Hi Itssohot and welcome to the desert. Flowering pear (Pyrus kawakamii) is native to Taiwan and prefers rich garden soil. Unfortunately it tends to struggle here in the low desert because our soils and water are alkaline. Their flowering season is in early spring for about two weeks and the rest of the year the leaves show symptoms of chlorosis and salt burn. It is possible to create a landscape with a Mediterranean or tropical theme all by using desert-adapted plants. Dozens are showcased in the free booklet Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert available from some nurseries or your city's water conservation office. Another great resource is the free interactive CD Water-Wise Landsaping in the Arizona Desert also available from your city water conservation office. Most cities also offer free landscaping/gardening classes for their residents. The on-line version of the booklet is available at the address below. Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert

Thanks everyone! I just got back from the finish line of the Oklahoma FreeWheel. Since I had driven some friends down, I had to go and get them again. Went yesterday after work, and stayed the last night, with the dinner and party. What a hoot. Then drove up to Kansas, and waited for everyone to arrive. Drove back to OKC with Mel. Am at my daughters right now. She will take me over to Judy's, where my car is parked as soon as I had my internet fix. LOL The house is not happening. Back when we bought, our inspector recommended some work in the structure repair department to be done, but it never was done. These peoples inspector painted a much darker picture, and they want their earnest money back. Rats. Guess we will have to invest some money/time to get it fixed and try again. Thanks for all the good wishes. Back is better. More soon. Moni

I am in Columbia Falls. Will ride around Montana just a bit, and will be in Missoula around 2 or three days. Today is Friday. We ended up going up Logan pass without a rest day, cause of chances of rain and wind. Way to hard for me, and I decided to abandon the others and head back. Mel came back with me. We took a day off, and drove a rented car to Canada, where we even found and visited the others. What a HOOT. More as I know it.

nice looking haul of tom's spatzbear, yeh i happen along rarely nowadays, just back here again now because of this post. great to hear you are enjoying the tumeric. feedback is what keeps forums and gardeners going hey? we are just getting some sense into all the cherry tom's we ended up with this year as i just can't pull a healthy looking plant out hey? we ended up with oodles of fruit each day from 10 bushes, still got 3 bushes sleft yep just ahd to pull 'em out hey? anyhow wife thinks i'm odd lol but i have 4 beef steaks in at present so hope they do as well as the cherries (which are stroed in all sorts of preserving ways in the fridge and freezer, just couldn't find enough people to give them away to or couldn't eat them fast enough (2 meals per day using them) hey chuckle. the fruit flies in this area seem very prevalent type hard to get control and don't want to use chem's, they even got into our jap pumpkins last year never had that before. as amanda has done often we need to take new directions in life, and it is great the hear of her successes. len