Thank you all for such heartfelt compliments! I'm not going anywhere... I just don't have any more bulbs to bloom! :-( Trust me, I'll be sticking close to see what blooms you all still have yet to open! Blanca - Thank you! The joy comes from sharing all this beauty with you guys! The positive attitude has definitely been strengthened by being a part of all this! :-) Zuba - For some reason, the greens and yellows are really catching my eye this season! Green is an unusual flower color, but so very pretty! Xuan - I wouldn't miss seeing your flowers for anything! I do love the noids you find here and there... you're so lucky to have a nice warm climate for year 'round gardening! Cindee - Actually, I'm just coming OUT of hibernation! The cold winter is almost over, and spring is my time to come alive, along with the trees and flowers and grass and birds! My little goldfinches have returned, and it's time to get their feeder cleaned and filled... and there's a lot to be done outside in the gardens! I think the Not Rilona might actually be Romance, and the other one is the same flower that GW has on the front page of our forum. I just can't remember what it's called! Jody - Thank you! I'm so glad I could be an enabler for some of you guys! It's wonderful to see the same enthusiasm in you that I feel when a new bulb blooms! My wish list exists because of all the beauties posted here... I can't resist seeing in person what everyone has shown in pictures! Kitty - I wouldn't miss seeing everyones newest blooms for the world! I'm not leaving... just a little disappointed that I have no hippis left to bloom... but I have oodles of outdoor bulbs getting ready to bloom, so I'll be smiling as they begin to open! If you decide to try the Germa, remember that it prefers to be a little bit drier than most other hippis! And if you find an "Amaryllis Anonymous", let me know! LOL! Lizalily - I'm beyond stuck on hippis! I figure I'll save my wish list for ordering next fall, and that gives me something to look forward to as the outdoor gardens begin to fade! I'll still be here to cheer everyone else on as their hippis open and grace the world with their beauty! And don't you worry... I'll be sharing lots of non-hippi blooms with you and everyone else who sports that green thumb! Wildebloem - This being my first year of hippi collecting, I have precious little for spring bloom, but next year I should have lots of bulbs blooming now! The ones I purchase next fall will be winter color, and the ones I have now will most likely be blooming at this time next year! I was looking forward to my large Minerva blooming in early February, but I re-potted her in fall, and I think I may have disturbed her enough to put off bloom. She should be something special next spring! Thank you all! I wouldn't dream of missing one flower here in our forum, so I'll be tuning in on a regular basis! Jody, I'm passing that torch! Keep it burning...

Andrew/Laag, it does strike me that you are somewhat resistant to authority figures/teachers telling you what you should know, as witnessed by your story about your father and design school. In that story, if I recall it correctly, you ultimately did see that design theory as you had been resisting it in a classroom situation did have direct applications with what your father was doing, and you appreciated the fact that you were finally able to make the connections for yourself based on what you were resisting in class. Might not the Japanese design theories, nomenclature, historical context, etc also play a part in having a better understanding of the cultural context and influences on Japanese garden design? And even though you mostly feel that it is completely unnecessary to know all this to achieve your desired visual result, your own previous example would seem to imply that infact the process does rub off on the results, and widens your experiences sufficiently to allow greater understanding and perhaps even meaning to enter your designs. I don't think you can ever discount knowing the history and guiding principles of anything you hope to imitate. Or maybe it would be better to say your have designed gardens with an Asian flavor, as opposed to Japanese style, which does come with certain historical and cultural implications. In my own case, I think direct exposure to great examples of such gardens here in California that include both older traditional approaches and modern takes on them help tremendously to appreciate the cultural influences on the style. I am sure that this would be further developed if I ever spent more time in Japan looking at gardens, rather than the limited several days in Tokyo and environs. I have seen some great Japanese style gardens in unlikely places such as tropical Malaysia and Singapore, and left me feeling that the exact plants are not the basis of JG design, but how they are arranged and manipulated in the landscape. My own feeling on garden design of any style is that it is both a learned process that teaches by example and trial and error, and innate talents to express oneself artistically. In the case of garden design, it also helps tremendously if one knows how to make use of what each site has to offer, to avail oneself of the views, light conditions, planting possibilities within their climate, etc. And most emphatically, any garden design is really all about how space is used and manipulated to create an effect. In the Japanese style, it is also necessary to pare down the plant palette to the essentials, and make the parts subservient to the whole experience. Strength of form, and the abstraction of wilderness and great age seem inherent in the plant manipulation used to achieve these aspects. As to Nandina's conclusions about representing the whole cycle of life and death as important aspects of JG design, this has never been apparent to me as a guiding principle. Maybe I am being too literal here, but the beginning and the end don't always seem well represented in a JG setting, it seems much more a case of abstracting nature and controlling it to give an illusion of great age, and then conscious control to maintain that point in time. In this respect, it has parallels with tropical garden design, in that the garden has great consistency in all seasons. In a tropical garden, it will be the consistency of year round summer and endless growth; in a JG, it will be the consistency of an abstracted nature and efforts to give the illusion of age and permanence. In neither style is it in fact the same all year round or year to year, but this is not the feeling we remember, but the consistency. I would posit that when the design of any style garden is inherently pleasing, it achieves this both visually and as a comfortable and/or intriguing spatial setting, that engages our thoughts and emotions. I find my own interest in Japanese garden design primarily linked to explorations of how layering of plantings and strategic architextural elements can make small gardens seem much larger. This has direct applications for my own design practice in densely urban coastal California, where space is at a premium, yet great borrowed views and magical light are all around us, and available to be used creatively. I find other aspects of JG design less fascinating, and have never quite understood how cloud pruning shrubs are thought to look in any way natural. The verdant green look also seems somewhat inappropriate for our local mediterranean conditions, and in direct contrast to our softly rolling hills and evergreen live oaks contrasted against summer golden grasses. As such, JG's only seem to work locally when they are self-contained, enclosed gardens that relate to creeks and watersheds here that are more woodsy and green.

