Hi everyone,

I mailed my partner's box today. I am sorry it took it is so late this month. the Delivery conf. # is: 0307 1790 0001 0852 2711.

Karen, I hope your boys are better soon and I am sorry to hear about your surgery. I have had that one and I understand what you are going thru. I will keep you in my prayers.

I hope everyone has a great week,I am enjoying our spring lasting longer than usual. lots of things are beginning to bloom now and i love it.

will post pics soon..

hello
Karen - thanks for letting us know you would be sending late, send when you can.

Ibartoo - I can't wait to see picks of your yard an lovley flowers

I was getting my hands in the dirt to day and will be back out again later.

have a great day
michelle

OH JOY OH JOY............I received my box from Jeanne on Friday (yes it did arrive quickly!)........computer's been on the fritz at home so I had to wait until back to work today to post.............
I received:
Rose seeds
purple hyacinth bean seeds.
Daylilies (yay!) Double Bold One and Living Flame
Bellflower, 'Elizabeth' (I used to have this, I'm thrilled to have it again)
Balloon flower
5 leaf Akebia Chocolate Vine (yay! one of my "most wanted")
Soapwort
Sedum (I just love sedums they are so cute)
Bee Balm
Lemon Balm
Viola (Johnny Jump Ups)
Artemesia
Goldenrod - Solidage "Fireworks"
and
osmocote plant food.
and
the most beautiful handmade bookmark with microwave dried pansies and herbs..........it's inspired me to finally start reading a book I had set aside!

Everything was packaged and labeled so well - Jeanne you are a real pro!

Thanks for being my partner and sending such a wonderful box.

Sue G.

Good Afternoon Ladies,
Karen-You and your children have been through so much the last few weeks. I'm sending wishes for their speedy recovery. My thoughts are with you too as you prepare for your surgery. Thanks for letting us know you'll be late and as Michelle said 'send when you can'.

I finally felt well enough to get out and do some planting on Saturday. Thanks for the get well wishes. It did wear me out a little. I have one more daylily to plant. It seems as the spring progresses more boxes arrive with plants for me to get in the ground. Linda sent me Canna's that belonged to her Grandmother. I had hoped to plant them today but I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I also received a box of 'Carolyn Whorton' Caladium bulbs that I ordered last fall. They are going in large pots. I think spring is finally here for us the weather has been beautiful.

Deb-Your box arrived today. My DH placed the box in my hands, directly from the Postal Carrier. I immediately opened it and removed all of the AV leaves. I trimmed the stems and placed them in individual cups of the warm soak you recommended. Thanks again...You're a sweetheart!

If anyone needs extra time, to ship this month, please let Michelle or myself know. There are 4 days left until the 25th.

I went out today and took a few pics. They are a little fuzzy. Not much in flower though.
Dicentra s. 'Alba' (White Bleeding Heart)

Chelidonium majus (In my shade garden)

Hope everyone had a great day
Mariann

I'd thought I share that I posted a new gardening post on my blog. I've changed places where I have my gardening blog.

The website is as follows: http://aveggiegarden.wordpress.com

Here is a link that might be useful: A Veggie Garden Blog

I just have to show off with this one! This is the lily plant that I received from Sue last week. Can you believe it? It came barerooted and I'm sure had been in the box for a few days. It never even drooped and within two days of being put in the ground its buds started opening and it is really putting on a show. This is not only a beautiful plant but is a "tough" one as well!
Sue, here's a picture to thank you. I'm glad the plants that I sent to you got there okay. You did a fabulous job packing what you sent - as you can see here.
Jeanne

{{gwi:1262068}}

WOW thats awesome Jeanne!!! Very Pretty!!! YAY SUE Great job on sending the Asiatic Lily!!! I hope mine turns out as pretty!

Marianne, I think THINK you may have solved a question I have on a plant I have. I have a "seedling" kinda that I planted that looks almost just like the foliage (sp) of your Bleeding Heart's foliage (sp). I am really hoping now that that is what it is! It is very pretty! You have some pretty blooms there!

