Hi; I have some bamboo that I do not know the name of, but it is the clumping type; not invasive. Mine is about 9 or 10 feet tall; feathery; very nice. I absolute love peonies; if interested, please LMK thx, kathy

Thinking I might have found the bright side of the garlic grass that's invaded most of my gardens, I went googling for "plants that repel voles" and found a promising article on Elsevier (they publish research journal articles). The goal of the study was to find plants that kept voles out of orchards. The method was to see what deterred them from eating their favorite food, applesauce, when it was mixed with different concentrations of the various plants under consideration. I'm not positive that these results actually imply a repellent, but for what it's worth, here are the results: Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis Sieb. and Zucc.), boxwood (Buxus sempervirens L.), daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus L.), and crownvetch (Coronilla varia L.) were the most effective. The abstract is at the link below. I can probably get a PDF of the full text from the WHOI library system if anyone wants to see it, but I'm hoping to find something more apropos (I really don't *want* pachysandra everywhere - or anywhere.) Here is a link that might be useful: Crop Protection abstract

Caroline, that is a wonderful ritual to have with those Martins! How sweet for you to share spring's arrival with birds who have flown so far. I have robins who have been here since February. I told them they should have checked with the weather channel and they would have known to slow down their trip. My new spring project is below. I have one of those big oak entertainment centers. It is a nice one by Hooker. I had to have it, even though the TV we had at the time filled less than half of the TV cabinet portion. I bought a couple of cubes of drawers to hold bills and postage and checkbook stuff and filing for paperwork and had that in there with the TV for years until we moved to a bigger screen. Well, every time we move to a bigger screen these days, the TV people make the icons on our menus smaller or the print on the screen smaller. Our 38" screen is too small already and we are going BIG. 70" DH says! So I need to ditch the Hooker cabinet, which is fine with me. I hemmed and hawed about maybe getting a table and chairs to put there. Then I decided I needed the storage that the Hooker cabinet supplies, plus I finally made my gnome garden and I need a place to display it, near the patio door-window. So I spent a couple of weeks on Craigslist and investigating a couple of sites where people are making old buffets and dressers into entertainment centers. I ended up with something I did not expect, because I never expected DH to like it. It is ornate and kitschy. It reminds him, he says, of the great movie palaces. We have a couple of restored theaters here in Detroit and they are ornate as all get-out. Gold leaf up the wazoo. So this is what is going to replace our big TV entertainment center. A big TV will mount on the wall over top of it, and a recliner that I had to put out in the garage when I got my lift recliner will come back inside and will sit next to it. I am working on it to get rid of white "antiquing" that was done to it. DH did not like the white they used to accentuate the acanthus leaves and cracks and crevices, so I have stain pens and am darkening all of the white areas to dark walnut and then lightening the high points with cherry. I have red mahogany for other areas and a darker gold leaf paint to redo the gold because DH also does not like the weathered look and wants it all shiny and new. I am going to remove the top drawer and use the open space for the receiver, DVD, and cable box. I am thinking to put colored glass over the front of the open space. I just ordered 2" lions head drawer knobs with the lion holding a ring in his mouth. I ordered from Lee Valley Tools in Canada, and got the hardware to hold the glass door in place, as well. I ordered enough lion knobs for the top drawer, just in case we ever use it again. I wanted to keep it and hinge it down, but DH did not want to have to get up to lower it to operate the TV, though I told him we could just leave it down unless company came. The top of the chest is "faux marble" so I am thinking plastic of some kind, though it may be stone. It is made of pieces of stone or something, put together like a true butcherblock is made of pieces of end grain wood. Question: Should I gold leaf the lion toenails on the lions feet at the bottom of the chest? I do have a second color of red-ish gold that I could use. Here is a link that might be useful: Lions Head Ring Pull at Lee Valley

..what a lovely fresh looking white rose in that photo above, by the wall and black railings.... I wonder where Jim in AV is as I can't find an 'AV' in the U.S. state code list...and I do so like to know where people post from... so maybe it means something else... as in the photo I am intrigued by the view in the background which looks like a partially snow covered valley spreading out far and wide towards a range of hills.... yet the weather looks warm and sunny.... I cannot fathom... ...anyway, regardless.... I hope the rose has a nice scent...