Good Morning Everyone Todays count is: Zone 0  Zone 1  170 Zone 2  204 Zone 3  419 Zone 4  1869 Zone 5  7884 Zone 6  10372 Zone 7  6763 Zone 8  2316 Zone 9  534 Zone 10  Total  30531 Ron

yep - we know!

THANK YOU friends! When this bookmark exchange began three or four years ago, I bought an small wooden antique chest for my bookmarks. Each year, the collection grows. And every time I start a book, it begins with a search through the chest for the perfect bookmark. EACH one of you has sent me lovely gifts that represent YOU. Each one of you has bookmarks in that wooden chest that are treasured and used regularly. Thank you. Thank you one and all - for your thoughtfulness, your time, your creativity, and for being a part of my reading life. PAM

Today I was off again -- my work-week now is Thursday through Sunday, but I still hit overtime -- but I was also out of cardboard. Typically, I gather it from my job when I'm there, and use it all on Monday when I'm off. Then, before I go home, I head to the center of town and gather more cardboard from outside the stores -- every Monday night it's put out for recycling pick-up the next morning. That gets me through mulching on Tuesday, but then I'm out again. So since I'm off three days beginning this month, I'll use Wednesdays to scout the next areas to be planted and cut the borders. Today I did the next two family plot beds with railing borders on my "do these first" list Eleanor wrote for me. The first was the Lippincott bed, which gets early morning sun, dappled shade from about 11am until about 2pm, then mostly sun until sunset. The next bed -- the Staat family plot -- was one I was really looking forward to, since it's basically full-sun all day. Here, I'm going to try some of the more tender old roses -- Chinas, Teas, Noisettes. I've experimented with them in my own garden, and I've found that they need at least one of two things to keep going here. One thing would be a protected spot, such as against a house. Here, Winter damage is minimized. My tender roses along the house have about as much damage as do typical Hybrid Teas planted out in the open. The other thing would be a spot in full sun all day. Here, even if Winter takes its toll, the growing season here is hot enough to push them to regrow a lot. My "Bermuda Spice" is in a totally unprotected spot, and sometimes Winter really does a number on it. But even if cut back all the way to the mulch line, this rose will rebound to five feet tall by the end of the growing season, and blooming all the while. So, here's the Staat bed, outlined -- well, the first two pics, anyway. Because I took more than ten of Staat but less than ten of Lippincott, I'd rather divide it here and make two posts than have to do it in three. To be continued......... :-) ~Christopher