OMG, Jeanne! That is so cool!! It's beautiful, and I can't believe it bloomed so quickly!!! Awesome!

I love the pics, Mariann! My bleeding heart isn't ready to bloom yet, but it sure is looking that lovely green color! I can't wait for those little white hearts to appear!!! We had 4 plants at one time, but only one survived, and it has THRIVED! I love it!!

I WILL get my box out before the deadline, I promise! I am working on it! I'm close!!!

Hugs to all!!
Becki

Mariann,
Hopefully, none looked brown, clear (unless it's a tiny part, then cut off the rotten portion, dust with cinnamon). You can't save a rotted violet leaf, but you can save a limp one with the water/sugar soak. When I purchased my "Silverglade" collection from South Africa, the leaves were in transit for 17 days! When they arrived each leaf had to be revived and soaked overnight in the sugar soak. I was able to save every leaf. If you ever need any more, just let me know. My violets always need to be trimmed.

Deb

Good Morning Everyone, I am running late this month too. As I expected, with our heavy winter this year the plants have been slow to peak out from under the dirt. I have been combing my gardens on a daily basis and will definitely be able to send my box out to my partner by the 25th! My tulips just started to open along with my daffs. It is so nice to finally see spring arriving to Ohio! It has been a long cold winter.

Karen, I feel bad for the boys getting so sick. We had a rough winter with illness too. My oldest had pneumonia and it has taken it's toll on himl. He was on a nebulizer as well along with steroids and antibiotics. I think there has been at least one person sick here the entire winter. With 5 kids things really get passed around.

Mariann, your white bleeding hearts are beautiful. I love those little nodding blossoms. Glad you are feeling better.

Jeanne, your lily is gorgeous! I am shocked that it is blooming already. That is one happy healthy plant!

I thought I would share a few pictures of my first blooms of spring. The peony tulip just opened yesterday!

Have a great day!
Tracy

Love the flower pictures that everyone is posting. I bought some type of white bleeding heart plant last year and was so excited to have it. I think mine was an annual and never bloomed for me so that was not so exciting! Yours is a beauty, Mariann.
Just so you don't think I made the whole thing up about this gorgeous lily - when it arrived it had all the buds on it, just none had opened yet. I guess I was expecting them to drop off or at least that the plant would really suffer a decline from being mailed and replanted when it had that many buds on it. It is one happy camper! I only have a few lilies and the spot where I put this new one is right near two other kinds of lilies, so I think it likes its new neighbors. LOL
Have a good day!
Jeanne

Oh, Tracy, those are beautiful!!! Wow!!

Karen, I meant to say that I am sorry you and your boys have been having such a rough time!!! That is so frustrating! I have been so thankful that when Dave needed a nebulizer for a slightly long term a couple of years ago, I went ahead and bought one. I thought his insurance at the time was going to pay for it, but it ended up they would only pay for rental (weird, as rental is like $20/month, and to buy it was only like $60!) Anyway, I am so glad that I bought it! We have used that thing so much since then!!

Becki, Thank you! You have been on my mind lately, how is every little thing going for you? I agree on the nebulizer. They are a very handy item to have around. Ted needed it when he was little for his asthma. He grew out of it but started having bouts again this past year whenever he got sick. The other kids have used it occasionally when bronchitis hit the family a few years ago. It really has been a help to us.

