Koosh, do Gardenias ordinarily grow in your location? And did you experience extended periods of very cold weather like much of the country? (You might live in a zone 7 location that doesn't have the kind of winters we do.) Your plants may not have been well enough established to withstand an especially severe winter. First of all, let's clear up some things about the soil. Gardenias (and just about anything else) can grow perfectly happily in clay soil, as long as it drains well. Sometimes, we need to do things like amend the planting bed (which you did and with what sounds like great stuff), check for any needed pH adjustments. I can think of few things worse to use as amendments to clay soil than builders sand and vermiculite. Sand, unless you pretty much replace the larger proportion of the soil with it, can turn clay soil into cement. Vermiculite has such a weak structure that it will collapse during the incorporation process. It's virtually worthless as a soil amendment and really offers very little of value in a potting medium. And why add either of those products when plenty of organic matter of some kind does a much better job at improving porosity? Peat? Don't use it myself as a soil amendment anymore...it won't do any harm but it won't be as helpful as your compost. It sounds to me like you've got a good handle on the limitations of your soil and that you've taken the right steps to mitigate problems that the clay might contribute. (I love my clay soil, by the way.) Next time you prepare a bed, use your compost plus a bark based soil conditioner. I see bags of the stuff all over the place. I agree with Toni that you should hold back on the fertilization (with anything) for now. Epsom salts really shouldn't be added unless you know your soil has a magnesium deficiency or that your plant has a VERY high magnesium requirement. Gardenias don't qualify. See if you can find an Iron chelate (pronounced KEE-late, if that helps) product to apply to your plants. I wish I could remember the brand name of the stuff I used to use when I lived in a location where iron was scarce. Iron is 'usually' present in fairly large amounts, but may be held captive to soil ions by a too-high pH OR by cool or cold temperatures. Your present pH (if accurate) is too high for most iron loving plants. Products containing iron chelates can help but not solve the problem. I don't see any signs of whitefly, but perhaps the extension office sees things that we weren't shown. Whitefly eggs and nymphs are located on the underside of the leaves. Once all chance of freezing temperatures are over in your location, an application of horticultural oil will work wonders in smothering them now. I'm not a fan of the pesticidal soil drenches. Too many insects are attracted to the flowers, and can be affected by the nectar or pollen. But that's me. ;-) The only time I used sticky traps outside was the last time. I trapped butterflies, green anoles, beneficial wasps and more stuff besides adult white flies. Can't really say much about the flaking of the outer bark. The green that is exposed is the phloem, in case you really truly want to know, lol. That's the tissue layer (always just under the outer bark) that carries photosynthates manufactured in the leaves DOWN to the roots and other portions of the plant. It just looks like little pieces are flaked off, is that right? Nothing doing any chewing (as in mice or voles)? Sorry that this is sooo long. But Mike emailed me to help. Whatever Mike asks for, he gets.

Sharon, In my opinion while the Suncast shed is cute with the windows and all, I'm not sure you will be pleased with the overall durability of a plastic shed. If you click on the specifications tab of the ad and go to warranty it says: see owners manual for warranty, meaning to me the manufacturer doesn't want to be up front with a warranty.Also the Suncast shed doesn't include shipping in the price. For my money I'd look into a vinyl clad steel shed like this Arrow Sheridan. If your existing shed is not on a concrete slab you would probably need to buy the floor frame kit extra which would still put the cost at $900 with shipping included. The Arrow shed also comes with a 15 yr. warranty. After just a few years of extremes from 20 degree to 100 degree weather the plastic shed will be brittle and susceptible to breakage from hail and high winds while the steel shed may have hail damage but is still standing strong. Since sheds are a seasonal item, you might get a better price if you wait until the weather gets cold and Home Depot and Lowes both offer 6 months no interest on purchases over $300, also if you buy at the store instead of on-line don't be afraid to ask for a better price. You might just get another 10-20% off! Keith

Lucille, I appreciate your thoughts. I do agree that Snidely is making some assumptions and assertions that are in error. It is sad that even in the affluent USA, many families are really only about 9 meals away from hunger, and 3-4 paychecks away from falling into bankruptcy. Snidely, it is very important for 1 income families to plan and prepare for financial ups and downs. They can do it admirably by making lifestyle choices which many may consider very frugal. They should be celebrated for that foresight and gumption! Many one income families would be WORSE off if the 2nd person went to work outside the home (day care costs, clothing, transportation and other expenses). It is just as important for 2 income families to plan and prepare – often the two incomes are necessary for daily living, and when one of those incomes is interrupted, it could be a calamity. I am in a 2 income family, and we economize in so many ways so we can live well and save for the future. We started out at zero (again) just 15 years ago and have had a couple of trials in the meantime. Ready money is not always available – so “food insurance” is very important to keep a family afloat. Our savings (including retirement savings) in the past was wiped out several times – none in our control. 1. Two lengthy job losses over the years – not eligible for unemployment, 2. One 6 month serious illness – not covered by insurance, 3. An employer who folded – skipping out on paying our last two paychecks and an entire year’s worth of tax withholdings (which we had to pay in again to the Feds/State) (and we lost the health insurance we relied on-see above), 4. Finally, a financial institution failing that took away an entire year’s worth of income that had been saved. If worst comes to worst, the powers that be will not foreclose, garnish, or attach your food supply. Food stamps are not always available -- in everything that happened to us through the years, we only qualified for a total of 3 months of food stamps. We choose to grow our own, shop wisely, and store extras on hand so we can feed ourselves and others far more cheaply than those who choose not to economize the way we need to. I wish I could keep my food costs down as low as Grainlady's !

Never ever buy a Scotsman ice maker! Worst piece of junk i have ever owned in my life. As the owner of an architectural firm specializing in designing churches, i spec’ed a lot of ice machines, fortunately not residential ones like this hunk of metal. i would feel terribly guilty if we had. My family has had our Scotsman for 3 years. I should say we have owned 2 of them in 3 years, because the manufacturer had to replace the first one after it broke down 3 times in the first 8 weeks we owned it. We thought we had just gotten a lemon. But now i see this priduct is is a whole tree of them. Our second unit has been working for only 6 months total in almost the entire 3 years. The new one has been repaired 6 times now. And we have cleaned it twice a year, to the tune of $400 per cleaning. So we spent $4500 for the initial investment, and over $2000 in cleaning it. We threw good money after bad. There is no excuse for a product being this unreliable. if you are looking to buy a residential ice maker, i would strongly suggest you look elsewhere besides at Scotsman. Meanwhile, ours has been working for 3 weeks now, and is starting to make significant noise (meaning it is on it way to being broken again). I woule literally GIVE this piece of garbage to anyone who would come and get it out of our signt. BUYER BEWARE!