Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Barb! look at all of those flowers! Those violets are pretty but they are a real pest here! spread like wiregrass! You really make me miss tulips too! (I knew winter was good for something!) Is that a trillium at the top! I can't remember the last time I saw a trillium!I am sorry to hear that Al has pain, I have suffered from hip/joint pain for several years, the doctors have told me the best treatment is 'keep moving' grrrr, sometimes it is very tough to do. Regina I am happy that you are getting some rain! (I hate to complain about water from the sky but it is still raining off and on here! The plants are loving it, but it sure makes it unpleasant outside (muggy, mosquitos and soggy) That Brug is beautiful! I can't wait till mine bloom, I have 3 potted and one in the ground, I just love those leaves! Even if they didn't have flowers My elephant ears hit the ground running too, all this water really perked them up. I cannot believe the size of the leaf on one of them (Is it my imagination or are those leafs still growing?!?!) Here is a photo of some of the plants Michelle sent (see the little rose that bloomed in the box!!! 9 different coleus cuttings!!! can't wait to pot those up! they are gorgeous! Michelle I am sorry to hear about your little GH! Glad that is was not worse and that you and your family are fine! Last of the Iris Peony my herb garden Hummingbird magnet! Tropical Sub-Tropical Surplus Swap Status 1.bigmama4ever sends to chellflower 2. ladygreensleeves sends to rosepedal SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED! 3. fcoffill sends to Tina_2 SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED 4. rosepedal sends to deig01991 SURPLUS SENT AND RECIEVED 5. deig01991 sends to divahethr SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED 6. chellflower sends to ladygreensleeves SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED 7.divahether sends to greenthumbgrow SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED 8. greenthumbgrow sends ro Micyrey SURPLUS SENT 9. tina_2 and micyrey send SMALL (yes SMALL please) boxes to fcoffill miceyrey - SURPLUS SENT and RECIEVED Have a great day everyone! Frances

Okay, I FINALLY got my lists together! Sorry for the wait folks, but things have been soo busy these last few weeks! Here's what I have for the swap: Plants: *Apple Red Delicious seedling: Perennial, FS & WD soil. *Canna "Yellow King Humbert/Robert Wallace(these got mixed up & cant tell apart until bloom time):Perennial, FS & moist. Yellow & red blooms. *Castor Bean -Red(R. communis 'Carmencita' ): Per. in zones 8-11, FS & WD. Grows fast, red blooms. *Seeds are poisonous. *Coleus (C. blumei) seedlings: Annual/Tender Perennial or houseplant. PS & moist, WD soil. *Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia Milii): Perennial succulent zone 9-11 or houseplant. F/P sun & moderate water. Red blooms. *Daylily (Hemerocallis): Perennial-all zones, F/P sun & moist, WD soil. Orange blooms. *Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) seedlings-Pink: Perennial succulent zone 9-10, or houseplant. FS & moderate water. *Hosta T-Rex: Perennial zone 3-9, Part/morning sun & moist, WD soil. To 30" high. *Hoya Fungii: Perennial houseplant. PS, WD soil. White bloom w/burgundy throat. Fragrant. Hanging basket. *Hibiscus Sunset seedling: Perennial zone 9-10, FS & WD soil. Red & gold bloom. *Paperwhite/Chinese Sacred Lily (Narcissus): Perennial zone 8-11, F/P sun & WD soil. *Plumeria (P. rubra) seedling: Perennial, small succulent tree or container plant. zone 9-11, FS & dry soil. *Spider Plant Variegated (Chlorophytum comosum): Perennial. Houseplant or outdoors in Part sun. White blooms. Cuttings: *Purple Queen (Tradescantia pallida): Perennial zone 8-11, F/P sun, moist -dry. Pink blooms, groundcover or hanging basket. *Purple Jew (Zebrina pendula): Perennial, Part/morning sun. Hanging basket/houseplant. Bulbs/Tubers: *Air Potato Vine(Dioscorea bulbifera): Perennial zone 9-11, F/P sun, drought tolerant. Native to Asia & Africa. ...for my wants, please see my trade list. It was completely updated yesterday.... Here are my answers to the questionaire... About my Garden: a Which of these best describes your DREAM garden: All of the above (including 'Much larger!, LOL) b Which of these describes your REAL garden Chaotic c. What is your garden colour scape All of the above d. My biggest challenge in the garden is: All of the above e. My garden is Non of the above- sunny & tree roots! f. I know I am a plant-aholic because...... I get dirtier than the kids when we go outside to 'play' and if weather's bad/cold, I bring the dirt indoors! Thanks Frances for being patient with me, and thanks for hosting this swap! Here is a link that might be useful: Chellflower's Trade Lists