Jeanne, I totally believe you! Honest! I think the lily likes you best though, if it were mine it would have nodded it's buds and said "see ya next year, ha ha!" LOL! It really is beautiful. I love all of the pictures of your blooms. I think your gardens must be beautiful. I just wish I had more popping! This northern gal is just jealous. I am always amazed at how fast things get blooming down south. I think I want to move. :o)

Thank you, Tracy! I appreciate that! Things are going pretty well! With the weather getting nice, we have been spending as much time as possible outside. And, I didn't realize how very much time all the seeds I planted were going to take!! Wowza! I'll have to take a pic one of these days to show you all what I've got going on. I'm sure many of you have the same thing. But, I ran out of room on my tables, so I have gone to a rotating cycle - 1/2 the plants are on the tables under the light for 12 hours, then they get put under the tables, and the other ones are put under the lights. It seems to be working okay so far. Dave suggested putting some of the more hardy plants out on the porch, and maybe leaving them there overnight, so I'm giving it a try. I left my broccoli and lettuce out there last night, and even through a very heavy thunderstorm, they did okay! So, today some of my tomatoes, cauliflower, hibiscus and geraniums are out there (don't want to do too many though, so I've left at least half of each of those in the basement yet - if I have a loss, at least it won't be a total one!!) We put a 30 gallon galvonized ice bucket type thing under one of our downspouts last night - for one thing because we wanted to start a rain "barrel", and for another thing, because the bottom of the gutter is missing, so all that rain aims straight at our foundation, and we are having a bad problem with leakage in our basement. Anyway, we had this one thunderstorm this morning, and that 30 gallon tub was filled up in 15 minutes!!! I was shocked!!! So, we have a big 250 gallon one that we used to use for watering cattle that we are going to slide under there next! Now, I just need to get some screens to put over them, and some Bt dunks (I think that's what I need to keep mosquitos from laying eggs in there, right??) I potted up several dahlias the other day, so I will be excited for them to pop up soon! And one of my callas has sprouted! I have those in pots too. I am loving having things in containers!! They are so moveable that way!!!! Okay - so how's that for catching up on happenings here??? I didn't mean to write so stinkin' much!! Oh! One more thing!! Sunday, I don't know why I brought it up, but I said to Dave that I would love to tear up the ugly bushes we had on the south foundation of the house. He didn't really agree, but said he always thought they were ugly too. Anyway, toward evening that day, all of a sudden he started digging them up!! Woo hoo! So, I totally get to redo our foundation planting on that side!! Yippee!! I am so excited! We planted all that stuff before I had ANY clue what I was doing in the garden, and it was totally icky! We had stones all around everything there, so the boys are working this week on taking out all of those white stones, and then we are going to use that to put a path out to our hen houses, so when we go to them, we don't have to walk through the mud. How ingenious is that??? My hubby is quite the thinker! Anyway, I am excited to figure out what I am going to put there (but I am thinking lots of things to attract the hummingbirds and butterflies, so we can look out the window and watch them!! Okay, I MUST stop writing now!! I hope everyone else is doing well!!

Hugs,
Becki

hello
I wanted to remind everyone that mariann and I don't want to have to post reminders and e-mail people to send, please send this week so we can finnish up april in april. those with reasons to ship late just let us and your partner know so we don't have to send e-mails and post reminders, if you have sent or receved and did not post it or I missed it let me know

I thought I'd post an update:

micyrey S--R
galium S--R
thelwig55
hmle2217 R --S
beckilove R (WILL SEND BY 25TH)
pixieluvplants
sandlapper_rose S--R
kalena67 ( WILL BE SENDING LATE)
sguanzon S--R
debbya S--R
sassyd S
scottrell
mellen
esiuol S
ibartoo S
wynative S -- R
Tracyvine ( will send by 25th)

If I missed anyone please let me know. and let us know if any one will be leaving the group so I can start planning for may's partners.

