Christin, congratulations on the Penstemon and the Helenium. I know what you mean about growing something from seed. [g] Nice to have some success when other plants are disappointing you. I almost tried a Sambucus this year, but at the last minute I accepted the fact, I had no place to put it. I got rid of my Knock Out Rose probably four years ago, I’d guess. Don’t miss it. Sounds like most of you are pretty happy with your gardens this year. I’m not liking a lot in our garden this year. [g] I’m still out of action, and DH is keeping up with the vegetable garden and staying on top of the weeds and that’s about all that’s going on here. Lesson learned. Never rip out plants without having plants ready to replace them, right then. :-) I pulled plants out last year in the fall, planned on redoing two major beds this spring and haven’t been able to do that. So they all look okay, but not great. I just gave away Perovskias and ‘Purple Rain’ Salvias, that I’ve had for a long time. I was having more flopping than I liked and so out they went. I ripped out a lot of echinaceas, but I saved a few and those are doing very well this year. Especially a white ‘Fragrant Angel’. Kept ‘Orania’ Lilies which have multiplied, but they are not as large and gorgeous as they were last year. I think it was the difficult winter. I did add new Buddleias and two new Baptisias last fall, ‘Purple Smoke’ and ‘Carolina Moonshine’, but they were small quart size plants that just made it through the winter by the skin of their teeth. They are all in the wrong place and need moving too. Oh well. The PS Baptisia did have a few branches of bloom this year, and I was really happy with what it looked like. So if I can rearrange them where they need to be I think next year, I’ll be very happy with them. I’ve given up on Salvias and Agastaches. My clay soil is just not giving them what they need even with amendment and adjustment, so, they’re out. I had a 'Lipstick' Salvia and an 'Ava' Agastache that never came back this spring. Ferns are doing well this year too. ‘Ghost’ and Japanese Painted Ferns are filling in a few shady areas. How much more carefree can you get. I am happy with annuals that are growing in pots and starting to rev up with the sun and the heat. A sunflower from last year, reseeded and two volunteers came up [in the wrong place (g)] and are looking very happy with pristine foliage, for a change, so I left them where they are. We added a Kolkwitzia ‘Dreamcatcher’ in 2009 in an area that has been difficult and it’s doing really well. I’m pretty surprised about that, because it’s a new cultivar that is supposed to have gold foliage and I was prepared for disappointment but it did not let me down. Back in 2006, when I was winter sowing, I started some grape seeds, just as a lark, because someone sent them to me in a trade, and I had it growing in too much shade for a few years, then moved it to a sunny position two years ago. I was doubtful that it was going to be enough sun, not a full day, but lo and behold, we have grapes this year! So I’m pretty excited about that. We just covered it with bird netting. That's about it. Hope everyone is enjoying pleasant summer weather!

I actually just bought a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", I liked it so much! I didn't really like the other version quite as much, but I think it had to do with how I thought of the story in my mind rather than any fault of the film - it just didn't agree with what I thought it should be. I haven't seen it in years though - I should rent it to see if I still feel the same way. We just saw "Dogville" (with Nicole Kidman). It had a really slow start (we almost turned it off), but then it got really twisted and interesting. At the end we just kind of sat there stunned for a minute going "holy cow that was good!" It was not a happy ever after movie, it was actually kind of shockingly grim and disturbing, but it was really well done! It's also kind of an experiment in movie techniques - it resembles more of a play than a movie. The buildings are only lines on the ground with minimal props to indicate their function and dimension. It's really distracting at first, then you realize that real buildings and scenery would only distract you from the acting and story. If you hate anything resembling an art film then don't watch this - but if you like different things then give it a try (just remember it's slow to start). We also saw "Transporter 2". It was ok. Not great, but half decent for a hollywood action fluff movie. The first one was better. We now have a new movie at the top of our 'worst movie ever' list - "Serenity". Only a couple of good actors in the movie, a difficult to follow, badly written script, and completely ridiculous characters. This movie apparently has a huge fan following because it's based on some TV show. Those TV show fans all think it's the greatest movie ever, but I don't like or watch TV, so I really, really, really don't "get it" :-) I'll admit to being a big sci-fi geek, and that there are a lot of bad Sci-fi movies, but this was beyond bad for a genre with a lot of bad movies! BP

My poor seedlings still in the field have had to struggle for life for two years. Huge drought last year and they did not receive very much additional water. They had to fight for their life in a field of nutsedge. Hopefully the blooms will improve because I am only getting 4-6 each day - it is still very early for bloom here. When the numbers pick up, hopefully seeing the dogs won't be so depressive! Right now they stick out like a sore thumb. I The seedlings moved to the yard in amended beds look really good foliage and bud wise. Amazing what being planted in good "stuff" does for a daylily. Part of the problem with visiting the field is I don't not have the "keepers" from previous years blooming, only the maidens. Nancy the ERxSPP cross was one of many fighting for it's life in the worst section of nutsedge. By the time we moved the seedlings to the yard, you had a hard time finding the clumps in that section. Not starving for nitrogen could do some wonderful things for them this year. Royce the edge of the PHxVL cross is really getting nice and of course, it is my favorite color. Hopefully the genetics tied up in that plant will give you something great down the road. Whadda ya mean quit messing with the twisting, twirling, deformed things. I love those big messy blooms swaying in the breeze. I do have a couple of THIN MAN seedlings that are more narrow than TM - one is a great clear red and the other is the color of LONGSTOCKING, rather a muddy color up close and personal but from a distance, nice. I have several more GENTLEMAN OF VERONA crosses to bloom - all I want is two GOV with clear color for the next generation. I can picture the bloom in my mind, I just can't drag the picture through the genetics of the plant! Think I will goof off today and hit some nurseries - I am behind on my nursery hopping. Brooke

CR only tested 2 models, one rises 8 1/4", the other rises 9 1/2". This is just marginally more than the 7" rise height of my current 16 year old pop-up. There are a few pop-up models that rise 10" and 14" and supposedly a new one from Bosch rises 17". They sound good in theory and anecdotal feedback from fellow GWers bears that up. Unfortunately, until CR tests the taller rising units, it's hard to know for sure if that the extra height sufficiently offsets the downsides CR lists and merits the additional cost. That said, if we had stuck with a plan that called for a cooktop in our island, a tall rising downdraft was definitely high on the list to meet venting needs.