Can't be sure, based on what you said, but something is amiss. Ca and B deficiencies are noted for producing the symptoms shown in your images. B deficiencies are rare, Ca deficiencies not so much and can be a cultural issue as opposed to a deficiency caused by an inadequate supply of Ca in the soil. When Ca is present in appropriate amounts, soil saturation often inhibits uptake. Low light (and the plants are not getting enough), cool temps, and other cultural influences that slow transpiration all contribute to reducing transpiration, which slows the nutrient stream and limits Ca supply to forming leaves. Ca is immobile in the plant, so it must be present in the nutrient stream at all times. Are you actually checking your soil for moisture content before you water? Did you screen the Turface, and did you use MVP or Allsport and not a finer grade? My sense is that watering the plant in the image, indoors, every 2-3 days with a mix heavy on Turface is probably way too much water. I have trees under lights (which increases water uptake) with twice the mass and in half the soil (the basic gritty recipe) that I water every 5-7 days. The other thing that strikes me is, it also looks as though there could be a toxicity issue. Can you think of anything that might have made it's way into the soil that is potentially phytotoxic? What did you use for bark? grit? Al

Yes, you can see the characteristic "reflexing" branch tips. Too bad they cut the bottom away, it would be much more impressive sweeping to the ground and out. As it is it looks like all the dumb limbed-up salad bowl helmut-head weeping Japanese cherries we have around here. Still a nice size, though, possibly worth measuring If that's a Swiss stone pine that's a pretty good one. This species doesn't get big overnight. One in New York was 59' tall in 1957. It took awhile for it to get there, as it was planted in 1856!

Greenhaven, I'm so glad you posted pictures. Welcome! You've really done a tremendous job in a short period of time. How lucky to have all that ledge and the way you've incorporated the gardens is really great. It all looks quite natural. PL, Love those sunflowers! I've tried them from seed before a handful of times, but as soon as I get them planted the chipmunks come along and dig them up while mocking me. Jewel weed brings me back to nature walks with my mom. Used to use it on poison ivy. I always thought it was a great cure, but as I got older I realized I'm not allergic to poison ivy, so I'm not sure if my "tests" as a child were valid! It looks great in such a mass like that. I guess I made it just in the nick of time to post for August. Hard to believe tomorrow is September. I know there was some talk in another thread about the smaller butterfly bushes. They're kind of hard to photograph, but I have three in a row forming a bit of a hedge and I really like the way they bloom later. There was also a discussion about heptacodium on another thread where everyone said it would break and most were unhappy with it. That really changed the way I'm treating this shrub/tree. I was planning on limbing it up into a tree, but after reading everyone's experiences I've decided to leave it more as a very large shrub, or at least a non-limbed up tree. The hibiscus are in bloom now on the other side of the fence. Those will stay when we get our new fence later this fall. I've never done annual asters before, but this middle bed of the veggie garden starts as lettuce and once the crop is done I let the nasturtium take over. I threw in some annual asters and I have to say I really like them a lot. One of the back beds with zinnias still going. Another bed back there. Holy cow! The bees are insane with the turtlehead and anemone blooming. Interestingly, the bees swarm to the barely open anemone flowers with 5 or 6 of them all huddled and fighting for space. The open flowers are not touched. The lespedeeza is starting its show. I do wish the clethra would bloom just a tad later so the white would be blooming with the pink. Here's a closer shot of one of the back beds. There's a carpet rose blooming in the bed behind the butterfly bushes. I like the peach and blue combo with the physocarpos mixed in for good measure. Love the fairy rose that comes back strong while so many other plants are withering in the heat! The front slope is filled in with all the colorful shrubs. Lobelia and caryopteris. I put them together because the caryopteris can hold up the lobelia when it flops. Cottage garden gone wild! I really, really, really love amsonia hubrichtii. I'll post this picture again when the amsonia and the climbing hydrangea both turn glowing yellow. Ironweed is great this time of year. Okay, okay, I'll stop! LOL! I get carried away. There is so much going on in the garden now and so much more to come. Such a great time of year.

The best WW II novels I know are by Alan Furst, all the protagonists are unimportant people caught up in the war--usually getting involved with spying in some way or other. The recreation of the period is phenomenal, and the characters compelling, though they might be a trifle too sophisticated for teens. For adults, I also recommend two memoirs, now pretty much forgotten. I ran across reference to them in some other book I was reading a few years ago. One is called The Walls Came Tumbling Down and is by a Dutch woman who was imprisoned as a political prisoner. When the Germans fled the prison camp, she and several friends had to figure out how to get home. Very interesting. The other is Three Came Back (I hope I have the name right.) An American woman, her husband and very small son are trapped in southeast Asia when the war breaks out and survive the war in a Japanese internment camp. Also very good.