Tracy, Springtime is great in the South but after awhile you will be enjoying your plants and we will be hiding in our air-conditioned houses. LOL We have had rain this Spring so that is a big help!!! The bad Springtime problem is the pollen. I grew up in upstate New York and had never seen pollen like what we get down here. For a few weeks in the spring, everything is coated with it and it comes down so fast - no chance to keep your car or anything else clean.
I am getting to enjoy daffodil season a second time through your pictures. I love daffodils! We still have a few tulips in bloom, but they are almost finished. I picked what I had in matching pink ones yesterday and put them in a vase in the dining room, so I am not even sure I have any more out there.
The last few days the cannas decided it was time to grow. So funny - one day you don't see them at all and the next day they are 18' tall with a 10" long leaf that has developed. People who don't garden, don't know what they are missing!
Well, it is cloudy and a little cool today (67 degrees) so I am going outside for awhile and try to move some winter sowing seedlings from their containers to the ground. I know they say not to give up on the ones that have not germinated (maybe 20% of what I planted) but those nasty containers are going to be dumped in the flower beds soon and maybe they can decide to surpise me later. That leaves maybe 25 containers with seedlings that I need to plant. I'm getting there. I had wild hopes of trading some of them because I have so many little seedlings, but they are just too little to think of that type of thing until fall.
Talk to you later.
Jeanne

Hi All,

My partners box will go out this afternoon or in the morning. I will post DC as soon as it fly's.

Smiles,
Pixie

Deb-Only two of the pkgs. of AV leaves were mushy...The rest were in great shape. You must have hundreds of AV's I would love to see some pics! There is something about AV that remind me of an old Victorian house. Maybe because my Grandmother use to grow them.

I love Bleeding Hearts but I've have such a hard time growing them except for this white one. It comes up every year and I don't do a thing to it. Last year I put some compost around it but that was all. Anyway I've tried for years to grow the Old Fashioned Red ones but no luck. Last year I bought one at Home Depot for $1.99 and put it up in the shady part of my veggie garden. Low and behold my DH told me today that it was up.

Jeanne-That lily looks good enough to eat!! I wish I had more space for lilies.

Tracy-Love those Daffs... I planted about 50 bulbs year before last. This year I only had one flower! They are in a terrible place.

Becki-I have to take a picture of the Tulips you sent me last October for the PP Swap. I clustered them all together and they are lovely!!!

I have a nebulizer that's about 15 years old. We stopped using them in the hospital so I brought one home. Carol and I have both used it.

Hope everyone has a good evening!!!
Mariann

Becki, I am glad things are going well. Wow, those young seedlings are keeping you busy! That sounds like a good system you have going there. Poor thing, I can only begin to imagine how much time you are spending moving them up and down. It sounds like a bumper crop this year for you! I can empathize with the gutter problems. I have a downspout that lets out right by my trellis and it washed away a good 2 inches of soil. I have the crown exposed on one of my clems. I need to remedy that tomorrow. Yep, dunks are what Trina was telling us about last year. She seemed to like them pretty well.

I spent the day sowing some of the zinnia seeds (giant enchantress) that you sent to me along with around 100 other little tender seeds. All are going to live outside in their trays. I will be doing the seedling dance with you if we get a cold snap. Someone should play the hokey pokey while we do the seedling whirl around! lol! Emma was helping place the peat pots in the trays and then putting all the markers in them when I finished each set. She was so cute, when she ran out of things to do she just came over and gave me some little hugs while she waited. I love this age!

Jeanne, I guess you just convinced me to stay put and stop packing! lol! I love playing outside all summer long. We have a similar pollen explosion in late May up here. The cars, windows, driveways are all coated in this bright lime green. My allergies act up and I just want to hide until it is finished. I have a little over 50 ws containers with a little over half that are germinated. This is my first year winter sowing and I am thrilled with the results so far. I don't think mine would make a trip through the mail very well either. I would love to share them soon but will have to be patient. I bet your bouquet is beautiful. I love the pinks. That is what I had primarily at our old house. This year I decided to do some deeper colors for some contrast. Stepping out of the box a bit! lol! I am so glad you like the pictures. These were leftovers from the previous owner of our house. I don't know any of the names of them but I do love them!

Mariann, I am sad that your daffs didn't produce for you! These that are pictured were no longer producing until DH and I dug out the bed that they were in. We just had clusters of green leaves and no blooms. After we stripped everything out of the bed we put a few of the bulbs back here and there and ta da! Blooms! How is that for dumb luck?! Go figure! I can't wait to see the pictures of the tulips that Becki sent you. I just love tulips!

