I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :) Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!! I counted yesterday: 31 different types in pots 3 of those pots are Andrew 33 pots total 3 different types in the ground 3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them) 2 Wide Brim 1 Tiny Tears 5 NOID in ground 3 clump #1 3 clump #2 1 ½ clump #3 1 mature mini no ID 1 mature mini no ID TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back. That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions. This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist. As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear. Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot. So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position. When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed. But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting. Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”. This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June. And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . . The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch. The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID. So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement. Thanks as always for looking and reading, Ludi

Momto4kids - Hopefully you're still following this thread. I remember way back when you got your counters rehoned on site. A couple of years ago, DD made a batch of "lemonade" on our island, squeezing an entire bottle of lemon juice on it in the process. I have lived with it, but I had a marble restoration company come out to give us a quote - we are replacing the mantle on the fireplace in our DR and need to have the slate refinished - so I figured while we were at it, we'd do the counter. I recall you saying it was fairly inexpensive to do - the first company, who apparently does a lot of work for an Ivy League college, came out and quoted us $2000 for the job (and told us it was a 2 day job). My jaw hit the floor. The next company quoted us $450 for both the fireplace and the counter and said it would take 3 hours or so. Do you mind telling me how much it cost you? I want the job done right, but I don't want to get taken, either. TIA!

Early one morning last week, DSIL had to chase a bear out of the garage. The garage door was closed, but he came in through the man door that is almost always closed, it may have been left ajar that night. The bear got the dog food and had opened the refrigerator and pulled out a few bud lights (probably trying to get to more dog food on top of the fridge. DSIL chased him out with a broom and then managed to lock himself out of the house. Fortunately, the bear had run off by then. The dog, who had just walked past the door to the garage didn't bark or do anything to alert. Not a good guard dog to say the least. It is not unusual to have to chase a bear off -- usually yelling is all that is needed. Bear are frequent this time of year around town, but are frightened by humans and property damage is really the only problem. Garbage cannot be left outside, by city ordinance, unless in an approved bear proof containers. Making it easier for Bear to forage in town is dangerous for the bears, not so much humans. Humans tend to contribute to the problem by leaving food out -- even hummingbird feeders are a problem. Moose and mountain lions are much more worrisome -- those are much more of a threat to humans and dogs. Luckily, mountain lions are relatively scarce, but there seems to be a moose injury to a human in the area every year or so. Usually cows protecting their young and they will charge a dog, who they view as a wolf, one of their primary predators.