Brenda, it is nice when even family members are enablers, eh? LOL!! I actually keep telling my husband "There's this garden in Western NY that someday we have to go visit!" I would love to see your beautiful garden some day. The different areas you have planted and the variety is amazing. I've been lusting for some more photos from you. Would love to see what you have on file for your veggie garden from last year if you have any time to post some. Goodness! I finally cracked open the catalog for my local nursery who I really like to support. She's a true plantswoman who I so enjoy chatting with, etc. I just sent an email over to her with my "list" (is was a long one) of plants to put aside for me for pickup when they open. It's a terrible habit I have of giving her a list each year for pickup. But my birthday is always right around when she opens, so it's a birthday present, right?!?! LOL!

To add onto what Bernd started... Lets start by saying...when you purchase a plant..any plant. daylily, tomato, hosta...whatever... judge the plant by its ROOTS! The root system is the foundation for the plant. A root system determines how quickly the plant will thrive, if planted and treated properly. This year I purchased tissue cultures with the root mass of of mature divisions(1 or 2 mature eyes with mature leaves, you spoke of this). You see the leaves die every year, but the root mass will remain... Its true that there is still the crown and number of eyes there to make a difference in the actual size of the leaf mound, BUT leaf/foliage size will fool you. You see... if you go to lowe's, walmart, home depot... and look at their hostas... you might think they look better than buying a division... but what they are, are tissue cultures... bought from a lab..by a nursery...grown and fertilized for a couple seasons... then shipped to the retailer.. and sold to you... they are massively commercial..full of disease and chemical fertilizer... we've all bought them...knowing better... When you fertilize... you have macro and micro nutrients... micronutrients you need not worry about much... most are already in the soil in good enough amount, that if you aren't having severe growing issues, you might not ever take a soil test and even worry about them...you can also check with your local extension office and have them direct you to an agent in your area who could tell you about micronutrients in your native soil.. Macronutrients on the other hand are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, N, K and P... when you see ratings on fertilizer... 10-10-10 for example... each number in the same order is the percentage of each in that bag... so per lb...10-10-10 garden fertilizer is .1lb N, .1lb P and .1lb K....Or you'll see it on the back of many fertilizers in percentages... Miracle Gro for example lists theirs on the back in percentages ....which translates the same way... Plants fertilized in Nitrogen heavy fertilizers... for example... all purpose Miracle Gro... will look amazing on the surface... since Nitrogen promotes foliage growth... but if you grow it big with Nitrogen one year... then lay off the next year... It probably won't be that big... making you think that its getting smaller... but really the root mass is the same...you were just boosting the foliage the year before...Phosphorus more helps grow better root masses... and Potassium is more for budding....Which is why a balanced fertilizer is most always in order... Fertilizers with heavy amounts of phosphorus may be banned in your area due to the amount of phosphorus in the ground and ground water... personally I like 10-10-10 and an occasional dose of Miracle Gro Tomato formula which is 20-20-20... but you have to be gentle with it... So what I'm saying... you buy a fertilized tissue culture... then plant it... and don't fertilize it... next year its gonna look smaller... cause it just didn't have the root mass to begin with.. it was pumped full of Nitrogen to look pretty...you can do the same thing... but some of us have more of an appreciation for a 4 foot tall 10 foot wide naturally grown mound of SnS.... than a 4.5 foot tall 11 foot wide chemically fertilized mound of SnS... Kinda like the difference in buying something or making something yourself...I say this and I fertilize with the best of them lol.... There's nothing wrong with buying tissue cultures....but I prefer to buy mature divisions..generally from a certain couple places... they always have excellent root mass, a couple eyes and generally will produce a few more eyes the next season if planted properly... and by five seasons you have a mature hosta..with most moderate or faster growing cultivars... But this can be iffy... if you are buying from a retailer who just sends you one eye with a small root mass... thats really no better than an average tissue culture. The thing about tissue culture is that you can buy them from the