I have had a lot of trouble with the bleeding hearts in the past. They always burned out on me before the end of summer. I bought some of the reds last year and they did the same thing again. I was very surprised to see them coming back from the roots the other day. They look very healthy so I am a happy girl! I had placed an order for the white ones this spring with HardyPlants.com but they didn't send them since their stock was expired. I will have to keep looking, your's are absolutely beautiful.

Oh my gosh Jeanne, how beautiful. I have one too but it bloomed pink I thought yours would too. Hope you like the red - it's really striking isn't it?

Sue G.

Hello! Just wanted to say that my package will be going out tomorrow and I will post a DC # then. It was a really nice day out today, 64 degrees, and tomorrow it is suppose to be 68. I so badly want to start wintersowing (or should I say springsowing) my annuals and tender perennials, but worry it still may be too soon here in zone 4. I think I'll do them this week anyway. I heard today that our local greenhouse is open......I really didn't need to hear that!! lol

Tracy, I'm so glad your first year of wintersowing is a successful one!! And WOW!! 50+ containers! I only have 27, but each jug has 4 different varieties in them.

My sister has a bleeding heart that stays green, healthy, and bushy ALL summer long, in the sun besides! My bleeding heart dies down by mid summer. I just noticed today that it is coming up fast. I think Mariann's white bleeding heart is very pretty also!

I don't have a nebulizer, but the DR is kind enough to loan them out, and them I have to purchase the tubing and mouth piece, and that was only $2.35.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Hopefully we are done with illness now for a few months, or the rest of the year.

Karen

Karen, you are an awesome teacher in WS! I owe it all to you! Every time I tried starting from seed inside I had disaster. WS is the best thing that I have ever done. I hope we all get a 5 year sebatical from illness. This has been the worst year on record for my family. We all deserve a break!:o)

Wow - I have been 'mia' for a while and all the flowers here are beautiful! A couple of my grape hyathcin are just starting to open and one giant one - but I think I planted it to deep as it is just barely peeking above the soil...

Karen - good luck with your surgery! I had mine done 9 years ago and it is one of the best things I have ever done for myself! Of course if I over do it in the spring with trying to get everything done in the yard & flower beds, the first nice weekend :) I pay for it but other than that I have been pain free and everything works like it use to. Another plus to this surgery is you are not suppose to do dishes, sweep or vacume due to the twisting motion. You boys are old enough to take care of that for you LOL My son and nephew's helped me - they were not happy about it & it wasn't like I did things but it got done. :)

Happy Wednesday ladies,
Marie

My Partners box flew today!!! DC # is 0103 8555 5029 8284. YAY for such a beautiful day here!

Back out side, will catch up later today.

Smiles,
Pixie

Marie, It is so good to hear others say that they've had this problem and everything came out fine! I just want to get it done. And hopefully get back to normal!

Tracy, thanks for the kind words. I learned everything I know about wintersowing from the GW Wintersowing forums, and I am still learning! I'm glad I could help though!

Tammy, your package is on its way, DC# 03071790000517116440. I hope everything makes it there safe and sound and in good shape! Sending plants always makes me nervous! I'm afraid I'll do something wrong and my partner will end up with dead plants. :( So if anyone ever has problems with what I send, PLEASE let me know, and I welcome any tips and pointers on digging, cleaning, prepping, and packaging plants!

Hope everyones having a wonderful day!
Karen

Marie-I'm so glad that you were able to give Karen encouraging words about the surgery.

Becki-This is for you!!!

Mariann

WHOOOHOOO I received a wonderful box from esiuol this afternoon!!! This is what she sent me....

Astrant mix plant (very pretty)
Pink Lavender plant
Pink Dreams Catmint
(all arrived in perfect condition!!)

TONS (over 50) packets of seeds WOW!!!!
Yellow Gardening gloves (always need these)
Two magazines, Gardening How To and Horticulture
several types of plant markers and a garden marker pen
a pot sitter Froggie

I love it all!!! Thank you soo much Louise!

