Glad to hear you're relatively okay, Tami. Hope your plants survive and thrive. Hope django and the rest of our friends in NO, and the rest of the coast, are okay too. And now Ophelia, who wouldn't be so much trouble if she'd just MOVE ON!
Nancy

I have not heard from Django. I also have been thinking about him. As one who grew up in N.O., I understand Gentilly had a decent amount of water. (several feet) I doubt he can return home at this point. Also, we have had serious problems with long distance and internet where I am (60 miles west of N.O.), so even if he is ok and home, he probably won't be able to get online for a time until cable and telephone wires are restored.

Glad to hear you got through. You were one of the people I though of on this forum and a bit worried about.

Hope the house isn't too bad. (Have a friend with a house on stilts in Bay St Louis. (10 feet off the ground.) And says he still got 15 feet of water inside.

I understand Gentilly is one of the areas of New Orleans that still has standing water. And Nagin isn't letting anyone back in. And New Orleans folks were scattered even more than we were. I'm afraid it may be a long time before we hear much from New Orleans folks.

Some stuff is coming back, ourselves included ;-)

Budding leaves: Allamanda, Lantana, Sweetgum, Crepe Myrtle, Plumbago, Powder Puff, Confederate Rose, Mimosa, Moso bamboo, Oaks, Gingko

still green stalks: brugs, banana, other bamboos, spiral Costus ginger, Cannas, Osmanthus, Shell ginger, Japanese and common Magnolias

Hoping for the best: Butterfly gingers, Japanese fiber banana, Black bamboo, Crotons, Ornamental sweet potatoes, Four o'clocks

thanks to everyone for their good wishes, and prayers for those in need

sea ya
tami

Hello from Lafayette, LA. We were the fortunate ones in the middle of South Louisiana, or at least so far, as Hurricane Season is not over yet. Lili nailed us a few year ago, this time it was Katrina to our east and Rita to our west. We got 50 knot winds, but really suffered minimal damage here as compared to less fortunate areas. My greenhouse was scattered across 4 neighboring yards. I still have a 4 wheeler chained to our Parkinsonia (very special to us) after pulling it back into a vertical position. Not a lot of fun by the way since they have thorns. We lost a few small shrubs that were less than 2 years old, literally blown out of the ground, and quite a few need to be straightened and staked.

I had been working in New Orleans helping my professional counterpart there rebuild the IT portion of the city. Other than extensive tree loss I think most of the gardens might be OK in areas that did not get and keep water for a week or more and where the plants have a little salt tolerance. Areas where the water stayed for a while look totally dead. The trees, shrubs, and the grass are all brown both from the being under salty water and other things. Well, you have heard about the water. Let me just say nothing on TV can do justice to the reality of the situation. The smell is something I will not soon forget. Things with a lack of salt tolerance may die eventually too, even though they look OK right now. Hard to say.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens and Life of Keith Thibodeaux