Geraldo, yes, squash were $1.99 a LB at the local Kroger's here in the suburbs of Detroit last weekend -- easily making an average butternut $5 to $8. Food prices are REALLY rising here -- a whole chicken that might have been $0.59 a lb a few years ago is now $1.29 to $1.89 a lb unless on sale. So, that is one reason I grow a lot of stuff. There are many more reasons -- enjoyment/fulfillment, hobby/something to do, etc. What is really sad is that so much good food is STILL being thrown out, as you mentioned with the less-than-perfect squash. Alas, when will we, as a society or as a species, learn no to waste? Allenwrench, you asked about my land, and about what I do with all of the things I grow. I have about 2.1 acres, in an "L" shaped lot that is largely flat, but it does have a bit of a gentle slope in the back, and a low spot at one edge that floods a bit a few times a year for a day or two. Soils -- well, I have everything from very heavy clay to sandy loam, and it changes very abruptly in places. I can, freeze, and dry produce. I've gone extra heavy into it this year because of my concerns over the economy, the "global food crisis," peak oil/energy, etc. Since I can do it, why not? I am feeding not only my immediate household, but putting up a lot for my two sisters and their husbands, my niece with 3 kids, and giving a lot away to friends and other family. I'm trying to be as self-sufficient as possible, because I CAN be. I figure everything that I don't have to buy from the store is that much less oil that was burnt shipping food thousands of miles. My limitation here is that I'm not legally allowed to have animals -- so, this means that protein is harder to do -- I'm trying to grow a lot of beans, quinoa, etc., that are vegetable protein sources. I'll try to post some other garden photos tomorrow. Dennis SE Michigan

So great to see you again Kat. You are missed but admired for your big adventure. We'd love to hear more when you can get to the internet cafe'. I too am beginning in a new garden this season. It's all shade, so perhaps by next year or so, I'll be able to post pics of the Hostas you miss. We hope you can post pics of some of the tropical plants we can't grow and hear more about your new home. ~di

Thanks https://www.houzz.co.uk/user/gardengal48 I was trying to find this sort of information on the web when this 'article' (which appears not really as a post but as if Houzz had had it authored) came up. Something like 3rd in my organic search and one of very few which actually addressed the topic. I would think that the Taxonomists removed plants and gave them new new names to imply that they are more closely related to each other than the rest of the Dicentra. What upsets a lot of amateurs and even professional Gardeners and Horticulturists is that the only plant they knew as Dicentra was amongst those removed. I wonder how it would have been if they had removed all but Dicentra spectabilis and re-named those instead? Dicentra formosa is in fact a more garden worthy plant in my opinion because it flowers much longer and does not need support.

I finally finished clearing up the last of the branches. I sawed them into more logs to add to the edging, but it's nice seeing the yard all cleaned up. :-) The sun moves through the bed in such a way that all the roses get hit with at least the minimum number of hours needed to grow well. I moved the cinder blocks to make an area for overwintering the roses that didn't get planted in the ground. After moving them into this space, I think I'll shorten the length of the "box" and stack them three-high. When the neighborhood leaves drop, I'll be collecting them to fill the spaces between them for added insulation. I trimmed more branches from these arbor vitae, and planted all but one of the roses going here. On the far left is 'Rosa moschata' which didn't go in the ground yet because I'm not sure if it will get enough sun. I keep track of when the shadow of the house falls on it, and it seems to be getting full-sun from about an hour after sunrise until about noon. Thereafter, it's in bright-shade. I might just end up moving the white azalea from the front to this spot. But the rest of them, going left to right, are "Sissinghurst Castle", 'Tricolore de Flandre', 'Tuscany Superb', and the musk-seedling 'Reverend Seidel'. In the green wheelbarrow you see the thin pieces of the last of the tree branches. On the ground to the right of the BBQ is the last of the thick pieces, which I'll be adding to the log edging. A close-up of a section of the log-edging. Right now, it's fairly secure, but I'll be putting a lot of long screws into the pieces to hold it in place better. And there's lots of nooks and crannies between the pieces. I started pouring peat moss in there, and will eventually stick low-growing sedums and sempervivums into the crevices. It's hard to get good shots with the way the sun and shadows are hitting the yard right now, but here's another shot of the bed. Another shot of the yard. Re-seeding the "lawn" will be one of next year's projects. Another shot of the bed. I'm going to be throwing down mulch and manure to eventually reach the height of the log-edging, making this a somewhat raised-bed. The bed tapers to a narrow end where the garage and pavement meet the "lawn", and I planted only three roses here. On the far left, with room to spread but contained from taking over, is 'Indigo', which came as one of a few suckers from a garden-forum member. To its right is 'Honorine de Brabant', a dark pink and white striped Bourbon. In the corner on the right (look for the white name tag, since the plant is really small now), is "Sophie's Perpetual". I left room by the window because (for now) it's the only way into the garage -- the door must be opened from the inside. And in the corner by the fence, with a few branches forming a make-shift tripod, is "Secret Garden Musk Climber" which is really the end-cap of the back Gallica bed. The Gallica bed is against the fence and behind the railroad ties. In front of it, and behind the log-edging, is a row of shorter repeat-flowering roses -- to the right of "Sophie's Perpetual" is 'Clotilde Soupert', then 'The Prince', then 'Golden Buddha', then 'Prospero', with 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' in the corner by the stones, and 'Souvenir de Victor Landeau' sprawling out to the right and in front of it. If you're interested in going through ALL the pics of the yard, beginning last year before I did anything, I put them all in an album on Photobucket. Right now, it's 277 pics (with descriptions), including a lot of "rose inventory" shots, but it's fun to flip through. Make sure you select "Oldest First" to view, if it doesn't already come up that way. :-) ~Christopher