thx trudi, anne, and maryanne, Yes ann there is variagated tall bearded iris marryanne- that is called artemisia 'silvermound' and it is a delight to touch- soft as silk, and a drought tolerant perennial for full sun:) Walmart carries them in early spring. Allow 4 ft across- that's how big some of mine like that one get. Karen

Aster- is something I bought is for 50 cent at a garage sale! I don't know the name. It's better then the other 2 I've been traded. ( also no named) I've divided the same 2 inch potted plant now 6 times in 2 years! LMK if you want to trade for cuttings in the spring. I'll forget by then. As Far as pinching- here's a quicker idea. BIG Scissors! About 3 times during the summer. Good activity for kids too! Then I pot up the cuttings about 20 per 3 inch pot. Grow the cuttings in shade and they are ready to be planted together to make a mound ( not a stick!) in a the same season. Use rooting hormone. ;-) K

That was a nice use of the circular stepping stones to subtly emphasize the curves... although my favorite photo was that of the sleeping lions. :)

Great plants! Everything has grown really fast for you. Those castor beans are going to be way bigger than last year and the tree ferns should have some trunk before fall. Sorry to hear about the rain rotting some of your cactus, but it did wonders for your other plants. We could use some rain here but its suppose to be a busy hurricane season so there will be lots of tropical moisture if it hits the east coast. My sago just finished producing a new flush but I think I had it in too much sun because the leaves are curling back. First flush was indoors so it was too long and now the second flush was outdoors in ALL day sun and is too short. I cant win with it! Its like a science! The Thai giant Colocasia and all your other elephant ears will be huge by the end of the summer. The banana plants should be really large too. The brugs have really large leaves and Im glad they are going to flower for you soon. Thanks for keeping us updated. All you plants look great and not very zone 5 like! I wonder what july will bring! -Alex