It takes another gardener to know how one feels, not just about the joys, but about the tragedies, too! And you know what they say... what doesn't kill us only serves to make us stronger! Your former plant-sitter obviously isn't a gardener... if she were, she'd understand how important all the work you've done to your yard is to you! She doesn't care about flora and fauna... she cares only about the money she can make pretending to look after it all while her clients are vacationing. Those kinds of people have empty souls... they're miserable people deep down inside, and we should really pity them... they never really see the beauty of nature around them, they'll never experience the emotion that a special flower in bloom can bring, and they'll never feel one with nature or experience the deep sense of accomplishment that working with nature brings. I've seen so many people like that, being in the dog breeding business as we are... people who look at plants and animals and only see the monetary value... it's sad, really. When spring rolls around again, you're welcome to divisions, cuttings, young stock... whatever I have... of any of the multitude of perennials and shrubs in my gardens! I have Daylilies (both named and unnamed), iris (named and unnamed), columbine, rudbeckia, echinacea, hostas (named and unnamed), ferns (most named), heuchera (all named), monarda in 3 colors, roses (named and unnamed, large and miniature), and a plethora of other perennials and shrubs, the list too long to pull out of my memory at this moment in time! I'm not even through my first cup of coffee yet! You have all winter to think about it, though... and you pretty much know what my gardens contain due to all the photos I've posted! There are some things that didn't make the photos, but I'll have a more detailed listing by then. I've always felt that the most beautiful and precious of plants come from the gardens of our friends. Gardening is for sharing! If not, then why grow all this beauty? Surely not to hoard for ones self! It can only be enjoyed fully if we share the beauty with others! I sure wish your yard could have shared in all the rain we've gotten lately! Last year, this area of the country was low on precipitation, but we're surely making up for it this year! Not a week has gone by since spring that we haven't had at least one storm with an inch of rain! I've only had to run the soaker hoses once so far this season... last year, they ran constantly, it seems! In fact, we had more thunder storms last night! Larry and I stood out in the garage and watched the lightening flash across the sky... the light show was incredible! The flashes were both orange and white-hot! Some were in the distance, but some were pretty close! Some flashes were like long bony fingers of orange reaching across the heavens and branching out, and others were thick blue-white spikes that tore from the clouds and shot straight to the ground! The thunder constantly rumbled, and it boomed loudly when a bolt hit close by! The accompanying rain was at times soft and light, and then it would downpour for a bit before tapering off to sprinkle again... it was an awesome storm! I'm always awed by nature! Remember when you were a kid... and you were kind of scared of thunder storms? My Dad would kneel with us, backwards on the couch, facing the huge picture windows in our living room, and every time a lightening bolt would flash, we'd count... one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, like that... until the thunder sounded... and then my Dad would say, "See? That one was only 3 miles away!" And he would explain to us how heat lightening was generated, how rain formed in the clouds, the cycle of rain to ground water, and all those things you want to know about when you're a little kid... and before we knew it, the storm would pass... and we wouldn't be afraid anymore. But I digress... Sometimes, there are opportunities hidden in the guise of disaster... I agree with Lizalily... this is actually a good opportunity to think about getting those few plants that you've wanted, but just haven't had room for, or just haven't ordered yet. It's also a good time to think in terms of water conservation... planting things that can tolerate a bit of dry. If you plan on taking several trips during the summers, laying out a plan of irrigation, and drought tolerant plantings for the areas that won't be irrigated, might be something to think about. Things like ornamental grasses and sedums can really be eye catching, and once established, they don't require much in the way of watering! I was all set to do some digging yesterday... to get some divisions ready to ship out... and the rains began! I suppose that's actually good, though... the divisions will be good and hydrated now, and should ship well with a lot less stress. The rain only set me back in seed collecting, saturating the pods. That will have to wait a few days, while the sun dries everything out. But, by this afternoon, the garden soil should be just about right for digging, and I can get some much needed dividing done! I did get lucky in that I got several perennials planted before the rains arrived yesterday! The rains gave the new plantings a good, deep drink! Well... I think that between Lizalily, Kitty, myself, and others... you'll be swimming in pass-along plants and divisions and cuttings for your gardens next spring! Put together a list of the colors and heights you're looking for, perennials and shrubs, seeds, and anything else you think you might want to add to your beautiful beds, and we'll all keep our shovels and pruning clippers clean, sharpened and at the ready! And by next summer, you're gardens will be so gorgeous, you won't have to go anywhere else for a vacation... your back yard will be a paradise!