Barb...both happy and sad....Happy he is moving forward with his life. Knowing he will go far as long as he stays focused on his studies, and learns to quit being so wasteful. Sad because he is moving on and we will be seeing very little of him in the next 4 years or so. We havent made any new life adventures yet. House needs some TLC. I suppose first we will get used to having a home with just us and the critters and go from there. Chell I used to be a dog and cat groomer. I loved it too. But my employer was a deedeedee. Never had the money to pay me each week and always "owed" me. And she never gave me my tips either.Then at the end of the year she reported more earnings for me than what I had really made.Fortunitly I kept records and proved my case and won, so make sure you don't let the same happen to you. I have kept my clippers, blades and accessories and still will do a neighbors dog or two once in awhile to keep my skills up.....but don't miss the hair stuck in places I did'nt know existed....lol. Love all the pictures the everyone post. Always enjoy seeing ya'lls babies. Regina

I live just inland from Cairns. We had major frosts a couple of weeks ago. My thermometer is situated 2m off the ground and under an overhang of the house, so it didnt record the coldest temperatures that others did. All the grass and many garden plants and trees have died from the frost. Some of the tropical plants have succumbed incredibly from the sudden cold weather we had. As you may have heard, places received down to -10 degrees on the Atherton Tablelands. We, where I'm living recorded closer to 1 degree on a couple of mornings with other mornings also recording 2-5 a few times. It is still mild with only last Tuesday morning we recorded 6 and two nights ago 5.4. As mentioned my thermometer is situated 2m above the ground and within a sheltered site, none of my plants located near the thermometer were at all affected by the cold however outside without the roof/awning of the house to protect them, they were scorched. Many Spathodea's 20m tall had their crowns burnt, Large mature Schefflera actinophylla's lost all their leaves, a Schefflera bractescens up the road seems to have died all together. Many restoration plantings in the area have been dealt a serious blow (frost). I have seen mature Elaeocarpus grandis, 20m tall killed by the frost. There is a planting of over 2000 Blue Quandongs, for timber, just up the road from here. They all were standing proud at about 3-5 m tall and at least 75% of them have been totally killed by the frost. There is a frost band where all of the plants died and then another band on the highest side of the planting where they have mostly survived. There are mature Wodyetia which have all their leaves burnt to black however seem green in the centre's. Mature Coconuts in Malanda seem to be fine- surprisingly. Mature Cyathea cooperi's growing along the creeks on the tablelands - have no leaves left...this is predictable though. I was in Cairns a couple of weeks ago, doing some work on a hillside and looked at the ground to notice the Praxelis clematidea had brown leaves as a result of the cold...I was standing at 60m asl at the most. I was staying at the Daintree village the night of the worst frost and a local told us that it had got down to 6 degrees that morning. A friend at Whyanbeel, just north of Mossman recorded cold (not frost) damage there. Trees which are very susceptible to frost: at least up here. Elaeocarpus grandis, Ficus septica, Ficus hispida, Delonix regia, Cassia javanica, Acmenosperma claviflorum, Homalanthus novo-guineensis, Alphitonia petrei, Cyathea cooperi, Schinus molle, Syzygium malaccense, Alocasia macrorhiza (exotic one), Pandanus species- especially oceanic species, Spathodea campanulata, Scindapsus, Pawpaw, Banana's, Dracaena fragrans, Allamanda cathartica, Euphorbia pulcherimma........Duranta had burnt tips and the ground covering Lantana totally died (possibly a good thing). There are lots of species I have seen with burnt leaves.and also alot...