I just looked up 'Fat Cat' in the hosta library. Wow, no wonder you are giving it room; It's a big, beautiful monster, isn't it?! Great choices you've made. I got 'Dark Shadows' earlier this season from Hallson Gardens as a bonus plant, and it's grown quite vigorously in just a few months. I wasn't really familiar with it; Well, I am now and I love it. 'Tokudama Flavocircinalis' I don't have, but I've seen many pics of healthy, gorgeous specimens posted by forum members. Again, Enjoy! And yes, please post pics at your earliest convenience. Regards, Don B.

Heather, It is amazing, and over the years as the soil gets better and better and better, so does the drainage. We have heavy red clay where puddles can remain standing for up to a month after a heavy rainfall. You cannot plant anything in that clay except plants adapted to poorly draining areas. In the veggie garden, flower beds and shrub beds, depending on how well-amended they are, I can plant almost anything, especially in the veggie beds. The amending never ends, though, since heat eats compost. That's where some inexperienced gardeners err. They improve the soil once and think that's it. If they don't add more compost, in a couple of years in our climate, the beds revert back to whatever they were like before they were amended. That doesn't mean we have to rototill compost into established shrub or perennial beds, because simply by adding mulch, the rainfall, insect action, digging or weeding, etc. helps work that mulch down into the soil over the years. You can see the "top down" approach in our woodland, which is probably at least 70 years old. The top 6 to 8 to 10" of soil is fluffy, loamy, humusy, compost-rich soil that is just divine. Underneath that is crappy red clay. The soil has literally built itself over the years as leaves, twigs, tree limbs, etc. have fallen to the woodland floor and decomposed. Since we moved here in 1999, we've had two single-day rainfalls that were incredible. Both occurred in late April. One was 9.25" in one 24-hour period and the other was 12.89" in a 24-hour period. Logic would tell you that my entire garden died. It didn't. I no longer remember if I lost a lot to the 9.25" storm, but I don't think I did. A few plants did die after the 12.89" storm, but we're talking maybe 6 tomato plants total out of well over 100. They likely wouldn't have died but we had several more inches of rain over the next six weeks and the soil just couldn't dry up. I am still amazed to this day that over a foot of rain fell in one day and my garden survived it. Never underestimate the power of compost (and raised beds help too). Dawn

Congrats on your win! Watching the game here, now. GO VIKES! Linda

I loved Brett Favre, this coming from a former Wisconsin resident. But he's so fickle-minded, his "should I stay or should I go" antic is getting old. He should have just stayed retired when he announced it the first time, still earning the respect of people of Wisconsin and the whole Packer-backer, where we treat him like a god. But now, I don't know.... It'll be interesting to watch Packers vs. Vikings... I wonder how would the pack react when Vikings go to Lambeau.