I wrote such a nice response to you and I must have accidentally deleted it. Anyhow, welcome. I am sort of jealous about the spring and bog area myself. Here in the flatlands it is fairly rare to find that kind of gem. After draining the swamps (it was originally the Black Bogs), they dug all these retention ponds. I started to suggest the DNR as a place to get some project support but now that I think of it, they do have a tendency to take over anything that looks like a wetland. See if your local Extension Service has anything. Sandy

Hi there -- We grow fairly small amounts of a wide range of things, and buy seed from many different sources. I haven't seen dramatic differences in germination rates, so I usually just choose whatever's handy, whatever looks as though it gives the most seed per packet or whatever gets me over the free shipping hurdle. In annual grasses, we'll probably try to do more with hare's tail (Lagurus ovatus) and Briza maxima this year. I'm pretty sure we got the briza seed from J.L. Hudson's. Last year was the first blooming year for seed-grown Chasmanthium latifolium. We harvested it when the seed heads were an interesting blend of green, black and reddish-pink. They work really well with wheat celosia. We make more use of Miscanthus sinensis, bought as starts, than anything else and use the leaves more than the flowering stems. We harvest some when they're still fairly green and dry them flat -- they develop interesting twists. We let others dry until they're brown and have begun to curl. They're excellent for wreaths. We usually add dried artichoke flowers to them.

I agree, Kimmie. I feel better knowing I'm not alone in what's happening.

Hi Kimmie, I hope you don't take offense when not many people answer your posts. It isn't a very busy place. I guess we're all freaking out in the corner somewhere, with our migraines, bleeding, backaches, toothaches, irritable moods.......hahaha....or with our thinking problems, we sometimes forget how to get back here! ;) How did your doctor visit go? I know when my uterus is full, my back, lower abdomen and legs hurt. Sometimes, in perimenopause, our uteruses get too thick, but don't shed, and that can lead to lots of spotting, heavy bleeding, and a heavy lower abdomen. I always would get sciatica in my leg, when my uterus was full! Perimenopause can be quite a challenge for some of us. I'm 56 and haven't had a period for about 2 years. YAY! My life has settled down tremendously, now that those hormones aren't fluctuating all over the place. But.....my ovaries are still tormenting me. I even spent Christmas day in the ER! ......had really bad ovary pain. Anyhow.....don't be shy to come here and talk. Just give everyone a while to find your posts. Let us know how the doctor visit went!