Oh, Kippy! You are SO generous! Thank you (NOT)! LOL! You're very welcome to collect the ones which have grown since the last rain several months ago from just down from the house here. They should make marvelous holiday decorations with sufficient gold spray paint! I'm glad you're more relaxed, Ingrid. I know the feeling, except for watching for the little green shoots starting to creep from under the soil... If you have that nasty invader in the shadier areas of your garden, that means there is water there. It grows where there is water, from Mexico to Canada. It CAN be eradicated,but it does demand herbicides. If you dig the tubers and leave them in the direct sun, they shrivel and die (vampires!), and I have done that with literally several hundred over the years. I've unearthed quite a few the size of a V-8 American automobile engine and they shriveled and dried up once exposed to the elements. Others have been "dispatched" with buckets of "the devil's brew" herbicide we won't mention, with the tendrils wrapped around inside them so they sucked it up like wicks. It didn't take long and they NEVER reemerged! Kim

There are many, many people who love to watch butterflies as they flit through the air slowly and gracefully. If you never have, you certainly should! Butterflies provide beauty in an often ugly world. They give us insight into the world of nature and how wonderful and complex it is. But the butterfly is much more than that. Butterflies are some of the most beautiful and interesting creatures on Earth. A butterfly garden is an easy way to see more butterflies and to help them, since many natural butterfly habitats have been lost to human activities like building homes, roads and farms. It is easy to increase the number and variety of butterflies in your yard. Creating a butterfly garden should start with some serious research to learn which kinds of butterflies are native to your area. You can learn that from this book âÂÂAttract Butterflies To Your GardenâÂÂ. Here are some points you should focus: A. Make a list of all of the different kinds of butterflies you would like to attract, and then learn which flowers and plants they both feed on and lay eggs on. B. Plant the âÂÂButterfly Host Plantsâ to lay their eggs on. C. You can add some butterfly garden accessories like a Butterfly House, which has slots the ideal size for keeping birds out while giving butterflies protection from the wind and weather, and are beautiful garden decorations. You could offer an additional nectar source close by to supplement your flowers. D. Once you have designed and started your butterfly garden, you can be proud that you have made a habitat for butterflies in your own yard, which helps with the conservation of the many species of quickly disappearing butterflies today. You will certainly want to place your favorite outdoor furniture near so that you can enjoy all of your visitors day after day. Here is a link that might be useful: Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

Inspiring! I was moving in closer with the camera as well. Delightful what you see when you look "Inside the Heart of a Hosta." That is the way I see it. I started with the "heart" pictures as I removed the pecan worms which were clogging the base of the petioles, and random sweet gum leaves as well, since they bring the larva with the debris. I was up to 3am tagging names and such on my new photos. I'm so glad the end of May is here, since I took over 1200 pictures this month, and three digits was all I allowed for the numbering system. I blew it out of the water, and now have corrected the option to four digits. Now I can take up to 9999 per month! When that happens, I need to get a really smart camera that takes dictation for key word input. :) I'm sure it is possible. Maybe already available. Undulata Albomarginata, which lost its white margin in a pot. and again, because I think it is beautiful Van Wade Blue Fragrant Blue, with a funky scape Van Wade Blue closer Lowes presents Elegans and Frances Williams Purple Boots Hollywood Lights Holly's Dazzler is a fragrant, and there is a scape too Ginsu Knife is fragrant and blooming earlier than most fragrants Sweet Sunshine Sum And Substance Seducer leaf Snow Mouse Rhino Hide Millie's Memoirs Red October petioles Liberty Fragrant Bouquet covered in debris Squash Casserole sporting two scapes Midas Touch Dark Shadows Totally Twisted Forbidden Fruit Midas Touch is a favorite Spinach Souffle Paradise Island, looks good from any angle Niagara Falls Navajo Next up?........

I grow fewer roses than I once did, and I could grow fewer still if I had too. I think going below about 50 would be painful. But really, roses are my favorite plant, not the only one I like. (Actually I like lilacs just as much, but only grow three.) I have native plants one area that used to be roses, and succulents in another. Both are really good-looking garden beds, and the natives attract birds. I was just out fine-tuning the succulent bed this afternoon. I'm learning as I go along, and it is getting better as I make adjustments. Like Jeri, I intend to always grow roses. I'd want fewer to care for anyway as I grow older. So far I am healthy and strong, and right now I can still do pretty much what ever I like (so long as I rest afterwards). When I get to my 80's and 90's I might want to be doing a lot less. And yes, I do hope to reach those ages, with garden work as my plan to make that happen!