Here's something to think about. We have dry summers. There's nothing new about that. Even though the drought we are in is really unbelievable, our summers are often droughty. This mean you have to water some cool season grasses to keep them alive. This also means you have to water bermuda because it needs water to stay green (and alive too). During the summer you can expect very high quality turf from bermuda, unmatched by an cool season grass, anywhere on the planet. However to bring out that potential, it needs water, close mowing, monthly ferts etc. All of the maintenance would make sense unless the following are true: * We have dry summers * We have a cool season, in most years it is longer than the warm season. * We can grow alternatives. When the growing season is short (unlike the desert SW) and it is droughty, it is a struggle to bring out bermuda's high quality potential. Why bother with that struggle? Instead of the status quo, why not instead put away the lawn mower for summer instead. It easier to grow grass in the cool season when moisture from cold fronts is more regular. If the summers were wet, that would change things because then if you wanted to grow bermuda, it would be easier to acheive the 8-9 quality ratings. Whereas TTTF may avg a high 5 or 6 rating year round, at least in an area with dry summers and mild winters, the grass will have more growing time. The alternative would be either dormant or coming into or coming out of dormancy. As a result, the whole city has not had good color lawns this summer. Since the lawns will be dormant til almost june, we've just lost an entire year. There has been lost opportunities for a beautiful green lawn that will cover up the mud in the cool season. I just don't get it. I don't see why others think brown grass for virtually the entire year (most years) is acceptable. And not just that but they eagerly throw money at chem spraying companies to make the grass green when it just isn't going to be more than a 4.5-5.0. I'd love for someone to explain it to me. I will admit, seeding lawns is a pain and stressful and I'd rather not have to do that every year. Not everyone does (those in shady yards etc) but I am literally the only one in my neighborhood that has had grass this year with a quality rating more than 5. A 5 isn't something to brag about, it's bare minimum acceptable quality. When I drive around town, I want to see pretty green grass. Not dead grass and stems that just makes the place look unpretty.

I'm glad Diane mentioned Evelyn - I got to cut some today. Mid-August I chopped most Austins down to 1' x 1', only Mary Magdalene, Evelyn, and Scepter'd Isle grow fast enough to give me a good fall flush. Evelyn lasts long in the vase, at least 4 days. The ones that last long in the vase stand up to 100 degrees heat well. Sonia Rykiel lasts long in the vase, she bloomed at above 90 degrees, only if given rich clay, plenty of water, and frequent horse manure & aflafal meal. She's a deep-cup diva, jam-packed with petals. I'm going to move her to a richer & wetter spot. The scent is unmatched, raspberry rose, and when the petals fall apart, it's still fragrant. Sonia is the pink one in the bouquet below picked before frost hit early October:

Dan - OK. From what I remember from lit class (which was one of my fav. Classes because we chose to explore fokelore and mythology) I believe Tom Bombadil was a free spirit that liked to explore nature at his own pace and was created by a father (don't remember his name) from a doll his son had . He used the character to create poems that are kindda "middle-earth". He was also mentioned in the new movie Lord of the rings, it was somewhere at the end when they were talking to gandorf(sp?) Gardenmom - I posted the other one before I looked at my list I may not have a passionflower left. I will have to see how much it grows from now to then. I will def. send one if I can get another cutting from it. I will leave you down for it just in case. But wanted to give you a heads up in case. Almost forgot..... **I am out of everything else previously listed *** NEW LIST: - Primrose - Pink (3 offers - maybe more I will let u know) - Vvarigated philodendron - Campion Rose Also will be posting some bulbs in a couple days :-) Keep fingers crossed on my dahlias. I may be able to share.

I user Bonnie Hunter's No Measuring Tape method: Quiltville Bonnie Hunter's Border Tips, including mitered borders (opens in new window) That wavy-edged quilt in the photo is a doozy. Basically, you prepare the border strip, lay the quilt on the floor and smooth it out, then lay the border strip down the CENTER of the quilt and cut it the same length as the center of the quilt. I spend the time to quarter or eighth pin-divide the border strip and the edge of the quilt, then I pin and ease and tweak if needed. This has worked well for me, and I don't have to measure anything. Why use only the center measurement? (It would have taken me dozens of wavy-bordered quilts to think of these reasons.) Bonnie Hunter says: "Some people take several measurements across the quilt and average that measurement for borders. (hear me gasping in fright here!) I *NEVER* "average" when measuring for borders because they can still flare, and where they are going to flare the worst is at the center of the quilt sides...That's why the CENTER measurement is the one to go for. If the 'averaged' measurement is longer than the quilt CENTER measurement, you are GOING to have a flared border. If the 'averaged' measurement is smaller than quilt center measurement, you are going to have borders that are too tight for your quilt center, and the center of your quilt is going to balloon out. Just use the center measurement and your quilt will lie flat!" CMC Here is a link that might be useful: Another link to Quiltville Border Hints page