Well, I'm home - in my pajamas, having just indulged in my idea of total comfort food (DH made me a grilled cheese sandwich), and I'm just going through some things here in the home office. Today was a long day ... a good day ... but so draining. The service was lovely; I was surprised at how many attended, especially since Grannie and Grandaddy have outlived many, if not most, of the friends in their circle - still, the chapel was full. The flowers were beautiful and the photos displayed of her at the front were so precious. My favorites were her high school graduation photo (today I wore the little gold bracelet she had received from her parents on graduating in 1934 that she wore in the photo - she was the first in her family to receive her diploma - as well as her jingly charm bracelet), and a portrait taken perhaps a year or two later in which she looked like a silver screen star. She was so beautiful. Of course, I always just knew her as "my Grannie", so it's fascinating for me to consider what her life must have been like as a young woman. It was sweet today to hear stories of what she was once like. How, for instance, she showed herself to be a thoughtful sister when she got up early one Sunday morning before church and polished her sister's shoes, so their mama wouldn't find out that the sister had been out dancing the night before. She looked out for others, always. It was good to see family and friends, both old and new. It was a delight to hold my 8-month old second cousin and watch his brown eyes dance as he took in all the activity around him. It was bittersweet to hold the hand of my Grandaddy. I know it won't be too long before we're repeating this whole process for him. ::sigh:: The readings and sharing of memories during the service, both my own and the parts of other family members, went beautifully. Of course we were emotional. And it was ok. It was an emotional time, so perfectly fine. I think Grannie would have been pleased. I hope that somehow, somewhere, she was able to know that we were there today, honoring her life. Again, I cannot thank you all enough for the outpouring of love and support that you've given me here. It means more to me than I can possibly even express. You are very special people indeed.

Great song choices. I played He Stopped Loving Her Today at my son's funeral. It was the first thing he said/sang when he started talking again at age 3. He has always loved George Jones. Leader of the Band is one of my favorite songs of all time. A song that my son loved was by one of his favorite bands Due West...So Long My Friend. He wanted it played at my sister's memorial but they couldn't do it live because they were touring. We played that song at his funeral as well, at the request of the lead singer of the band. It was written by Brad Hull of Due West. So Long My Friend - Brad Hull (B. Hull) Copyright 2006 Even though I don't want to accept it There comes a time when everyone moves on I know you can't stay here forever And still I never thought this day would come So long my friend I'll see you again But until then So long my friend You know that you kept so many waiting For you to make it to the other side They welcome you with arms wide open While I can't find the words to say goodbye These words I wish that I could tell you Are going to take some getting used to. I Wish You Were Here - Chelsea Musick (C. Musick, N. Peaytt, A. Hacket) Copyright 2007 I took your picture off the wall And put it by the bed Helps on those sleepless nights When I could use a friend When I look in the mirror I see your face But it's so hard to be mad When there's no one here to blame And I never thought I'd have to let you go Never thought I'd say goodbye I never thought I'd see The day my daddy cried I guess I better go Just wanted to say hello And I miss you more with every tear Signed, "I wish you were here" I know that you love me I still feel it in my heart Sometimes it's like you're here But we're so far apart I have so many questions I just want to understand If God can take you from us Why can't he bring you back You were the one who helped me through the day The one who wiped my tears away Now what am I supposed to do No one talked to me like you