Esh, you read me like a book! I spend a fair bit of time down in East Tennessee (my ancestral grounds), and try to get up to the Mountains whenever I can. I've always marveled at the sheer number of different species there, many of which have landscape potential. While we don't all live in misty mountain woods, I think that many of the plants could be grown with a suitable microclimate. Hobblebush grows in full sun in the mountains, yet it would scorch if planted in the full sun around here. However, I've had luck with many Northern species by finding protected spots with cool soil. Oddly, a lot of those heath bald plants are found in the New Jersey pine barrens and in bogs in the North - Go figure!

A friend gave me a big seedpod of Magnolia grandiflora from the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. It had some fuzzy mold on the outside, and some of the mold had penetrated a bit into the interior of the pod. I picked out and cleaned all the seed, then soaked them in a little container with water and a dash of hydrogen peroxide (this is something that daylily hybridizers do, so I thought it would be a good idea). All the seeds sunk to the bottom of the container, and when I cut one in half and it had a nice white embryo. Just sowed them tonight, similar to Sam_md describes, however I am planning to put them outside (winter-sowing). Yes, this is considered north of their range, but it was collected from a tree growing successfully in zone 6b, and maybe one of the seedlings will have exceptional hardiness. Here's hoping...

Wisconsitom: Imagine my hand smacking to my forehead. Of course! We do have deer, but we only see them way at the back of our property, and even that infrequently. They do cross our street sometimes, but about a "block" down or so. There are so many better places so close - hundreds of acres of wooded recreation land. (Which is really cool for us humans, too.) I'm still confused about why it used to be so much more sparse with the woody undergrowth if it's deer, though. I'll read up and see if the deer population has changed in the area. In my recent reading on woodlands, I saw a photo online of a place where folks had fenced off to keep deer out a year or a few before. It was enlightening. As far as wildlife, after I went to bed a few nights ago, my husband heard 2 fishers having a fight or trying to scare each other off right behind our house. If you've ever heard a fisher, you know how disturbing they sound. But I guess I'm happy our woodland and surrounds is supporting all local wildlife. My son & I saw a red spotted newt near the new walkway only a few days after it was installed, and I was so glad things weren't so disrupted it scared everybody away. Queen Gardener - I'd love to start trading. But I feel like I don't have anything useful to trade. I have oodles of seeds (who doesn't?), but a lot of them are getting old. I should have harvested some seeds from the plants I do have so I could get started trading. Next year, I guess. I agree, E-bay does have good prices if you can find the reputable people.

About three weeks ago I really strained every muscle in my body racing to finish digging my garden expansion before Hurricane Ike rains came in. Of course, we didn't get a drop of rain after all of that. And on day two of aches I tripped off the edge of my porch and twisted my knee badly. It's just been a couple of days now that I've been able to walk without relying on a walking stick. So this afternoon I was standing up digging through my big box full of envelopes of seeds I've harvested this year. Something moved fast a few feet away and I jumped. It was my walking stick falling over from where I had propped it. Wowie did I twist that knee again! Fortunately this was just painful and doesn't seem to be damage like the last time. I guess Walkie the walking stick must have felt neglected today. He'll be joining me for my evening seed harvest. Hopefully we have no further misadventures. The good thing is that whenever there's a gardening injury there's usually some other gardening that needs to be done that makes for really good physical therapy. :) Lynda