the light over the sink is on pretty much 24/7 and it's been replaced like once in 16 years. For the last long while, we quit buying the "good" bulbs b/c if we get three months out of them, that's a good length of time for us, but the cost is outlandish to replace that often for bulbs that rarely are used. The cabinet door goes to shelving in the hall. If we didn't have the shelving, we'd lose quite a bit of storage, so we can't take the shelves out to put a hamper in there.

I’m always trying new plants and pushing the limits in all directions - heat or cold tolerance, wet or dry, alkaline soil, shade or sun. I have a large garden that allows me a lot of room to play. I often acquire plants from impulse purchases, whether browsing a nursery or going to the big box store for lumber via the plant area. Then there’s plant lust. I see something on line, in print, or someone’s trade list and I just have to have it. No idea where it might be planted. Sometimes these impulse plants spend a year or two in pots in my nursery area while I try to figure out what in the heck I’m going to do with them. It can get embarrassing and sometimes causes feelings of guilt for the poor orphans. As my garden has matured I do find myself more frequently evaluating an area of the garden and making a pre-acquisition decision about adding a new plant. Could this be a sign of horticultural maturity or, possibly, old age, creeping conservatism? I probably have several hundred different types/species of plants in the garden. Never bothered to count. But I’m pretty darned sure I’ve killed many more than that. I remember seeing the “graveyard “ at Peckerwood Gardens. They label every plant with a metal marker as soon as it is planted. If it dies the marker is pulled and placed back in the ground in their maintenance area in a dense forest of such markers. This was pre-pc days. The concept was to have a record of failed trials. I’m just not that organized and fall back on Tony Avents philosophy to not give up on a plant until you have killed it three times. So what if I loose track if this is the third or fifth time? It’s all about having fun.

Yay! Skip - that lupine is gorgeous! I planted some starter-size lupines last summer, they came back this year but are pretty small - not sure if it's early for them and they'll beef up or whether they'll stay puny this year. Truthfully, I bought them more for the foliage than the flowers, though the flowers are eye-catching. So, not expecting much from them, but we'll see.

Fantastic Popmama! Before you know it you're going to have to cut it back and share some nodes with all of us! It's going to really take off now that the roots have fulfilled their purpose and filled the pot. All the growth will be on top now! Congratulations on a job well done - Now - don't look at it, don't touch it, never mention it again in conversation, don't dream of it and don't even think of it! (Those are the instructions I use for my curtisii). BTW - maybe a shot or two of fertilizer would be in order now. 1/2 to 1/4 strength until it starts to mature. I've found using Dynagro on mine, once they leaf out, seems to help a lot. Good luck my friend and all the best always....