I feel as if I'm making a confession to you all. I always loved gardens but my folks never had much money or knew anything about plants so we had the ugliest, deadest yard on the block. I always hated that. My Dads mom had a beautiful garden and my moms mom grew a few rose bushes and a big loquat tree and my moms dad grew strawberries and tomatoes. My folks bought a house with clay soil and made a half hearted attempt at planting some unsuitable shrubs then promptly gave up. Everything died but the couple of pines and the Italian cypresses. My dad's folks garden was the magic place and I adored it. I always loved the prettiest yards on the street and I would stop and look at all the different plants on the way home from school. In particular I was in love with a Japanese couple's dicondra lawn surrounded by maples and bamboo and clipped things. They were out there almost every night working on it together. I can still remember them on their hands and knees pulling little weeds from the dicondra and talking to each other in Japanese. The azaleas were so beautiful and there must have been so many other treasures that I can't recall now. In my mind it was the best a garden could ever get. So then the years went by and I got a copy of the Sunset Western Garden Book in high school and I read that book over and over and learned the latin names and began to really look at plants in a new way. I got an understanding of plants and what they like and that different plants want different things and that it isn't just magic that some people have and some don't. I started making an herb garden out in the no mans land of the front yard. Then I started growing annual flowers from seeds and working them in all the while waging war with bermuda grass that threatened to ruin all my progress. I planted seeds mostly because I was spending all my money to go to college but sometimes I splurged and bought fuschias and any other flowers that hummingbirds liked. I soon had a big fuschia collection going in the back under dads big pine tree that managed to survive the early years. I hated my job in the women's clothes section of a department store so I found another one at a local nursery run by a Japanese couple and their son. This couple was so good to me and the hours I spent sitting by Sumi learning about flowers and just being in her gentle presence changed the way I looked at the world and about flowers. She had a great wisdom and kindness. I don't think I'll ever know such a graceful and gentle person like that ever again. Sumi's brother Ken was there too and he was a wonderful man with a gentle way and great sense of humor. I wish I could go back and tell them how much I appreciate all the kindness they gave to me. I loved them and I loved the nursery and every plant in the place. I just wanted it all to grow well and for everyone who got a plant to be happy. I listened to all the growers and customers and I read everything I could read. Then came my friend Robert who knew everything about plants and loved roses. After a trip to his garden I wanted to grow roses. I thought I didn't know much after meeting Robert, but he was also very kind and wise and didn't mind my inexperience. He was also a great enabler and got me started buying roses from RoY&T. That catalog was like candy to us and we talked about it on lunch and while we were planting up flower baskets for holidays. When bare root rose season came around, Robert was always so happy. We loved getting into the big boxes of bareroots when they would arrive. After a while, I thought my humble herb patch was nothing special and started expanding. I left them all to go to the University and then I got a job at Disneyland Entertainment that ate my life. I spent many many hours during and after hours in the park and got to watch all the plantings and talk to the people in charge of landscape for the parks and the hotel complex. All that time, my garden saw me through tough times and I faithfully got up to water it before dawn when I had to go to work early or get to school and study. All along the way I met people who loved plants and I took cuttings and collected seeds to grow in my own garden. My grandma stood by me all the way, encouraging me. I loved Lord of the Rings too and Narnia. I remember when my sister and I were young and went camping in Colorado. We walked out into a meadow and I said " If I see the tents of Narnia, I'm just going to keep going" and she agreed with me that we wouldn't go back. I try to put a bit of fairyland in the yard for kids that come by and for myself to remind me of the old days.

Well, the rain has put a halt to any additional planting today so I'm catching up on all the fast flying posts. Jay, I'm disappointed that you won't be attending the spring fling next weekend. I was looking forward to meeting you in person and listening to your gardening experiences. I've learned quite a lot from you already so since I won't be able to thank you in person, I'll just say thank you here. Carol, forgive me but I didn't respond to your earlier question about the Jimmy Nardello sweet pepper. Everything I've ever read about it indicates this is a "must grow" variety for its sweetness. I've never grown it before but I believe a few on the forum have so maybe we'll get their first hand account of how it did for them. I was at Horn Seed in OKC about a month ago and saw they had some beautiful Giant Marconi plants and I thought to myself "I'll have some of those soon" and smiled as I past them by. Well, after two failed seed attempts, yesterday I decided to just break down and purchase a plant. After a terribly disappointing trip to Atwoods in Norman, I stopped by Horn on the way home and there were three miserable looking marconi plants left. Needless to say, I left them right where they sat. This elusive pepper is quickly becoming a pain in my posterior. I should just give up the fight but I'm hard-headed and determined to grow these two varieties this year. If by some miracle there are any signs of life before next weekend from my last seed attempt, I'll bring you some baby seedlings of both! Paula, blackberries....? Hmm, that sounds interesting. However, they would have to come with a "blackberries for dummies" tutorial before I could even consider your offer. lol I'm looking forward to meeting everyone! Lynn

Trail, the more and more I've thought about your situation, the more angry I became. It's not that you hand picked each book and saved them for your future grandkids, it's the fact that they have your own precious babies little handprints all over them, possible crayon marks and a lot of memories. Part of THEM is lost, KWIM? Even new books can't replace those. :( So keep on it! Kind of reminds me when my oldest son was 5. We were gone and someone broke into our shed. It was obvious they tried taking the riding tractor/mower but they couldn't get it out. As we looked around to see what was stolen I noticed my son's little Snoopy fishing pole was gone, along with our's. It broke my heart knowing some ADULT person stole this from a precious 5 year old!

I did see the movie "We Are Marshall" and loved it. Powerful story and well done, but also very sad to think about such a horrific loss of life. On a slightly different note, from 2003 to 2005, I flew almost once a month and I came to loathe it for all the reasons I mentioned in the opening paragraph. It is partly fear, but you'd think after all those flights I'd get used to it, but I haven't. I tolerate flying and that's it. In 1996, I was on a Southwestern flight from Norfolk to Denver and we were preparing to land in Denver in the middle of severe thunderstorms. As we were landing (and not far from the tarmac) a tremendous burst of wind shoved the plane down toward the ground and gave us all a good jolt. The pilot goosed the two engines on that 737 and we went up at a very sharp angle, back into the skies. He flew over the airport and then tried to land again from the other side of the airport (and was successful). It really was a terrifying experience and after that flight, it took me years to get over the feeling of terror and dread when I stepped on an airplane. Thanks for the posts. I don't feel so alone. :) Rose