Deanne, that driveway garden is just spectacular. So many interesting forms and textures. And the way the ground covers soften the driveways edge looks so nice. I cut back some of my sedums as an experiment in June and it worked well for me. The ones I did are so full and no flopping. They haven't bloomed yet but will soon which is fine with me. Anything blooming late in the season I'm happy about. Yours looks so nice there in front of the sambucus. I know I say this everytime I see them but I just can't believe the way you have with fuschias. I'm not giving up but I'd be happy if mine looked half as good as yours. I'm going to give overwintering mine a try. I love the standard too. Maybe someday I'll be able to have one. For now my coleus standards are coming along. Much easier to grow those I do believe. Everything looks just great. It's so nice to see such a beautiful garden this late in the summer. Thanks! Eden

Occassional visitor to this forum, jumping in. I work 2 days a week at a small local nursery. We NEVER have sales, except for once, the owner brought in a truck load of plants to sell at bargain prices--aprox $2-4/ gal for plain hostas, a few dwarf burford hollies, Carolina jessamine, etc. If it's slow, like it's been lately, we just sigh. I doubt we'll ever sell the begonias and geraniums and impatiens still left over from spring, still occassionally trimmed and deadheaded by us (we do so religiously during spring, get lots of compliments about how nice our plants look compared to other places..), and so, come sometime in fall, out those poor unwanted plants will go--to the trssh. This week, I started moving up/dividing the 4 inch perennials into gallons. More plants for next year. I have visited a nursery that sold a few half dead gallon perennials for half price, but I just happened to be there, can't remember if they advertised that sale or not. The other day at work I was glancing through a fairly recent copy of a freebie industry mag, maybe Nursery Managment? The one w/ the lady who owns a HUGE independent nursery in CA, Alden something? on the cover. In that mag, there was an article about how to have a sale every week kind of thing. The author suggested highlighting ONE plant each week, like Nandina suggested, several posts above. That plant display was to be 1/3 back from the main entrance, w/ big signs, good labeling, and LOTS of the plants. Customers would see it immediately as they entered the store, but it wouldn't block their passage to other parts of the nursery. The author had several other neat suggestions, but I think a customer came in and I couldn't finish the article. Perhaps that technique would work in your situation. I wish the big plant vendors would back off their hurry-up quick marketing campaigns, some, and realize that not EVERY person in America NEEDS mums by mid August or Impatiens in early Feb. Southern growing seasons are SO long, that begonias are at their best WAY into late October here, and we can't even THINK about bringing in pansies til mid-October, at the earliest. To let poor begonias, impatiens, caladiums, geraniums suffer in their little pots because it isn't the "season" for them, because some idiot thinks mums in 100 degree August are OKAY, and pansies soon after, is SUCH a shame! Alas, 'tis the way of the world, which is why we get summer clothes in stores in winter and heavy coats in summer. SusiQ in NE TX

Good morning. It's already 72 degrees here and heading up to 85. Sunny, too! Welcome, Dody and Groomingal! This is a great place to come for support, for weight loss and other things. I'm heading out in a few minutes to do my weekly grocery shopping. I keep a running list all week on my computer, so that by Friday morning, I'm ready to print it and go. I never used to be quite this organized until I started on Weight Watchers this time. It really keeps me in line to know exactly what there is to fix and eat. I'm still cooking every evening, and so far, most of the recent attempts have been successful! QOD: No plans so far. We did so much running around last weekend, and hubby is taking it easy this week but still going in to work after having a heart cath on Monday. So, he'll probably just want to lie around and watch tv. Thanks for the good thoughts for Aubrie. I'm really proud of my Dson and DDIL for remaining so calm about things so far. That's also the reason I was so happy to keep the girls for them Easter weekend while they go visit my other son and DDIL for a nice distraction. And, it has nothing to do with the fact that I LOVE being with my granddaughters! LOL McPeg, I had cabin fever yesterday, too. It was very overcast here and it just made me feel so gloomy. I'm thankful for the sun today! Have a great weekend, everyone!

I don't think it has anything to do with the election. That's not however to say politicians won't attempt to capitalize on the real estate bust. These cycles have a life of their own. They're not over 'til they're over. Nothing is going to change until we get all the hot air out of the system. In order to do that, sellers have to capitulate. I'm just now seeing the first signs of that in my area & it's got a long ways to go. Early summer, a few sellers dropped their prices $10K-$20K. That wasn't nearly enough to move inventory much less clear it. Now, in the past two weeks I'm seeing $40K-$100K reductions all in one drop. This is a small town & I'm familar with many of the properties listed for sale. Except for a few estate sales, most are couples who have transfered large equities from prior homes into their current home now on the market. Since they put down a considerable amount of money from the inflated prices they sold prior homes for they have what they think is a lot of room to maneuver. As they lower prices in large chunks they are, in essence, removing the hot air from the 2003-2005 market as equity disappears. There's one nice home for sale here that's a divorce situation & they've just lowered $60K after hanging tough since last winter. They'll need to lower another $100K, IMO, to move the house. Anyway, it's nothing to do with the elections. Markets of any sort take on a life of their own that drives prices. Right now, we're got a stalemate between willing buyers & willing sellers. My money goes down on sellers capitulating long before buyers open their wallets. Free markets are extraordinarily efficient. When prices equal buyers willingness to pay...the inventory will start dropping & not before. The buyer mentality has changed & I don't think sellers actually understand that process at the root level. The freenzy to purchase that drove the upswing has just plain evaporated...it's gone. Buyers are now value driven (as they should have been all along). I'm still reading seller quotes saying that they'll, "wait out the market & relist". As Cramer would say, "They know nothing. They don't understand!" Market forces have changed and a new real estate bubble is ten years away. And then, it will be historically time for another. So, to sellers who think they will "wait out the market" & then sell for 2005 prices + 20%...they'd better settle in & get comfy 'cause it's going to be a long wait. /t