Did the hummers like the black eyed susan vine? You could fit Canna "India Prince" in that pot - throw in some New Guinea impatiens and trailing something or the other - sweet potato vine, coleus. India Prince is a small elegant canna and the hummers like it. These like lots of water. If you can find greggi or microphylla sage you can treat them as an annual - they can get BIG and they like more water than you might think for desert plants - I've grown them with cannas - but they can go dryer if you don't want to water all the time. Or, scarlet runner bean, cypress vine, cardinal climber up a tripod and something big-leafed at the base - even a hardy hosta that you might get away with leaving in the pot. Or you might not, but they're cheap at Lowes. Elephant ear bulbs were four dollars at Walmart last year. Hummers like hostas.

Hi everyone! Got my Bouvardia ternifolia in the mail the other day. I love its color! Steve, Thanks for the info and the beautiful pics! I guess the red petunia will probably be a bust but we'll see. I like bees as well though. :) Funny you should mention pentas. I've been reading Hummingbirds and Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides/Bird Watcher's Digest Backyard Bird Guides) and they recommend pentas with dark eyes or something like that (the book is at home). I might find a spot for some! Susan, Same with me. I'll spot a few males for a day or two in late March or earlier April and get super excited hoping some will stick around but they never do. I won't see any regular ones until early July. I'm considering putting up a feeder next week just in the hopes of trying to get one to stick around longer! Laugh. I've only been to Bustani once. It was cool. I'm hoping my Erythrina x bidwillii (Coral Bean Hybrid) made it through this brutal winter okay. Surely it will sprout from the base if all of the top is dead from the cold. Can't believe your hummers don't dig David Verity! Mine absolutely love it though I did see that the one in a pot on the back deck got way more attention than the ones I had growing in the ground so you might try one in a pot on an elevated spot to see if you get any action. Oh, I noticed hummers coming to our sunflowers last year but didn't realize they were eating insects. I'll have to pay closer attention this year. :) Sherry, Yea. I went way, way overboard this year. Who knows how many plants will make it or will actually be started from seed since I've no room inside at this point! Thanks for the Malvaviscus drummondii recommendation. I've grown them before. Sometimes Home Depot will carry them so I'll grab one this year if I see any and I'll let everyone know which plants were the biggest hit this year. :) -Robert

Some do have stainless like the Volrath Tribute above. I have a anodized commercial vintage skillet that is lined in stainless. Much of it does not. Most people are worried about a possible link to Alzheimer's but no link has been found-yet. This is a summary of current thinking --for and agin. http://mobile.dudamobile.com/site/ehso2?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ehso.com%2Fehshome%2Falzheimers.htm&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F#2640 You can also worry about what might leach out of stainless as some people have had it pit. You could find some danger in most cookware. I err on the side of caution and use different types of cookware to diversify risk. I watch what I cook in aluminum and don't cook high acid foods. I do use some uncoated aluminum bakeware and a griddle but as they season, it puts a barrier between the food and the aluminum. I also often use parchment so that makes a barrier although some people find fault with parchment.

I have a Fagor pressure cooker that I use all the time with a portable induction burner, and so I do not feel the need for an IP. I also have a crockpot that I pretty much never use, and it stays in the garage. With the pressure cooker and induction burner, you can set the heat low enough that it is very similar to a slow cooker, but you need enough liquid to keep the food from sticking. I've never been able to understand the advantages of slow cookers/crock pots. I poached a chicken in one once and was not impressed - I liked the results from the pressure cooker a lot more.