Oh Kirk ~ ~ ~ As we said in the 60ies....... " OUT A SIGHT ! ! !" those sweet little critters.... are so dang lucky to live with you and Ms C...... their on the HOMESTEAD>>.... BEAUTIFUL ! ! ! Love the fence / with the critters..... LUCKY Little animals to have such a wonderful Heavenly HOME here on earth ! ! ! God Bless ! SusieSunshine

Nailed it, 'Gold Cone'. Growing quickly but not overtaking everything just yet - and I have a pair of pruners somewhere around here... Steg, the grass is numbered, 18 months to be exact...

Blue--you found it! Maybe if you are extra good this year, Santa will pull through with a BIG gift! Maryl--I'm probably a few weeks behind you. My pansies will probably keep going for a few more weeks. We've had so much overcast weather that the pansies haven't suffered as much from the heat as usual. When the pansies give up the ghost, I switch over to medium blue lobelia--they make some now that can take a lot more sun, but even the lobelia will probably give up in the oven heat of August. However, by September or October, I can plant the pansies again. They will bloom in the fall and almost all of them will survive the winter to start blooming again very early in the spring through May/early June. Maryl and Carol: When Braveheart blooms, he is spectacular, but he sometimes is slow on the re-blooming. He's another one that got a severe pruning this spring like Jubilee Celebration and Earthsong did, and he is absolutely loving it, throwing out all sorts of blooms this year. He didn't do that well the past couple years. I have a theory--about long-term damage from that late hard Easter freeze several years ago (I'm sure you remember it, Maryl). I think the canes on a number of my roses did not fully recover and I've been trying to make them bloom more than they were capable of. I noticed that my hybrid teas weren't having that problem--and I have to cut them nearly to the ground each year--so I decided to try a more severe pruning with the shrubs that never seemed to fully recover after the Easter freeze. It worked--they are blooming like crazy. However, I won't prune them that severely every year by any means. Raining here today. Where is that sun? Kate

For flowering vines for a mild area in a shady location, I can offer the suggestions I used in my own garden - polyanthum jasmine and hardenbergia. Both are vigorous evergreen vines, the jasmine has small white and very fragrant flowers, the hardenbergia violet coloured ones. I have both planted in a North facing wall and they grow and bloom beautifully in our mild climate. Both flower for me around the February time frame, so this would qualify them for Winter flowering interest as well. Maybe you could plant two of each in alternate sides of your harbour. Then underplant with bulbs that are in the same line of colours - blue and white yacinths, anemones, white daffodills, grape yacints, etc. By the time the trees canopies leaf out they should be done blooming. This would be a very smart two tone combination. If you prefer some contrast, add bulbs in contrasting colours, but I think the first option is more sofisticated. As for something vertical in the hanging baskets, what about some miniature conifers? They won´t be too happy in the shade, though, so you might need to change them on a regular basis. Eduarda