Smiles,
Pixie

here is another update
has anyone heard from Mary Ellen/mellon. she is MIA this month and has not responded to my e-mail this morning, dose anyone know if she has been ill or out of town?
linda/Ibarto - mellen is to send to you and I know you sent to her, did she let you know if she got the box? or hs she contacted you?

micyrey S--R
galium S--R
thelwig55 (will send sat)
hmle2217 R --S
beckilove R (WILL SEND BY 25TH)
pixieluvplants R--S
sandlapper_rose S--R
kalena67 S
sguanzon S--R
debbya S--R
sassyd S
scottrell (will send next week)
mellen
esiuol S
ibartoo S
wynative S -- R
Tracyvine ( will send by 25th)

I will let you know if I hear from mary ellen.
michelle

Relax, Michelle, I did not respond to your e-mail this morning, because I work during the day. Rather difficult to respond to an e-mail when a person is at work. I wrote to you as soon as I read it this evening. I just checked the confirmation number of the package the Linda sent to me, and her package is still in transit. I will be sure to post when it arrives. Linda, thank you so much for sending. I plan to send your package on Friday. I hope that is okay with you. Michelle, thank you for your concern for my health, etc.
Mellen/Mary Ellen

Michelle - I promised you I would get my butt in gear! I did!!! : ) Sharon, your box is going out today, dc #0103 8555 7493 7193 0248. I hope it reaches you quickly and safely! Sorry for cutting it so close to the wire!!
Hugs,
Becki

My box is on it's way! It flew the coop this afternoon. DC # is 0307 0020 0000 6841 6281. Karen, I hope you like your box! I packed your plants a little differently than I used to. Let me know how they look when they arrive. I hope they are nice and fresh for you. Another GW member posted in the Adopt a Newbie thread on how she packs her plants with step by step pictures so I thought I would give it a try.

Trina, that is a lovely box that you received from Louise! Wow, that is a ton of seeds! Wonderful!

I hope everyone is having a great day!

Tracy

I'll be waiting, Tracy!! I'll let you know how they arrive. I can't wait!! I'm going to have to check out the Adopt A Newbie thread and see how that GW member packs her plants. As I said earlier, I always worry about that.

Its a gloomy day here, but nice, 63 degrees. I would like to see a little bit of rain.

Karen

Oh, Mariann - thank you for the beautiful picture! I am so glad they are doing well for you!! I'm afraid the tulips around here aren't quite ready to open up - not good, since the annual tulip festival in town is next week! Not that I'm worried about it - but I'm sure many people in town are!

Hugs,
Becki

Mariann, that is a beautiful arrangement of tulips that you planted. I love them! I have more blooming today!

Becki, the poor town people that organized the festival! I can just picture them worrying and checking the buds each day. I hope they pop soon!

Karen, what'd you think of her method? I am glad it is finally warming up for you. It has been a drastic change from severe cold to mid 70's this past 2 weeks here. I am loving these warm days. I am getting a lot done outside, not so much in the house though! I did some dividing after I dug your plants and more weeding. It has been dry all week so I have to keep watering my young clematis and rock garden since it gets so hot in there. I have some clematis planted in there too and have them planted up against my lilac tree. I plan to train them throughout the tree branches so I can have blooms on it all summer long.

I hope your box gets to you by saturday!

Tracy

Tracy I can't find it?!! I'll re check.

I found it! Don't know how I missed it the first time! I'm going to check it out now.
Karen

Karen its on the first Adopt a Newbie thread not the partners posted one.

Mariann those tulips are beautiful!!!

It was in the first posting for the group toward the bottom of the forum page. It was posted by Remy to help all the new folks when they start sending live plants eventually. Here is her link to the pictures she has of the packaging steps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Remy's live plant packaging for exchanges

Thats kinda how I did mine for this swap, only I didn't make a cone with the newspaper. I'll do it that way next time. Do you all just use water on your roots? Last summer I read where someone used a spray mix of water and peroxide before mailing. I did that last year (That was my first and only time mailing bareroot plants) but I didn't do it this time. I'm such a worrier about this! lol

Karen

Karen, I just use water and paper towels. I just did this for the first time with the newspapers also lol. Its always good to learn something new eh? lol. Tracy is a great teacher also btw. I am sure your plants will be fine without the peroxide.

