It seems this thread has become problematic for a few of us! ;-) Seems to be common on this forum. One does wonder why. Nandina, since your first post seems to be the most practically knowledgeable as well as offered in a friendly manner, I certainly hope you won't quit posting. While I appreciate all the help I've been given it seems there are some who don't seem to want to provide explanations of their suggestions or cannot see that I wrote a book initially which has a lot of info. A sense of humor is always refreshing and I doubt I even liked pablum when I was of an age to eat it!. Thank you. Some comments on your suggestions - since DH is just finishing building my 12'x16' garden house I doubt I could convince him to build a potting shed as well! LOL Also the garden house will have a porch added next year which is where I will have a potting bench. My idea is to hide the bins with plantings. I think it can work. This is a country garden and we have no near neighbors so compost bins are not a major problem. Your idea of a labyrinth/patio is an interesting one which I might have considered a few years ago before we built our large patio right near the house. I think the labyrinth will be fine once established with a circular planting bed surrounding it, paths to and from, and plantings to blend. Frankie, I appreciate you hanging in on this thread and your attempt to define this elusive basic mission statement. I really don't see why this should be a problem for anyone who wishes to help as so far no one has been able to define clearly what it means in landscaping. The parameters I set out for this project IMO are more than enough info for anyone to understand what my basic mission is. BTW for anyone who thinks I'm copping out on stating this basic mission, I can tell you that I have helped several organizations create such a statement so it's not a foreign concept to me. The low maintenance requirement, I agree, has not been well enough defined by me altho I think to say that no "high" maintenance landscaping ideas will be implemented is appropriate. So only hardy plants, a minimum of plants aggressive in this zone, shrubs that require little trimming, plants that do not shed noxious seed pods, and little or no groomed lawns. Most gardeners will understand the concept of well behaved, low maintenance plants. As far as low maintenance hardscaping ideas (such as for paths) I'm definitely looking for suggestions. I love gardening and my DH is always helpful so we expect to continue to spend many hours a week and more at certain times of the year in our garden. I have thot of planting several areas in wildflowers or grasses altho will have to speak with someone at the local Ag office regarding non-invasive plants so I don't use those that could become a problem. I wonder how many here have actually ever planned a garden larger than a city lot. I'd be interested to hear their experiences.

Probably the easiest to find milkweed seeds are common (A. syriaca), swamp (A. incarnata), butterflyweed (A. tuberosa), and tropical (A. curassavica). The tropical is not native or hardy up north and grown as an annual, but it is readily available and easy to grow. I'm sure if you posted on the seed exchange that you were looking for a large amount of milkweed seed you would get several offers for postage only or maybe even free since it is for a school project. Gardeners are pretty generous I have found especially if you are teaching kids to get involved with nature. Be sure to educate the kids and any plant recipients about the nature of milkweed and that the "milk" inside is an irritant that can cause eye damage if not handled properly. Some varieties like the common milkweed can exude lots of milk when cut while others like butterfly weed are much less drippy. The common is an excellent food source as it gets tall with quite large leaves and spreads a lot, but it may not be wanted in small gardens due to the aggressive nature. It is better for wilder areas. Swamp milkweed is smaller and less aggressive and likes moister soil obviously. Butterfly weed is even smaller and bushier and tolerates dry soil and has a large taproot to seek out moisture. I have had cats on all these kinds although the butterfly weed is less used when other juicier types are available. The butterfly weed is popular when first planted when the leaves are young and tender. In the pic below you can see I had my very first cats on tiny freshly planted seedlings of butterfly weed that I was shocked they even found. I agree with KC that you could try other butterfly host and nectar plants as well for some variety. Hosts for black swallowtails are readily available too. That butterfly life cycle book is excellent. While it doesn't cover all the butterflies it covers most of the common ones with great pictures that are very kid friendly. Most of the plants are easy to start using the wintersowing method. And easy option would be to sow seeds in extra large plastic drink cups, quart size yogurt tubs, or similar containers. The open tops make them easy to sow in, transport, gift, and plant out from. Below is a link the wintersowing FAQ if you aren't familiar with it. Here is a link that might be useful: Wintersowing FAQ

