Thanks for that tip. I have lots of the blue ones, they sure are pretty this time of year, plus there must be 40 or 50 seedlings hanging around in the flower beds, hopefully I will get some white ones, I really like them. I wonder if the white ones would come true from seed. Have you tried it and if it does then perhaps I will take you up on your offer for some seeds next spring. Thanks. Valerie

ali, what about putting an arbor in and growing a honeysuckle up it? From the edge and in from the driveway to the tree, I'd edge out the grass from that area and curve slightly to the end of the concrete pad in front of your home, the patio area. All the way to the end. Let's give you some curb appeal ;) Put the middle of the arbor in front of the edge of the concrete pad where the car is sitting, about 3 feet in. From the middle of the arbor to the drive and then going up your house, you could create a path that would curve over to the sidewalk and to the front door. For right now, using newspapers and a 5 gallon bucket filled with water, cover up all grass with layers of newspapers you've plunged into the water. Lay them down, overlapping as you go. I typically use about 10 layers of paper. The more, the better. If you can create your path first, either using stepping stones or gravel, lay down something like visqueen and lay the stepping stones or the gravel over to create the path. Remove the grass where the path will be so that nobody trips over stepping stones or gravel. Take out a V shape where you're going into the lawn from driveway to tree and up and over to the end of your home. Remove the dirt and the grass from the V, so that you've got a drop off of sorts and lay your wet newspaper to curve down into the area where the dirt is. Cover the area up with mulch or mushroom compost if you can get your hands on some, except for the path area. By next year, the newspaper will start to decompose and the grass will be dead, but it adds to the organic matter of newspaper and the dead grass. Worm heaven. From now and thru winter, study up on various perennials and possibly a few shrubs that produce berries for our other feathered friends. Next year, push back the mulch or mushroom compost and dig holes to plant. There should be enough room to the right of the path up to your front door, to add in a shrub. Then the other shrubs could go in front of the poles, under planted and going out to the edge with perennials. I prefer natives. They're adapted to our weather, our soil, they make up our ecosystem. Find a list of native plants for your area, and research those plants as to what hummingbirds like and also which ones make seed that other birds will like to eat on. The native plants won't require dead heading, don't need pruned or cut back so they look better....I just prefer them over all. Now an iris in there isn't going to hurt anything ;)...or a peony....both left by the previous owner that I decided to leave and a friend of mine from TN also gave me a beautiful iris that is sentimental to me. But again, those 2 are easy plants. Hummingbirds will love to sit and rest a spell on shrubs you provide and give you a closer look at their beauty. Too much?? Where do you live? Zone 5, but where? lovefornature, you're doing a wonderful job! It's people like you who join GW that make it an enjoyable site to visit. If you like butterflies and are interested in attracting some of them to come to your yard, you could plant a Aristolochia tomentosa or Aristolochia durior. Another plant I love that I don't know draws anything in, but blooms in late summer, is Clematis virginiana. Another neat native clematis is Clematis glaucophylla. I also answered the e-mail you sent, I hope you got it.

I know I'm kind of an oddball, but I am about the only person in a development full of no-trim windows who seems to like them. Several of my larger windows are drywall boxed in between the studs. Just spent a fortune replacing a couple of other windows and had to decide whether or not to trim existing windows to match their new neighbors. Contractor thought I was crazy for even considering leaving the old ones as is. We compromised. I still have the untrimmed boxes, but now they are faced in wood instead of drywall. It's a different look, but it's simple and clean. Goes well with my more streamlined tastes. Whatever you decide, here's a tip for painted windowsills. Since mine were boxed in drywall, they were painted. To keep the bottom sill looking fresh, I started always painting just the top side of the bottom sill in bright white washable paint, like the kind one might use for a kitchen or bathroom. No matter how much dust would accumulate in the house, it was always just a quick wipe to make it look like it was freshly painted.

Dunno, that is odd on the different shape, but hoyas are such a diverse bunch. I bet Denise or GG would know about that. I have a H. carnosa "Compacta" that has REALLY different leaves, not quite curled enough to qualify as a regular Compacta and not at all Krinkle 8 or anything else. I see different colored blooms on all the different carnosas, too. Very interesting. . . . I really like your carnosa KQ with the solid green leaves and the white spray. Even if it's not some rare new variety, it is really unusual and special. When I have a plant like that, I name it and keep it. ;-)