labs just like the nurseries.. and get them for as cheap as 2 bucks a piece sometimes... if you buy them small enough and buy a large enough tray. The ones I purchased this season were 3 for 15 bucks.. and like I said... they had the root mass of some of the divisions I bought this year. When this was stated "The early tissue culture batches of T-Rex produced many plants that are very slow growers. Originator stock or a piece from a mature plant will grow at a good rate, but most of the tc plants will take a long time to mature." This is way... seriously deep in the hobby knowledge... I know a lot about growing plants.. but I am far out of the circle of the hosta socity and convention scene to provide any inside knowledge like that... Originator stock is refering to the original plants that were grown, from division only, and registered as the cultivar.... When a new variety is discovered... it has to be grown for awhile.... divided.. and grown... and tested and timed and watched and watched... then if it fits the bill.. it will get registered as a cultivar... cultivated variety...Then at this point it becomes supremely valuable to many.. because its tissue cultures are so valuable many times... labs pay big money to the founder of this new variety for rights to TC... then many are so interested, they watch the growth habits of the tissue cultures to see if they line up with the original cultivar... Unfortunately in this business.. many plants are being sold out there that do not have all the original registered characteristics of a cultivar... this is due sometimes to a loss of them through tissue culture... and sometimes plants aren't properly labeled in nurseries... and everything else you can imagine.... we are humans and things are broadly commercial... so the integrity of the cultivar is always lost somewhat... theres several different looks to June for example... But since tissue culture spreads out the cultivar around the world quicker than division... I'd say most of the divisions you buy are from TCs grown to maturity.. so like I said.. your a bit away from the originator stock... Plants that are trademarked, I think, technically aren't supposed to be propagated for the purpose of profit without the trademark holders consent... Give your plants time to start making mature leaves... I know you've talked about pots, and you live in texas, I cannot comment because I just put mine in the ground and live in Kentucky.... But I think it would do you better in the long run to have yours in the ground... if you want to get serious... start planning out some shade strategies like planting trees and shrubs or purchasing shade cloth and building a patio area or something covered in shade cloth just to put some hostas in the ground...I really think the roots are happier in the ground... Bernd mentioned buying hostas in pots with several eyes already... I think you are like me... Hostas just aren't popular popular, in Texas or Kentucky... there's no hosta scene here... We have lots of daylily fanatics here.. several daylily conventions and festivals...there's like 20 daylily farms and growers, cultivators or whatnot with 50 miles... theres just not a hosta scene... we've got one farm in the state and its like 2.5 hours away! So your stuck like me... ordering mature divisions... check out Naylor Creek Nursery online and Hallson's Gardens online... I had great experiences with them this year! And now to finally talk about the color change...lets do some definitions.... albescent having leaves that become whiter as the season progresses; i.e., H. �Gold Standard�. lutescent having leaves that begin the season darker and become lighter or more yellow as the season progresses; not the result of bleaching due to poor nutrition or too much sun. viridescent having leaves which begin the season lighter colored and become more green as the season advances. These are the terms to describe the color change in hosta foliage... you'll see the whole hosta look one way in the spring... then by summer you'll have the first flush of leaves already changed.... and you'll see the new growth coming out of the ground looking like the first flush of growth did in the spring. For example the margins on fortunei albomarginata emerge gold... then by summer they are all white... undulata albomarginata on the other hand has margins that emerge white and stay white all season... Leaf size or maturity is kindly relevant to this.. since the leaves are small when they emerge... and with time they get bigger and obtain their color change. But some of the color change will be due to the amount of light they are getting... June for example will stay closer to white centered all year if kept in deep shade... but if put in the light a bit more it will soon go the green/yellow route.... You'll have to get the inside information on Paul Aden from one of our more savvy hosta fanatics... I'm sure you could google his name and get a bio if you wanted... Hope this makes sense and wasn't too boring... I was bored and got carried away! John Check out HostaDirect.com for a great great database of hostas...I don't buy from there but I really like their database! Just for giggles... here are some more useful links http://www.hostalibrary.org/ http://www.perennialnursery.com/ http://www.naylorcreek.com/

