Thanks for the nice comments Andrew and Mamuang. Regarding the new plum, I would go ahead and leave it in the hole Andrew. I definitely wouldn't amend the planting hole without building a mound. You are quite correct plums will tolerate much poorer drainage than peach and will grow in all but the wettest spots. I have planted plums in flat ground and plums in mounds. The ones in mounds clearly do better, but that may be partially due to the mounds having looser soil, which makes it easier for the roots to spread. I have had more difficulty getting good growth on plums planted in the ground, so you might try fertilizing a little the first season or two to size the tree up. I plan on using a little fertilizer on the plums I planted this spring to give them a little boost. My new plums are all planted in flat ground. "OK, I would like to know what would be a good sticking agent for copper? Drew, I use Latron B1956 spreader/sticker. I don't know that it's any better than any other spreader/sticker, but I'm used to it and know the mixing dosage in my head. Actually it's no longer manufactured, but when I ran out of my last gallon, I was able to find another on Ebay. Copper is not always harmful to foliage. I didn't mean to leave that impression. It can have the potential to spot or burn foliage. Because of this it's generally advised to use lower application rates of copper in the growing season vs. the dormant season. Understand that MSU's advice regarding copper on cherry is for tart cherry only. Coppers have a high potential for foliage injury on sweet cherries. This post was edited by olpea on Sat, Apr 6, 13 at 21:02

Kay - thank you, thank you! I hate weeding more than anything. Oxalis and crabgrass everywhere. It's been a challenge with the rose garden as the bed was overrun by both and I can't get myself to dig everything up and start with fresh soil as I don't think the old roses would survive. Sometimes I stop and talk to neighbors while I'm walking my dogs too. They're not very friendly, but they're ok to talk to about their plants. The neighbors across the street are friendlier, but all they have are lawns and potted palms. I seek out the gardens that stand out among the agapanthus+jasmine+nandina that most Southern California gardens have and kind of linger in front in hopes that there is someone tending it at that moment hahaha garden stalking. It's been like The Secret Garden lately, new plants growing amongst dead ones, then later on discovering they're not dead at all. It's all very exciting and I send my mom and sisters photos and we try to remember where grandma placed it in the garden, and what else she grew with it. We are bonding through this collective memory of what it looked like in its heyday. I will post more pictures once things get greener and fuller 1gteacher - I've been too nervous about direct sowing poppy seeds because I think the weeds would swallow them up. Actually, I haven't direct-sown any seeds other than nasturtium in fear that I'd pull it out by accident like I did with the dill and artichoke(that did not look like a weeds, but I was in factory-assembly-line zoned-out weed-pulling frenzy and they were so small and surrounded by Oxalis). I do have a thousand poppy seeds so... Here goes nothing, wish me luck :) mrclint - yes, my grandmother did this too! She never mulched, she just stuck nasturtiums, peas, spinach, thai chili peppers and cilantro everywhere. She would give me and my brother a list of what ingredients she needed for Sunday lunch and we would hunt everywhere, front and backyard, coz it WAS everywhere. She always had food growing year round. I just miss her a lot. At first I didn't even want the house because I looked at it and kept thinking she was there pruning her roses or then I realize she's never ever going to come back to her garden. I guess I just needed time to mourn her garden too, and now I've set to work and I see it in a different light, see every new opportunity and theres a backyard large enough to make mistakes in :) I have started reading about succession planting and I think it makes a lot of sense. I just have a hard time making decisions on what to actually plant haha. I have so much to learn :) your photo of the Washington Navel is very inspiring! And it's reminded me that I need to prune the Meyer lemon tree in the backyard that is so heavy with fruit. It's also gotten really tall. That one my grandma underplanted with cilantro. This weekend, I'll be weeding and mulching around trees as well. - Isabel

Vickie- Thanks for the compliment. I like the effect of the sun hitting the flowers while the backround stays dark. I can get it certain times of day in the garden. Debra- BUTTERSCOTCH HARVEST has lots of different looks to it's flowers. You can see on the picture that the three flowers are each different from one another.

Kathy, Wilson spider was new to my garden in 2010, but didn't bloom last year. Maybe it is making up for lost time :) Julia, I've had John Kirkland about 4 years now, I don't remember it ever NOT doubling, although some aren't quite as double. Celeste, rebloomers are really great, aren't they? I sure hope this one continues reblooming. I don't have enough blooms right now in the garden from daylilies to even notice, but I still enjoy them. Judy, if you like rebloomers, I highly recommend John Kirkland. It always seems to double for me, & blooms heavily for a long time. Thanks Kay, it really is wonderful to get a few beautiful late blooms! Rita, Westbourne Homestead still has a couple of buds, but wasn't blooming this morning when I took these photos. Thanks Cindy!