Well back outside to play.

Pixie

Pixie

Karen and Pixie, this is the first time for me with the paper cones. I have some reservations about doing that in the hot weather. I worry that the plants will get too hot in the boxes. I use paper towels and plastic wrap and secure with a piece of tape normally, no peroxide or anything else. I also just shake off any excess soil but not completely bare root on some plants if they have very fine roots. I hate taking them completely out of their element. I'd love to hear some opinions of the long time swappers on this. What are your favorite and least favorite packaging methods?

HI Everyone, I like Remy's pics about wrapping the plants. I would worry about them getting too hot during the summer months too, but I don't ship much during july-september.
When I package plants, I do basically the same thing, but I wrap them in gift tissue. It is much lighter than newspaper and tends to insulate them a little too. As I said though, by Mid-June is it much too hot for plants to travel from here. Its so sad when you get a big box of plants and they look as though they were cooked in a bamboo steamer. I have lost many that way.

I have my first two clematis blooms this week. I bought these at walmart last year and I had never grown one. I have one that is a deep burgundy, ( I thought it was purple until...) a purple one that opened today. I bought a few more this spring, but they aren't big enough to bloom yet.

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{{gwi:1262071}}

If anyone can Identify these I would really appreciate it. For now I am just calling them beauty and lovely. LOL

Mellen, Friday is fine. I hope you like what I sent to you. I enjoyed putting your package together. I Mailed it monday, but this must surely be a slow week at the PO because I have been expecting some plants that haven't made it in. With My PO, you never can tell......

Hope every one has a good week, Linda

PS. Sassy and Michele, I am sorry I didn't get to chat more last night, my computer decided to act badly. Hopefully I will catch you again soon.

Linda, if you go to the clematis forum and post your pictures there in a larger format then nckvilledudes/miguel, bloomorelse or Jeanne from Texas will most likely tell you exactly what you have there. Make sure that it includes some pictures of the leaves as well as the blooms. Miguel is as close to an expert as they come on these matters. They are most definitely beautiful and lovely! So, you were bitten by the clematis bug too? I now have a raging collection of 12 and growing! Be careful if you do venture in there, you will be introduced to many new varieties and then you will have to have them all!

I started venting my boxes for the hot months and wasn't wrapping them at all except for the roots last summer. I had sent some sunrise echinacea down to Texas in August and they arrived beautifully, I think the vents that I poked into the box helped to let the heat escape. My partner was overjoyed at how healthy they looked.

Winter, that is! I am watching the wind blow and blow all this snow around that started falling a couple of hours ago. We are suppose to get 5-8 inches. :( It started with just 2 inches, then they bumped it up to 3-5, and now they say 5-8. School is getting out now too. I guess it will be gone in a couple of days, but man do I really hate snow right now!

I hope everyone else is getting sunshine and warmth!!
Karen

Poor Karen! I could just cry for you right now! That is so unfair! Snow, Snow, Go Away, Go Down Florida's WAY!

Ladies we have a celebrity in our midst!!! This picture and article appeared in the Monday April 21st edition of the Quincy Herald-Whig. Way to go Michelle!!!!

