When I was growing up we always had a large vegetable garden and would can and freeze fruits and vegetables for the winter. My dad always wanted to have a rose garden, but he didn't have the time to do so, and my mother, while a wonderful housewife, was not interested in gardening. I think dad was always a bit disappointed about that. Shortly after I moved to Florida, my dad passed away. It was a very sad time for me, and as time went on I couldn't shake the idea of planting roses in my yard. Well, once I started with roses, I couldn't stop. They soothed my soul. Since then, they helped me get through the rough times of raising my last teenagers, and the normal everyday stresses that we all go through. I don't think I could ever give up having at least a few roses. Sandy

BKay, yes, that is the one I'm talking about. Since I saw no pictures of how he wintered over the pots, I made up a scenario for it. And voila, cinder blocks and timbers as runners, to keep from tearing down the wooden fence not intended to bear such weight as heavy flower pots. Cheerio, Theresa. Wear some latex gloves when you handle the treated wood. The ones I got were freshly received and very heavy and wet, so I had to wear gloves dealing with them. JonnyB, that Walls of Hampshire is exquisite and I suppose whether I like it or not, I'll keep expanding UP....no more room to spread OUT....except convert existing shaded beds to real soil planting space for the best of my hosta. My "allee" will be called to duty later this winter when I make sure the fire ants are gone. They aerated several pots and the hosta roots dried out. Perhaps they will revive next spring, but those became dormant quickly. Hooked, yes, Dixie will be happy to have another huntress to double-team those squirrels with her. At one time, I had three dachshunds; hilarious to watch them play together. They team hunted for rabbits successfully. And the male had a system for catching birds which came to his food bowl outdoors....he never ate them, just hid them in his bed where I smelled them after a couple of days. His treasures. He was a throw-back to standard dachshund size, a real large hunting dog, but his favorite food was....ICE CREAM. The two girls liked liver and fish. Wonderful to have more than one, to see how they interact and relate to one another. I'm looking forward to Dolly's arrival. Hello, Dolly!....It's so great to have you back where you belong. Her breeder sent this picture. Maybe the weekend after Thanksgiving, she will be eating entirely on her own and she can come live with sister Dixie. BTW, the breeder has a stable and is bringing some bags of HORSE MANURE when she comes with Dolly. How nice. :)

We don't see too many people here in the GardenWeb overly interested in micromanagement, thank goodness. The many requests for identification are a good sign that people are interested in learning. Ladybugs are MUCH more likely to be generalists, purple. That would probably not even be on my list of tools I would use to ID pests, unless I happened upon a batch of Vedalia Beetles devouring cottony cushion scale and that isn't likely to happen any time soon. I remember an outdoor session I had with some entomology students where we happened upon five different species of ladybugs! One was the Ashy Gray, which I had never seen in person before. It can be helpful to know what kind of plant is being attacked. Some insects are somewhat host specific. Also, some plants are so attractive to certain insects that it's almost not worth it to bring those plants into the yard. Plant selection is one of the steps of IPM, and one that I think is very important.

Hi, Good idea! (Poison ivy is a native plant, though.) Try the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat Program. I raised $800 out of my classroom in just 5 months by selling snacks I bought at Costco. I got seeds from good people online, planted them in a portable greenhouse, in addition to buying native plants and planting them. (We created a native butterfly garden in addition to adding native flowers throughout the school grounds. A student's father donated his wood and work and made 4 bluebird houses. I just had to but the posts and make baffles. I recommend they do fund raising as well as seek donations. Bake sales, tag sales, etc. Good luck. (Here is the garden we created: http://community.webshots.com/album/348247343IHURcbhref> Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Habitats