Hi Stephanie, I am so very sorry for your loss and I feel the pain you and your family are going through. I have been there before with a special feline friend that I had for 13 years and it is painful. Currently, I have been blessed with a very special, extraordinary canine family member that I love beyond words. I have had him for 5 years now and he is my best friend and brings me enormous joy. The thought of his passing makes my heart hurt and brings tears to my eyes. I am certain the reality will be completely devastating. Your story made my eyes water. Again, heartfelt sympathy for your loss. The memorial is a wonderful idea...for many reasons !!! I do agree with Barb...don't be in too much of a hurry to get it done NOW. I am also somewhat of a novice, which is how I came across this forum yesterday. RESEARCH is the key to success !!! There are so many factors involved and if you don't do the "homework" chances are good that many of your efforts, not to mention the cost will be in vain. There is alot of information to be had here and I am sure you will get some valuable advice and suggestions. In addition, check the web. Just search for EXACTLY what you are looking for and presto, there it will be...eventually. Ha-Ha!!! A suggestion for you that I found extremely helpful, check out the Texas Cooperative Extension (through A&M) for your area. I can't send you a link, because mine is for Bexar county. There I found everything I wanted to know and then some (finally). Size, color, planting instructions, pests and disease, drought and freeze tolerance, growth habits and pictures too !!! I printed out a page that gave me 30 choices(customized) of flower with all of the pertinent info. included...PRICELESS !!! A few years ago I planted a LOVELY garden in my front courtyard. LONG story short, a lot of thought went into this masterpiece of mine. Trouble was that I was going for the VISUAL. Let me just say that it wasn't nearly enough and the longevity wasn't there and yes, I did use all perrenials !!! So that this loving tribute will last for years to come....do your homework. It will take some time, so be patient. It is spring,I am in a beautiful new home(blank canvas)I want to plant NOW. I learned my lesson the hard way, so now, I am INDOORS doing my homework !!!! Your motivation for your garden is much more important than just wanting to see the pretty flowers, so take your time. That in itself can be a form of tribute too, not to mention therapeutic!!!! Good luck and give updates !!!

I have been working on my pie crusts for years now and I think I'm finally starting to get fairly consistent good results. I went through a phase, a few years ago, where my crusts were embarrassingly tough. Fortunately, I seem to have worked my way out of that phase and my crusts are now usually tender and flaky. I use the Crisco recipe. I measure out the flour and Crisco (and the bit of salt) into a bowl and then put that in the freezer for 30 min before cutting in the Crisco with a device that I believe is called a pastry blender (but which has always been called a "pie crust maker" in my family). Then, I gently mix in ice water, a tbsp at a time, with a fork. When it looks like there's enough water that things will hold together (probably less wet than you'd expect...just wet enough to hold things together), I gently form a ball (minimal handling), just gathering most of the bits together into my hands and pressing gently together. Then, I wrap the ball tightly with saran wrap, gently squishing it into disc shape during the wrapping process. I put my crusts into the refrigerator to rest, usually overnight. I've come to believe that resting them in the refrigerator is absolutely crucial. After they've rested, I gently roll them out, lightly flouring things as needed to prevent sticking. Most of my pie crusts are turning out fairly well now. Before I started resting the crusts in the refrigerator before rolling them out, some of my crusts were very tough. I have never tried pre-baking the bottom crust for a cooked pie. I usually do bake my pies for longer than the recipe calls for, though, to avoid undercooked bottom crusts. I do cover the edges, to prevent them from getting overdone. I keep a close eye on pies during baking and I usually also end up putting a loose sheet of foil over the entire pie at some point, to prevent overbrowning of the top crust. Cherry pie is my favorite! :-) The next time I make one, I am going to try those TJ cherries. Edited for swypos. :-)