I am new to violets. At a thrift store some came in half dead. I got them for free. Came home replanted and they are all doing beautiful in a south-east morning sun window, constantly blooming. I do not know the names of them and would like to find out. I would also like to get some fancy ruffled flower ones. I live in FL. Walmart, garden shops all have purple or none, I want more color than that. Please let me know a good place to buy on line from a grower any place. Thank you.

I mentioned allergies (I know you hadn't) because that is by and far the NUMBER ONE complaint of people who either have lived here for a number of years or who have just moved here. If they did a survey of antihistimine and steroid usage for the treatment of allergies in the USA, I am certain FL would rank #1 easily. And it seems to go on forever, every year, as things bloom, blossom and blow around in waves. When one thing finishes (pine pollen) another starts (oak pollen) and then the rains start (mold, etc) and other trees start throwing pollen out. Its not jincapacitating AFFLICTION for many folks here. My daughter and I are both affected, my husband is not. Let me see if I can put this in some sort of "realtime" perspective for you. Some of you may be able to relate to this, some probably won't. I am a distance runner for laffs grins and exercise. I have been for years, I started when we lived in California in the 1980's. My husband is a marathoner, he's originally from Dallas which is way hotter than Florida in summer. California had almost perfect outdoor exercise weather, warm not hot, dry dry dry. Until now my top distance has been the half marathon (13.1 miles). I am training for my first marathon, at the age of 48, which will be the Outer Banks in NC in early November. I am running 35-45 miles a week, outdoors (no treadmill training). On August 3rd I went out for a 16 mile training run. It was in the mid-70's when I started my run at 7:30 AM. My pre-run weight was 127 pounds. I was foolish and only took 8 oz of water with me to start because I was in a rush to beat the heat. I also forgot my Powergel. I had to stop at the grocery store at mile 13 and refill my water bottle. This was at about 9:15 AM At mile 13 1/2 I developed the early signs of heat prostration (visual disturbances, paresthesias (needles and pins, crawly sensation) in my arms and legs, buzzing fingers and hands, nausea, shortness of breath, sweat cessation followed by uncontrollable sweating). I didn't have my phone (stupid me). I was 2 1/2 miles from home and I started to walk. At about 3/4-1/2 mile from my house I couldn't walk anymore. I knew I was going to pass out. So I sat down by the side of the road and hoped someone would happen by to aid me. I was in luck and a member of the Florida Cycle Club who had been out on a 50 mile ride came by and saw I was in distress. He had an extra Sport Gel and a phone. He tried to call my husband but we couldn't get him so he called his wife. She came in an SUV with 24 oz of water and took me home. After cooling down in a cool tub and rehydration with over 64 oz of fluids, a banana, and a bagel, my weight was still only 122 lbs. Still a full FIVE POUNDS down from my pre-run weight. Which means I was probably somewhere around 115-116 lbs at the height of my distress from sweat loss, and had not had a molecule of salt left in my body. I felt terrible all that day and half the next. You may say, "Wow what a story!" but my point is...you don't have to be out running 16 miles in FL to have the same thing happen to you at any time in summer. People who work outdoors are ALWAYS in danger of heat prostration or heat stroke here...the phone guys, cable installers, roofers and other construction workers, lawn crews....the freaking Florida Gator football team at practise...those people have to work out in the heat and its dangerous. THAT'S how serious the heat issue can be here. We do have heat pumps, since our house is a little over 4000 sq ft we have 2, one for each end of the house. My electric bill for cooling is only under $200 a month in early Spring...February and March. From April through November-December it can be anywhere from $250-550 a month. Like I said, this is not the climate for someone who is looking to relocate for ANY kind of health issue unless you are planning to sit inside most of the time. I wish you luck though...if I had been lucky enough to actually get to Costa Rica, I would have NEVER in a million years come back to the US.

Wow, Shannon/garden_witch, you sure put together a special package!! I was so excited when I saw the mailman pull up and carry my package up to the porch! Ok, well first of all, there was a card with beautiful flowers on it, and such a pretty envelope, I loved it! And I really enjoyed reading your letter, and learning more about you! I liked seeing the photo of your backyard, looks like you've sure got your work cut out for you, like I do with my yard! But you've got a great, fresh space to work with looks like, and I'd love to see more photos this summer once you've got some areas of that yard filled with all those plants from your winter sowing! And here's what was in the package: A great coffee mug with a garden-themed picture on it of a watering can and some other things, I will be using it later for my coffee; and even better, it was filled with mini candy bars! Mmmmmm.... :) I tried one of those Midnight Milky Way bars, which are made with dark chocolate around the outside, (I love dark chocolate, the richer the better,) and oh my goodness was it ever good. I'd never tried those before, and now I'm really wishing there were more than two! I NEED more!! Must... go... buy... more.... see, look what you did to me, Shannon! LOL. Okay, moving right along. A pretty pot with hand-painted flowers on it that I love, (I love pots, and am always wanting more of them, so it was perfect!) And in the pot, was a baggie of several different kinds of seeds that I can winter sow, (woohoo, I love seeds! lol) and a beautiful anklet with jade colored stones in it, which is great because green is my favorite color, and I love jade colored things. Then there was a beautiful little garden ornament, which is right up my alley, I absolutely love those types of things! I have to find a special place to hang it now... Also, some pretty faerie gifts tags and book plates, a wonderful smelling homemade candle, (it is lit as we speak,) and last but certainly not least, a great gift! It was a bag labeled "Seed snatching kit." And in it, was a little notebook, a really cool gel pen that writes in several different colors, some seed envies, and a pair of Singer thread snippers, which I never would've thought to use for this purpose, but it is just perfect for snipping off seed pods! They will go to great use, that's for sure. And a couple of the gifts were inside these very pretty handcrafted bags, which I just love. And Shannon, where on earth did you find that alien wrapping paper? LOL! I love it. :) Everything is wonderful, and I am very thankful that you are my new pal! ~Summer

Sherry, glad you have decided to go for it. Lori and Robin, just wondered if you have decided to participate or not? I want to add you to the list. Just a reminder - if you are new to the forums and especially if this is your first Swap, make sure that you activitely post over the next few weeks so that your partner will be able to find some current information on you. Most of us like to search the various threads for hints of things that you might like rather than look at a list of likes and dislikes. Also, if you are looking for information on your partner and can't find what you are looking for, then get sneaky and start a thread on the cooking forum that hopefully your partner will post to. Example - Want to know if your partner likes spicy foods? Start a thread asking about favourite Curry or Mexican foods. Or maybe you are thinking of including something BBQ or Grill related. Start a related thread. Ann