lOLLY WAGNER
Herald-Wnig Staff Writer
The gardener's house on South 19th Street is easy to spot from the street.
Michelle Reynolds' minuscule front yard is more straw than grass, but the tulips poking up in bunches around a tree stump, and the yard ornaments and bird feeders distract the eye.
But the real work is going on inside, where the cold, dark days have been banished by grow lights and win­dow gardens.
"The plants keep me busy," Reynolds said. "It gets me through winter to have stuff blooming here all the time."
Reynolds will be putting most of her vegetable seedlings into the com-
munity plots on North Eighth Street. She also has the beginnings of several butterfly and kitchen gardens for her­self, friends and relatives.
While she regrets that the garden is too far to walk to, she's glad that it's away from the curious fingers of her sons, 5-year-old Timmy and 2-year-old Jeremy.
This is her second year, and she has plants to share with the other gar­deners and flowers to contribute.
The perennials have already sprouted in two portable greenhouses on the front porch. Reynolds put the shelves of flats, encased in plastic, on the porch last January and the seeds started to sprout last month.
"I just water them," Reynolds said. A lot of seeds need the freeze-thaw cycle to germinate. "I just let nature
do it."
Reynolds' kitchen is a laboratory with plants in pots, plants wintering-over, a shelf-top greenhouse, house plants, Timmy's seedlings and plants hanging and sitting everywhere they'll find natural light.
Outside the kitchen door, protected from freezing temperatures in the "mud room" on the back porch, are two more portable greenhouses sheltering seedlings.
They hold snapdragon, roses, and cardinal climbers that will bloom with red trumpets that appeal to hum­mingbirds.
The tiny backyard is completely mulched. "I want to water plants, not grass," she explains. The wood chips also provide a relatively clean play area for the boys, "not that they wouldn't love to play in the mud," Reynolds said. Birdhouses hang from the garage wall, and in the corner are several raised gardens for flowers.
The hard-working plants are in the base­ment. More than 100 tomato plants, along with eggplants, pepper plants, and more flowers sprout from flats on the shelves that line three walls, leaving just enough room for the washer and dryer. Each shelf has a fluorescent bulb hanging from chains so it can be raised as the plants grow.
"It's taken me a couple of years to get it where I want it," Reynolds said.
Here are the beginnings of several kitchen gardens and a winter's worth of canned toma­toes and salsa. While Reynolds has not gotten involved with groups promoting locally grown foods, she's discovered the pleasure of being surrounded by nature and helping things to grow.
"I talk about them to anybody who will lis­ten," she said. hwagner@whig.com/221-3374

GARDENWEB.COM
Michelle Reynolds plants more seeds than she can use. She plans to give away her extras, including trading plants online at GardenWeb.com.
She also has several kitchen gar­dens planned for friends and relatives.
At only a few feet square, "a kitchen garden is something anybody can put in their yards," Reynolds said.
Her kitchen gardens hold a few tomato plants, eggplants, onions, radishes, carrots and lettuce, "just any­thing you can toss in dinner," she said.
There are also herbs such as basil and fennel for cooking, for the butterflies and just for the delicious aroma when they are crushed between the fingers.

Congratulations Michelle! That is a wonderful article about you and your gardens. I love your basement grow set up! I am green with envy at all the shelving you have for your plants. GW is going to be swamped with new members signing up! Way to go! :o)

Tracy

WAY TO GO MICHELLE!!! Awesome article I agree!!! WOW on your setup and here you were being so modest!! Girl you are amazing!!! You give inspiration thats forsure!!!

Trina

Wow Michelle, Nice article! Nice setup too!
Congratulations!

Deb

That is SO awesome, Michelle!! Congratulations!! I am so excited! I'm sitting here looking at the plants you sent me, thinking - wow, these came from there!!! Yippee!!

I just got through bringing all my seedling flats into the house. We are going to have a cold snap this weekend, and I don't want to take a chance of having them freeze. So, all 24 flats are scattered between my diningroom and kitchen. Several need a good watering, and then I will have to find a place on in the basement to put them with all of my sprouting seeds. Unfortunately, our basement flooded this morning, with the incredible amount of rain we got - so the floor is out! Don't want the seedlings to drown any more than I want them to freeze! The ground here is so saturated, there is just nowhere for all the rain water to go. I'm glad we didn't plant anything yet!! Oh, I've gotta get my dahlias and such inside too - I'd better go do it. The temp is already down to a little over 40! Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Hugs,
Becki