So far, nice posts and ideas. I just started a whole foods diet from a certified nutritionist because I wanted to lose 15 lbs. I already lost 3 lbs in the first two weeks. Basically she has me getting most of my protein from plant sources. With my long list of suggested vegetables that I am eating there are things I've never tried before like kale and collard greens. Not only do I not know how to cook these two vegs, I dont know how to grow them either. I always thought kale sure looked pretty in the fall in people's flower beds but I am not sure that's the same plant that people eat. mailman22, your brocolli is out of this world! Broccoli is definitely on my fall list. Last year my cabbages only got to softball/baseball size so I dont think I will try that again. Carrots sound good. I had no idea I could put more beans in. I have to check if turnips are on my list of protein vegetables. Lettuce is on the list. I'm harvesting Beets right now so I probably wont replant them cuz these ones could continue to grow bigger. If you guys put yours in already, I'd better get my but to the greenhouse asap. We've had rain off and on for two weeks now. Temps all down in the 80's with some nights in the 50's. Some July weather! Please continue to share your ideas with us. Thanks, Marial.

The Kordesii climbers do very well in 5a, and many of the newer ones are every bit as beautiful as English roses, and easier to grow. Check out, for example, Rosanna, Laguna, Rosarium Uetersen. RU is quite simply, one of the greats, fabulous flower color and shape, easy to grow and almost never out of bloom. Both Pickering, which may be able to ship to the USA this year, and Palatine have good selections of hardy climbers. Also look at another of the greats, Parade. Mine has grown like gangbusters--in zone 5a mind you, is fragrant, and shows very little BS in a very rainy year. Good bloom repeat, but not, so far, as rapid as RU.

Richie, I would keep your seedling in a sunny window when nights get below 50 degrees. Mist it occasionally as they are prone to spider mites. If leaves begin to yellow and drop you should reduce watering. Some seedlings don't go dormant their first winter. Monitor the soil. If the plant is taking up moisture you can continue to water carefully. If it drops leaves and does not take up water, reduce watering, since it's probably going dormant. The thickened stem will store what it needs to survive until it comes back out of dormancy -- anywhere from Feb to April.

I have gardenia 'Frostproof' that was planted in 2008 and moved in 2011. It has never been protected. Last summer it produced about a dozen fragrant blooms, and so far it looks OK this year. I have several Gelsemium spemperivrens 'Margarita' and the oldest is about 8 years old. It's really nice in that it's one of the very few evergreen flowering vines for zone 6. Masses of yellow trumpet flowers in spring. I also have a winter jasmine, J. nudiflorum, which is definitely hardy in zone 6. The stems are evergreen, and blooms often appear during any brief warm spells from as early as December all through winter and a final big flush of blooms around April. During the summer and fall it leafs out with tiny green leaves. When they fall, they just sort of disappear so not messy, and as I said the stems are green all year. I also have a J. officinale, which has proven hardy for at least 10 years, but seldom blooms. It survives, but doesn't really thrive. Maybe in a very protected spot it would do better.