When I was a kid[many years ago]I used to make mudpies. Loved to play in the dirt,climb rocks,ride wild horses.Was sort of a tomboy,no girls in my neighborhood. In jr. highschool they used to call me witch.Don't know why. Now it seems I'm doing a second childhood, playing in the mud.I like these results much better.My favorite project is, like sarasaid,the one I'm currently working. This one is a water feature.It is a sphere[two bowls,mortared together.with a cut out].Mounted on a pedestal cast from the same bowl mold.The pedestal has 4 semicircles cut out so it has legs, these legs have been fortilied to provide the strength to support the sphere. It will be painted black inside,hold water,with glass 'rocks' at the bottom and a floating candle in it. I have great hopes for it. Don't know if I should paint the outside or not. I'm still trying to learn my son's camera so I can't post pictures, maybe one day I can.

This is an easy one that looks great. I see it on a side street I take sometimes, so I haven't stopped for a picture. Maybe this year. Echinacea--Magnus, or even the old reliable Shasta Daisy Becky A small hosta with green and yellow-green leaves and short stalks of closely spaced, darker-than-usual, lavender/purple flowers. The bloom times mesh nicely and all the plants are very easy care. I am working on getting a stand of this going in my yard. The spot I tried is too overrun with maple roots (outside the drip line but thick with those roots nonetheless) so nothing but the daisies really succeeded there. Hard to believe, but the hostas are sulking in that spot. For a few years, I had a nice grouping of orange oriental poppies, Alaska daisies, and purple dutch iris. They all petered out, but one day I may try that again. Steve, I love your yarrow, russian sage and lychnis. I have all of those, I should just get them more chummy so I can enjoy that beautiful look. Everyone's photos are so inspiring. Much better than looking at the plant catalogs. Hepatica

Thanks for the replies. I should probably post this question on the Iris Forum, but of course didn't think of that immediately. hostaholic - That yellow iris is gorgeous! I think mine has similar characteristics in flower shape, but it still seems different. Is yours a tall growing plant? Renee - I did find a website that lists some spuria purples - see below. The height of my plant had me wondering too, but it has been transplanted a couple of times and maybe it just hasn't reached its full potential yet. I guess the spurias resent transplanting. It's also planted in rather dry soil with a lot of competition from tree roots. Maybe that has something to do with it. I also found a reference to not all spurias dying back in summer. Who knows at this point. The pitfalls of growing from seed via a trade. You assume the person sending the seed has a proper ID, but not always the case I guess. I agree the flower does look somewhat like a Siberian, but it does have some spuria characteristics too. A hybrid maybe? I take it not many of you are growing these iris? Kevin Here is a link that might be useful: spuria

"Chinese Red Noodle" is one of the best-tasting yardlongs that I have grown... plus, it is very attractive. Unlike purple snap beans, the purple-red color is _not_ lost in cooking. The pods are a little shorter than most yardlongs. They have a firm texture when cooked. However, the vines seem to need more heat than most of those that I have grown, which unless you are a coastal Zone 7, should not be a problem. It freezes well. "Taiwan Black" was extremely vigorous, bore early & heavily, and had impressively long pods... many actually becoming "yard long" when mature. At harvest stage, they are very light green, slender, and got second looks by everyone who saw them. But I was not impressed by its flavor, which was very mild in comparison with other yardlongs. The pods also developed fiber very quickly, so they needed to be harvested very young (when they were "only" 24" long!), on a daily basis during warm weather. "Liana" is heavy-bearing, and very early. The pods are dark green, and have the true "asparagus bean" flavor when cooked lightly (as all yardlongs should be). This is probably the easiest & most reliable yardlong. My other favorites are either heirlooms, or foreign commercial varieties... all from the Philippines. One of these is a purple-podded variety with slender pods nearly as long as "Taiwan Black". I grew it when I lived in San Diego, and it is my all-time favorite for flavor... it was even crunchy, sweet, & nut-like raw. But it is also tropical & daylength-sensitive, so it can only be grown in a few areas of the U.S. Unfortunately, Wisconsin is not one of them. :-( I'm still looking for a tropical grower to keep the seed alive for me. Two commercial varieties from the Philippines did surprisingly well here in Wisconsin, given their tropical origins (many tropical varieties are daylength-sensitive). "Galante" and "Sierra Madre" are both mid-season DTM, and are described in much greater detail (including photos) in the link below. They have many good qualities, and it would not surprise me if one or both of them becomes a commercial variety here. Here is a link that might be useful: Asparagus Beans