Thanks for the great website! I hope some of my plants flower this year, instead of waiting until the second year. Theresa

Sounds great, Sandy! I looked for plants on the Internet but everyone is sold out. I knew I was late in checking them out, but hey, what the heck, I tried. Do you have ptelea trifoliata? If not, I am going to try to order it, too. Also the Bird of Paradise (caelsipinia) is another plant I want. I know you said someone sold it, but I can't remember who. I don't know if I have anything you want yet. I do have some seedlings coming up of the Senna bicapsularis (did I give you seed last year or not?) Do you have the Monarda fistulosa or didyma (bright pink flowers)? I have tons of that if you want any. Also have a lot of Cosmos 'Cosmic Orange' coming up, too. Guess what, the Golden Crownbeard (verbesina encelioides did reseed a few plants. You also gave me a tiny plant with grey felted foliage, but don't remember what it is - it's not the Crownbeard. Anyway, it is getting a tiny little flower on it, so I guess it's okay where I planted it. One of my Hackberry Emperors made its chrysalis a couple of days ago. I'm feeding them morning and evening with fresh food because the hackberry foliage wilts quickly. If you want to try to raise a few, I can share with you if you have some available hackberry. They are really cute caterpillars. Can also dig up some of that aster you wanted. It is really starting to spread. Haven't heard anything from Linda here for awhile, so don't know if she wants the cudweed or not. I found another small plant growing in my garden bed, which would be easier to dig than the other one. Do you have any passion vine coming up yet? I can save some seed this year of the P. cearulea if you want it. It produces fruit, which the incarnata 'Lavendar Lady' does not. Susan

castorp thanks for the article. Ladybird Johnson did so much to raise the level of wildflower awareness. If they can do it in Texas surely Florida can too. "we need to redefine the aesthetic" I heartily agree. Perhaps some good can come from decreased government spending. The increased use of native plants in medians and in shopping centers is great. The interstates are the next obvious place to go native. olya LOVE that phlox. you are so much braver than I who spotted some great gaillardia when I lived in Naples and couldn't figure out how to rescue it. And your butterfly! Lovely. Denise

Susan, That's true about rain water, but I also think it is the nitrogen released by lightning. My plants will green up like crazy after we have lightning, even if very little rain fell. My poppies are about 300 feet from the house, with some a little closer. They only get rain water because I'm not dragging a hose or hauling buckets of water to water wildflowers. All my native plants live have to live on what nature gives them (or doesn't give them, as the case may be). David, I knew y'all had been really, really dry there and that's why I went and found that map and linked it. I thought it would help us all understand what is going on with the rainfall across the state if we could look and see how little rain has actually fallen. Regarding the sand plums, yes it is a survival mechanism in terms of survival of the species, and it applies to anything we grow to eat, including tomatoes and peppers. I get the best production from plants kept slightly hungry and slightly dry. Why? Because they want to produce lots of seeds in case they are about to die. Since those seeds are in the veggies we eat, it pays off for us! I also think the flavor of most fruit and veggies are better in drier years than in years with more moisture or if grown with too much irrigation. Too much moisture waters down the flavor and also can negatively impact the texture. I hope y'all get some good rain soon. The rainfall we've received recently has helped tremendously, but I have been watering some as well. With clay soil, I can't let it get too dry as it gets rock hard and sheds all water. I have to keep it moist enough that it will absorb some water. Dawn