I still haven't put my lettuce out. I'm playing that game with my dog "what space is dug up for me?" And I feel so bad taking freshly tilled dirt away from her. She's got a lot of hair and it keeps her cool to lie in it. But, despite that, I do have one bed that is almost complete: BBs (Blue Boy, Snow Ball, Red Boy) Lupine "Sundown" Calendula "Lashima" Alyssum "Gold Dust" Blue Flax Rocket Larkspur "Galilee Carmine dble" Cosmos Day Dream Cosmos Dble Click Basket Flower Black Durum Echinacea (Purple) Cupids Dart In another spot I planted out: Carnation "Dwarf Fragrance" Carnation Enfant de Nice Blend Dianthus Dble Pinks English Wallflower Phlox (bedding type) Dianthus Dble Pinks Snapdragon "Magic Carpet" --The Carnations and Dianthus and Wallflower are interspersed between my perennial Salvias. Behind them, is one lone Delphinium from last year. I had to throw a patch of onions next to them to keep my dear Nikki from laying there until I can figure out what to put next to the Delph-- And this morning and afternoon, I started working on the front bed that DH fenced in for me: Lupine "Band of Nobles" Lupine "Minarette Mix" Snow-in-Summer More English Wallflower (I got enough of it to make up for two years of no germination! :-) I'm really getting excited about having so many plants, and having perennials from last year. I don't know if I'll ever get over how amazing WSing is. Four years ago, if someone told me I'd be digging in the dirt and growing things that lived, I would not have believed them. Linda

Thanks Steve, It was fun watching the hummer approach the feeder for the first time. The port was not facing him so he tapped the base quickly, then he flew around the feeder the whole time hovering and rotating till he found the port. I can see these little feeders are going to be a bee magnet. The liquid most of the time is popping out a bit and I can see the bee's and wasp's just drinking it up. Plus the ants will for sure find the ground under them. So far though it looks like the hummer likes it, so I will leave them up. I'll let you know if the hummers go to the Yankee Droll window feeder. If they do then I will know they just don't like the jewelbox. Onloy two feeders? With these two one feeder ports I just bought I have 9 feeders out. 6 in the back, one in the front and 1 on each side. I have been trying to make a hummingbird heaven by having so many out. I thought that with so many choices they might pick my yard over someone else's. Perhaps I should take some of them down. Ken

Tavimh, Tell your husband congrats!!! Great accomplishment. I love the Manoa area, my aunt lives above the Univesity in the hills. Some plumeria people have stated the UHO might be an AKA for Kaleinani aka Kaulanani, I have both and they are very similar. It is a leggy vertical grower, so you will need some head room for her and patience as leggy growers do not bloom as often as compacts or dwarfs, but once it hits a certain age and height it will bloom regularly. You might also consider University Hawaii Lani aka Lani's Beauty. This cultivar was developed by UH for the lei industry. Personally if I had to chose one Id go with Lani. Oh I forgot to mention that without heat and sunlight the flowers will only look yellow, no orange or reds in it. I know Denver has the most sun days of anywhere in the US, 300 days per year. But with the GH effect who knows how that will go. I also forgot that Marilynns Gardens has a Lani also but to me the flowers are a bit different as I have both. Here are pics to compare Marilynns Gardens Lani: University Hawaii Lani: Actually the last pic was not a great representation of Lani as that was the year she got planted into the ground. If someone has a good close up of Lani and can post that would be great. Good luck

Random additional thoughts... If you've got good access to the existing ductwork, spend a few hours with some "mastic tape" & a bucket of duct sealer to tighten up all of your existing ductwork, both supply and returns. Any steel plenums/boxes in the ceiling need additional insulation to prevent transferring btu's to the attic. Seal your return-air "can" to the ceiling with good quality caulk and mastic tape - a poorly sealed "can" will allow attic air to go into the return. Ask for "r-8" flex duct - my supply house has both r-6 and r-8, and the cost difference is negligible - you need to assume your current hvac unit is marginal at best and you can't afford to give away any btu's. If feasible, you might consider replacing any existing flex duct with r-8 duct - some of the older stuff was only r-2. I've read studies that showed that an "average" insulated ceiling "gave up" HALF as many btu's the ductwork - spend most of your time in the ductwork first. Think about adding blown-in insulation to the whole house if you've got less than 10" over the entire house - you want to reduce the amount of work the current unit has to do. Weatherstripping the doors & windows will make a difference. When running flex duct, be aware that kinks and bends cost you more flow than length - if you have an obstruction that requires you to kink the line, going around it will likely give you better flow. Cut off any excess flex - leaving flex loose can cut flow 10-20% or more in flow capacity - pull it snug and cut off the excess -