I went to the CNC sale today. They have several types of trees, including magnolia acuminata (cucumber tree) and magnolia ashei - two very nice native deciduous magnolias. Also they had about 4-5 types of trillium, 4 types of ferns (including Southern Shield fern), lots of phlox (fragrant!), two kinds of lobelia and many other perennials. As always, they have a TON of native azaleas, many one gallons in bud and bloom for $8 and some bigger sizes. They have one of my favorites: the plumleaf azalea which is the symbol of Callaway Gardens and blooms in late June or July. I got one there about 4 years ago and it is loaded with buds this year (and bloomed great last year). The sale goes through Saturday.

Stuff I bought: Shrubs/Trees: 2 Miss Kim Lilac Trees (Grafted) (for a foundation planting at the front of my house) Degroot Spire Arborvitae Teddy Arborvitae Sherwood Moss Arborvitae Holmstrup Yellow Arborvitae Perenials: Columbine 'Woodside Gold' (almost chartreuse colored leaves) Jacob's Ladder 'P. Carneum' (pink flowers-supposed to take full sun) Sea Thrift-A purple leaved variety and a really cute varigated one Liatrus 'Giant' Bush Clover (Lespedeza thunbergii-impulse buy-looks interesting) Sundrops Purple Verbascum Purple Gooseneck Hosta 'Stilleto' TurkÂs Cap (Lilium superbum) Stork's Bill, Yellow (Erodium chrysanthum-another impulse buy-very small, cute flowers) Pineleaf Beardtongue & Sanguisorba 'Tanna' (I've been looking for these for a while-very excited to see how they work out) Annuals: Purple Ornamental Cabbage Geranium 'Vancouver'-probably the most beautiful "fancy leaf geranium" I've ever seen. Overall, the sale was great, however, the "Natives" section was about a 1/4 missing (crop failure/sold out/hadn't arrived yet). The "Grasses" section looked like it was missing about 1/3 of its varieties. Stuff I wanted that wasn't there: Viburnum Tree (This one sold out quite quickly-really wanted one of these) Holly "Merry Berry" Hydrangea "Quick Fire" Blue-Eyed Grass Lily, Michigan May Apple Trout Lily Hakonechola "aureola" Switchgrass "Shenandoah" A few different types of Gentian Dwarf Meadow Rue Hibiscus-Lord Baltimore Iris, Dwarf 'Pastel Charme' Poppy-'Springer Grapes' Winecups

Hi Bill, Open garden this weekend eh?? It would be quite the drive from Ontario but, I wish I could make it! Do you do this every year? I met you at the NARGS eastern winter weekend in January AND I have also heard much about your lovely garden. Have a great day! A.

Sandyslopes, I close Dec. 8. I'm going in there Wednesday with a possible contractor and a termite inspector. The yard has already been graded pretty flat (as you can see in pic) and they put in a French drain to eliminate a muddy yard. The future garden will have to take a decided back seat to getting the house ready to move into, hopefully near the end of January (I hope this contractor will be "the one" and could start soon so I won't have to drag out moving in February). I will be studying "plans for small backyards", "plans for interesting front entrances", etc. I know I won't want tall evergreens near the house, as they could provide cover for burglars. I wonder what would look nice near the house foundation in the front, but not get too tall. They also removed the bushes at the side of the house, so I will have to figure out what to put there, an eastern exposure. Has anyone heard of a deck "kit" you can assemble yourself? I'd love to find a small one made of composite wood with all the pieces cut, all the bolts and hardware, and some assembly directions. I could assemble that myself to replace the decidedly homemade little deck out the kitchen door, which is crudely made of 2 x 4's. It's a tremendous step for me to take, and I hope I'm up to it all! Meanwhile, here is a picture of something growing like a weed INDOORS: my new Maine Coon kitten Dandi. I'm really thrilled that it only took 3 weeks for her to become pals with my resident cat, Zizu, a short haired rescue.