Yeah, I know the feeling, can't see the forest through the trees. Well, my first recommendation is to plow up any remaining lawn, because you've got Bean Fever. (lol) "Carolina Red" & "Seiva" (white-seeded) are both small-seeded limas. I haven't tried the "Red" (yet), but have often grown "Seiva"... it is the most prolific lima I've grown, and is nearly fool-proof. Not my favorite for flavor, though; good for soups & succotash, not great eaten alone as butterbeans. "King of the Garden" & "Christmas" are large-seeded limas, and I grew both when I lived in a warmer climate. "Christmas" is huge when harvested in the green shell; some as wide as a dollar coin. The cooked flavor & texture are potato-like. KOG was my favorite, and is still the standard against which I judge butterbeans. Harvested as shellies, the very fat beans have have a rich, honey-like flavor & a fine texture. They are easy to shell, very prolific, and freeze exceptionally well... freezing actually improves their tenderness. All the varieties you list should do well in Virginia, but "Seiva" is adapted to your area, and would be very reliable... plus, you already have the seed. ;-) Your choice of lima, Rick, would depend upon how you plan to use them. I grow common beans for shellies because the large-seeded limas are unreliable this far North. If I could grow KOG, I wouldn't need them... but I would have missed out on experiencing many other beans that also make good shellies. "Chinese Red Noodle" is in a class by itself, since it is actually a pole cowpea (yardlong) rather than a snap bean. I grow them every year, and really like them... but they are not for everyone. If you enjoy Asian cooking, then I highly recommend them... "Chinese Red Noodle" is probably the best yardlong available commercially. If you intend to save your own seed, remember that "Chinese Red Noodle" can cross with field peas, so avoid planting them adjacent to each other. Of the other snap candidates, "Garafal Oro" may have been dropped commercially, or it would be my best recommendation. Its flavor is very distinctive, it has good disease resistance, and it is highly prolific. If you have your heart set on it, I have plenty of seed available for a SASE bubble mailer. "Emerite" is a fine bean, even better frozen quality than "Fortex"... but since they are both the same type (filet beans) I would only grow one or the other. Can't help you with the wax. All the varieties I grow are unavailable commercially. I've been wanting to try the two you list, so if you grow one of them, please post your observations. For shellies, as I've stated above, if you grow either of the large limas, you might not need a common bean as a shelly. "Ma Williams" is among my favorite shell beans, and I have shared it widely... but it is not available commercially. It has several aliases, however; one of them is "Goose", which is available from several sources. The "cranberry", "horticultural" and "borlotto" beans also make good shellies. There are numerous great heirlooms, many of them former commercial varieties that were dropped. While I grow a lot of field peas, only one of them is sold commercially, "Pinkeye Purple Hull". There are many here who could better advise you on the merits of commercial varieties. There are a few good threads about cowpeas on this forum.

I agree with the recommendation for yardlong beans; kids are fascinated by them. The variety "Chinese Red Noodle" would be especially interesting, since it has attractive, deep burgundy-purple pods. It really thrives on heat, too... which would be a plus, given your location. Another variety, "Taiwan Black", has very long pods, some of which can actually be close to 3 feet long when mature. Both are pole varieties, you can get them from Baker Creek. Another bean that would be interesting would be winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus); and since it is a tropical bean, it is especially well-suited to Florida climate. The flowers are very attractive, the 4-sided beans are unusual, and all parts of the plant are edible. You can get seed from the non-profit ECHO, which is also located in Florida. Don't know how well common beans would do there; but a mixture of green, purple, and yellow-podded varieties would be really eye-catching. Some companies even offer a mix, I think Parks had one. Good point about the limas, Happy. Don't know the age of the children, or the degree of adult supervision... but if potential toxicity is not an issue, there are two other candidates I would recommend. Both have the added advantage of being tropical: - Sword Bean (Canavalia gladiata) has rampant vines, and some of the largest pods (up to 3" wide & over a foot long) of any bean. Kitazawa Seeds carries them. Kids like big, and these are probably the largest bean seeds you can grow. - Hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) has very large vines, beautiful fragrant flowers, and unusual clusters of flat pods. Kitazawa & Baker Creek both carry several varieties. Most of my recommendations have one thing in common - they are pole varieties. I agree with George, kids are really drawn to climbing beans. Some of these (such as sword bean, hyacinth bean, & the more rampant pole limas) will climb very high. You might consider raising a 10-foot pole with strings attached, then tying off the hanging strings to stakes at the bottom to form a tee-pee. This could be an impressive sight when filled with vines. Having said all this... have you contacted the Florida Master Gardeners? They would probably be happy to help, and could recommend the best varieties (and planting times) for your area. They might also be able to direct you to local sources, and perhaps even provide you with free seed.