Thanks everyone. Moc, I've learned how to use my Navi that is built into my vehicle to avoid expressways! We both have seen Niagara Falls before and it was so crowded. My DH was not being helpful and kept telling me to "turn here" onto the bridge to Canada. We didn't have papers to enter back into the USA, so I was getting stressed out, the hosta farms were much more relaxing. Phil, does your Summer Fragrance bloom? They are supposed to be super fragrant. I was up in Blairsville, Georgia for 5 days helping my son pack his house up for their move to Vermont. You sure do live in a beautiful part of the country Phil. I really wanted to stop by and see your gardens, but didn't have a minute free. I still have another child in the south and look forward to visiting your gardens next season. But oh my, the giant bees, lizards, and other creatures were way too much for me! Gesila

Seedmama, I forgot to mention that we also used white nylon cord instead of surveyor's tape one year, and it stretched and sagged too. I like Diane's idea about using fishing line. And I need to add that sometimes our garden 'contraptions' baffle people. lol My scarecrow is made out of sheet metal and is welded to a sturdy pole stuck deeply in the ground. The guy who made it for me cut the scarecrows arms and legs sticking out at "jaunty" angles, sort of like the scarecrow is dancing. I've never given the scarecrow much thought other than (a) feeling deeply appreciative to have a talented metalworker friend who made me such a lovely and useful object for my garden, and (b) observing over time that the scarecrow scares no one (except, apparently, folks who are driving by and think someone's body is hanging from the pecan tree) and, in fact, the mockingbirds perch on it and sing. Surely this embarrasses the scarecrow and he would blush were his skin not painted a flesh color that has no hint of blush in it. One day a local sherriff's deputy pulled up into our driveway and stopped at the end of the garden to look at the scarecrow. I said to a neighbor later "I wonder what that was about" and he told me it likely was because when you're driving by our house, the scarecrow sort of looks like a body hanging from the pecan tree. Uggh! Mia, It wasn't me. But that's pretty hysterical. His story of the groundhog trapped in the garden by the electric fence reminds me of the night I left the garden gate open and 4 deer strolled in. I walked outside early in the a.m. and there they were--4 deer standing in the garden. I stopped in my tracks and quietly began backing away from the gate. Unfortunately, they went insane running wildly all over the garden, trying to jump the fence, etc. but making no effort to exit through the open gate even though I was, by then, back inside the house and no threat to them whatsoever. Being nice, friendly deer, they had delicately picked their way along the garden path (you could see the light indentations of their hooves in the garden pathways) and hadn't even nibbled much of anything yet. Once they saw me, they overreacted and ran around madly trampling everything. Everything. They kept jumping repeatedly into fencing they couldn't leap over and even bent the fence posts. These tracks were made by wild running and jumping so left deeper, wider hoof marks. Finally they left the garden. I learned an important lesson about always double-checking the gate to make sure it is closed and secured. Hopefully the deer learned a lesson about remembering to leave through the same gate you enter through, because if you can't jump the fence to get into the garden, you likely can't jump the fence to get out of the garden either. As far as I know the deer haven't been back in the garden since then, and I generally do remember to close the gate. Anyway, I generally bribe the deer to stay out of the garden by putting out hen scratch or deer corn for them by the compost pile, and by filling up a small watering hole (it is about the size of a large sink) with the hose so they always have water. I usually feed in winter, and sometimes in summer if a tired doe brings her baby or babies to eat. They are showing up here 3 or 4 nights a week now, undoubtedly because of the drought, and if I don't have food out there for them, they patiently stand by the compost pile waiting. Tim will say "your deer are waiting out there". Then, I go out, they run away, I put out food and go back inside, and they come back and eat. My garden lives on, unmolested by deer. Come to think of it, we have mafia deer here, because they are shaking me down in a typical mafia protection racket, only they just want corn and not cash. Dawn

Punk & Karen, I have accumulated quite a bit of "stuff" over the years, and I sometimes find things off season, when others wouldn't necessarily want to buy them, but I just put them in the basement. Jane, I shop TS in several different cities/towns so I have a larger selection from which to choose. You'd need to go to a lot of different stores to bump into me, LOL. Jeanne, that outline pumpkin has a point in the bottom to hold a candle, but only 1 crossbar, so the candle always wanted to lean. When I found that pretty wreath last week, it fit perfectly into the framework and gives it more presence than just one candle did. I did notice your outline pumpkin in your posting. As Karen has said in the past, we are a lot of kindred spirits on this forum, and therefore seem to have similar tastes! TTFN, Candy