Peoples is just sooooo busy now, Gandle. I remember reading your thread when I came in for lunch and I know my lunchtime browsing was short and sweet, especially over two holidays famous for flower sales. I cleaned my PC screen tonight, as there were actually streaks of catsup running down it. I thought I needed my eyes checked but I can see fine now. LOL. My daughter and I did our grave decorating on Sunday. I had thirteen pots of flowers tucked in the back of the jeep and there were two huge fresh floral arrangements. I went with my parents when they, and eventually I, moved back to our home and I was passed the baton to upkeep the graves. My daughter goes with me now, so that some day she can be the keeper of the family keys. Of course, each grave we stop at, I tell a story from our family history. She is antsing at me to get it down on paper. Well, it is, in eight volumes of notebooks, and stacks of documents. I want to compile it, but I just don't know where to start. It would look like "War and Peace". The last grave we decorated was my third great grandfather Timith McGee. I replaced his headstone several years ago with a Civil War style stone because the original one placed had become illegible. He was on a forced March in winter, and the troops had no tents and very little gear. He contracted pneumonia, and those who sickened and fell were left laying in the snow. He was found by Morgan's Raiders, a Confederate band who made it all the way to Ohio and taken prisoner and sent to a Prison Camp. What sounded like the worst possible fate, probably saved his life. He was eventually traded in a prisoner exchange, and came home to resume his life as a miner. His lungs were shot, and the poor man dragged himself to the mines accompanied by two of his very young sons to eke out enough living to feed his family. He didn't live very long thereafter and I have copies of the letters his wife wrote pleading for a pension to survive. Some of his friends sent along letters of confirmation about his illnesses contracted in the line of duty and they said he was a giant of a man, and strong as an ox and nobody could beat him in a fight. The ironic thing is, I found his old land deeds on a plat and he and other members of his family owned farms in the area of my son's farm. I need to check the exact locations by section numbers, but I suspect my son's farm is the same land his 4th g'grandfather once farmed. Not passed down through family, but obtained through circumstance......or was it? Then I became a little melancholy because one always assumes they'll be remembered by the generations following them. It's a rare person indeed who can even name all of his/her great grandparents. That's way too soon to be forgotten.

Thefanciest gardens have a big behind the scenes area where things are being grown and then when they look just right, they are brought out for display. At Disneyland, everything that was just a little past the peak bloom was ripped out and replaced. I used to collect big bunches of stocks early in the morning before starting my work when the gardeners would pull them out. At home it's a different story because bulb foliage ages naturally and I let my flowers set seeds. There has to be somewhere to grow things on away from raccoons and an area hidden away for a pile of mulch and extra pots and seed flats and trays. Its harder with a small garden where half of it is visible from the street. The all green clipped gardens always look nice but then there are no faded flowers except for some pots and maybe a flowering tree. Japanese gardens look good most of the time to me. I have a small area of green ivies and ferns that is low care but it looks the same all the time. The roses and other flowers are far more interesting to me because they grow, change shape, bloom and get cut back. Right now I have a group of the tall exhibition chrysanthemums beginning to bloom and I am going to move them to the front. It was the first year that I have trained them to have the large flowers. For the last few years I have let them be natural and have not staked or disbudded them. So much work for a few weeks of bloom. My epies look just as wonderful and take no work at all. But if all I had to do was mow and clip green shrubs and groundcovers, I would tire of it quickly. I get bored of gardens that always look the same . Our climate never sees snow and there are so many plants that keep their leaves that I need some kind of change to keep it interesting for me.

GG replied: Re: Burning Leaves Because I have mine fitted with the reflector, vines can rest against the sides of the fixture no problem. My problem is really less to do with the fixture and more to do with the shelf height. There just isn't more than 1-3" clearance between the tops of the hoops and the light fixture. If I used a different fixture, I wouldn't even be able to fit them on the shelves. Hoyas won't grow right into the bulb - they know to grow around it - but if I put the flat back on the shelf carelessly, I might lean a leaf against the bulb. I just always have to do this little sweep afterward, where I reposition a few vines and leaves. I could eliminate the problem by just removing a shelf and turning it into a 3 shelf unit, but I do like having that shelf there for the shorties. I probably just need to get another shelving unit, or light the one in the bedroom. I'll take a picture tonight - sorry, I had a really crazy weekend. It did occur to me to suspend the fixture from the ceiling, because they're built for that purpose. Maybe I should do so. I'm just dragging my feet on putting more holes into my landlord's ceiling b/c I feel like I'm already taking advantage of his permission to put in holes as long as I patch them up when I leave. Re: Hoops I do use the big 4' bamboo hoops, on my big plants. I'm not a huge fan either - mainly because they're unnecessarily bulky and expensive for small pots. I use the green plastic coated hoops for 99.9% of my plants. Most of my plants are on the 30" 12 gauge plant stakes. This is the first height I used and most of my shelves are spaced for this height. My plants live on this size hoop in 4" pots until they really outgrow it, which takes a long time for most species. Of course, I also use short plant hoops for the short plants. I reuse the varying sizes that I have accumulated from Joni over the years, and I've bought my own, so there is no standardization with little hoops. It's actually really handy to have a variety at this stage because when cuttings are small you run into more unique scenarios. Now, I love the 30" height, but if I ever get rid of that shortie shelf, I might convert everyone over to 36" hoops, because Chula's 10 gauge wire is so much better than the 12 gauge. The hoops are so much sturdier. They're great for the heavier plants. They are less inclined to lean in the pot. I keep all 3 lengths of this wire and they are all handy. The green is actually a nicer green than the 12 gauge - a bit more of a natural hue, so it blends in better. Re: Tray placement The large trays are longways and the small trays are shortways. Then I have just enough room to put a row of plants at the back, in saucers, so that's where I put my bulky big leaf plants.

When we bought our land and old house out in the country we had such dead land that I very seldom found earthworms due to all the chemicals that had been used. It has been 10 years now and I am happy that our soil is coming back and the wildlife has been moving in (Except for the coyotes and fireants). We could make money letting people hunt on our property but do not. It is so wonderful to stand on the porch and watch all the birds, butterflies, etc. For several springs we had a doe that had twin fawns each spring. We would see her drink from our pond and then take off with her babies, jump the fence and go on her merry way. Unfortunate the past spring she did not come back so I suppose some of the people who own property on both sides of us must have taken "care" of her. There are feeders and stands in all the pastures that surround us. We keep out feed but I guess it was not enough. I was so excited last week to see some bluebirds drinking from one of my small water projects that I have in the back yard. They joined the cardinals, dove, many kinds of other birds that I have no clue as to what they are. This area is not a natural habitat for the blue birds but I sure do hope they stay. Gonna put them up a nesting box just in case. Patsy