I'm trying to get perennials going, especially gypsophilia paniculata, but it hasn't bloomed yet, tried some crushed drywall (chalky) to lower the ph a little. Coreopsis went double on me, loved that, but hard to train right, cut it back. I have grown annual salvia 2 years now but want to go perennial where I used that, blue crystal this year and sangria last year, also a freebie yellow coneflower looks nice, meadow sage is good, haven't had time to mulch it yet and can't get that bed watered much. Some Color Parade lilies. Trying to get some delphs and white foxglove going. Crazy daisy should bloom next year. And catmint, not doing much this year but hangin' in there. Annual alyssum is very drought tolerant. White, pink and purple phlox. I stuck in some Rudbeckia Prairie Sun, very striking but not where it is, supposed to self-seed. I want something medium height or tallish with purple bells. What might that be? Failed twice trying to get campanula? ladybells going from seed, will give it one more shot. Russian sage I love but it gets too big, should try to find the smaller variety. Finally, clematis. Have two kinds going well now; one too young yet, one won't bloom, and one isn't happy where I put it. Many of the plants people in warmer zones are using doubt will grow in my zone.

and now, of all things, our Publix has it too. I was at Publix this afternoon, and there it was.. ...in it's little clear blue bottle! Just so everyone reading this does not thing we are totally nuts, Alison, started this a couple of years ago in the tomato forum. Here's her original post about it: "" http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tompests/msg1115262332106.html "Posted by torquill z9/sunset15 CA (My Page) on Fri, Jan 6, 06 at 4:21 I know it's been a while since this thread was active, but I thought I'd pass on the solution I use... Pantene makes a shampoo called "Pantene Pro-V Clarifying shampoo". Pick up a bottle of that specific shampoo at your supermarket, then add a couple of drops to a spray bottle and spray all the leaves. Make sure to get the undersides of the leaves in particular. Repeat the spray two to three days later. My experience with this stuff is that it nukes all stages of the life cycle, somehow. Regular insecicidal soap kills only the adults, but the shampoo seems to give good control for at least a couple of weeks. It's enough of an effect that I have a formal biology project planned to make a study of it, alongside insecticidal soap and malathion... If I manage to do the study, I'll spread the word on what I find. ""

Susan, I love your light stand and always will love it. I realize it was the best solution for you, but if I told Tim I wanted to buy one of those, he'd hand me a hammer and tell me to build my own....which is why I have the one that I have. : ) Mine is hidden away out of sight in a room where guests rarely venture, although anyone who knows me and who knows I raise my own seedlings always asks to go upstairs and see it in the spring. So much for putting it out of sight....I just should have set it up in the dining room or breakfast room or something.... I am sure you'll be deliriously happy with it and will have many wonder seed-starting adventures and I look forward to hearing all about them. I think you got a great deal considering it was Gardener's Supply. I never buy anything of theirs for full price. They have sales often enough (and especially in November when, I think, some of us gardeners are shopping for ourselves) that a person can be patient and get a good price during their periodic sales. I've noticed that prices often are not as good in December when gardeners' spouses or family members are doing what I call "panic Christmas buying" and cannot afford, time-wise, to wait for a sale. I don't think you were repetitive at all. The more we all share about what we do, how we do it and why we do it (as well as pointing out what didn't work for us!), the better for all of us to learn from one another's experiences! Carol, Our weather is just like yours. Our high was 70 degrees yesterday and it was so gorgeous outside I could hardly stand it. I wanted to jump up and down and scream "Spring Is Here!". That was exacerbated by the smell of the orange blossoms on my little orange tree. However, I controlled myself because I knew it was a false spring and that winter was returning today. It was 56 degrees around 7 a.m. here at our house and now it is 36 degrees and we have had very, very light rain but lots of thunder. Phooey on winter! I think you showed those folks at the co-op that one benefit of being a gardener is that it keeps your muscles and joints strong, healthy and fit. I'd rather "work out" in the garden any day, than walk on the treadmill or work out on the weight machine. Who wouldn't? Trees, Nope, sorry, I just haven't gotten to it. I am trying. Watch for it in a couple of hours or in the morning. I'm about to start typing mow after I close up the chicken coops, put out the deer corn for my favorite deer, refill the bird feeders (those little birdies are eating nonstop today trying to stay warm), etc. I'm kind of dreading going out into the cold wind but I need to do it now before it gets dark. I have to warn you that I don't use the same planting schemes every year because I don't want to get stuck in a rut, but I'll try to mention some of the planting schemes in my usual rotation. Dawn

I grow marigolds on the edges of my lasagna beds, but it's more of a pretty factor than a companion factor. And with this years bed rotation, the marigolds are on the edges of pepper, squash, and bean beds, and not along the tomato beds at all, lol. And I thickly direct sow marigold seed too- that way it's a nice bushy border and if/when they get bug-tacular I can just pull those plants if needed. This year it's carrots and leafy greens edging the tomato beds- but that's more of a got that little space left over I can cram them into rather than companionship. But hey, if it helps, why not? I've never been sure how basil is supposed to improve tomatoes either- I always figured it was kind of an old wives tale because tomatoes and basil are so often companioned in cooking rather than the growing aspect of it. I would never grow garlic in my tomato bed- my garlic gets it's own beds, and honestly is one of the only beds that is perfectly picked clean of anything that could compete with the garlic. Garlic might be good for tomatoes, but I wouldn't want to chance tomatoes out competing my garlic. Borage gets it's own growing space too, because it has it's own application, and I don't want it competed with. I grow calendula aside too for the same reason. My sage is in the herb garden, and I don't grow chives because I have large swaths of my lawn that are thick with wild chives so I don't need to grow any. Nasturtiums can be a great companion plant as far as I'm concerned- but as a companion plant only as a trap plant that I'm willing to sacrifice. I had a nasty aphid infestation last year, and the nasts trapped almost all of them- and when a bit of the plant got infested, I promptly cut it off and drowned it. I grew them next to peppers and squash last year, and they didn't get a single aphid. I wouldn't rely on nasts as a companion to just let sit and do whatever. But then I have the tendency to grow hedgerows of nasts because I use them a lot for various eating too, so I can use them as sacrificial companions and eating plants.