twisted- search some old threads for daphne and you'll see you're not alone. they are picky but worth it. now that you have this one happy, i'd highly recommend working on getting another one going in a another spot, because typically they'll last about 5-8 years before they very suddenly succumb to the fungus that's endemic here. daylily- congrats, but you've been warned! couple yrs ago i was bragging on mine living 8 years and i lost it the very next year. i've only seen or heard of 3 or 4 around here that have made it past around that amount of time living. by succession planting you always have one to enjoy. once you have success with one, you'll be addicted and always want them. some folks are having good luck keeping them in insulated containers- which is what i think i'm going to do the next time i find one on sale. big boxes mark them down at the end of winter when the general public doesn't know what they are and so only buy them while blooming. makes for good buys for those with sharp eyes! every single, solitary time i see a coral bark maple i lust after them. i am going to HAVE to get one soon. they are sooo pretty. only question is where to squeeze it in where i can ogle it all winter long. :)

Pam, We are nothing here if not enablers. We all enable each other, whether it comes to gardening, preserving or cooking. I have heard of Linda Amendt's book, but don't have it. I think you could do a search on the Harvest Forum and find reviews of it there. The three non-Ball canning books on my bookshelf that I use the most are these: "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" by Ellie Top and Margaret Howard. My copy is from the second edition, published in 2007. They may have a newer edition or a more current revision out, or even a newer book. I haven't checked lately. This book has marvelous small batches many of which make only 2 to 6 half-pint jars, which is a great way to try new recipes without making huge batches you might never eat. It also is ideal for items you grow in smaller quantities or can purchase at the Farmer's Market. This book has a lot of great recipes for everything from the usual jams, jellies, salsas and pickles to flavored vinegars, mustards, marinades, dessert sauces, syrups and even liqueurs. I use this book pretty often. "The Joy of Pickling: 250 Flavor-Packed Recipes for Vegetables and More from Garden and Market" by Linda Ziedrich. I have the second edition, published in 2009. This book has a huge variety of recipes and they are different from a lot of the standard pickling recipes. For example, she has a whole chapter on recipes for sauerkraut, kimchi and other cabbage pickles, and a different chapter on rice-bran, miso and soy-sauce pickles. There's a full chapter on fermented pickles, and also full chapters on sweet pickles, quick pickles and freezer pickles....as well as chapters on pickled meat, fish and eggs, and a chapter devoted to chutneys, salsa and other relishes. I love this book. "The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves: 200 Classic and Contemporary Recipes Showcasing the Fabulous Flavors of Fresh Fruits" by Linda Ziedrich. My copy shows a copyright date of 2009. I am not positive if all the recipes in this book are free of commercial pectin, but nothing I've made from this book has included commercial pectin. It is full of amazing recipes for anything and everything you possibly could make from fresh fruit, including these: apple cider syrup, apricot-pineapple jam, cantaloupe jam with mint, maraschino cherries, fig jam, rose petal jelly, rose petal syrup, red grapefruit marmalade, lemon curd, lime syrup, orange jelly, peach-fig jam, hot green pepper-lime jelly, plum-apple conserve, pomegranate syrup, pumpkin butter, quince jelly, raspberry jam, raspberry vinegar, strawberry-orange jam, tomatillo jam, tomato marmalade, yellow tomato-pineapple preserves, watermelon rind preserves and watermelon molasses. If you are looking for recipes that are a little different from the usual fruit recipes in canning books, this book is full of them. I was watching the same football game and thinking at times that it looked like they were playing the game inside a snow globe. I know you'll be busy today ahead of the brutal cold front. It is almost noon and we're still below freezing. It is hard to imagine that a week ago we were in the 70s and hit the 80s a couple of times. Today it is a whole different world, and a very cold one at that. Dawn

Can you give a description of the soil you use, how you water it so that everyone gets water? I have 2 herbs and sedum pots and the soil washes out when I water it. Since then I have put a 3 inch? pvc pipe with holes down the center that I fill with water when watering but still have a dirt washout problem. They are the old clay strawberry pots with openings that don't stick out as much as yours. Or, should I just hunt for a pot like yours?

Anthracnose occurs when potassium level is low. Potassium is less available in DRY CONDITION as well as soaking wet condition. Knock-outs and Kordes roses which are immune from blackspots sometimes have anthracnose (black dots along the edge) when they are under stress (not enough water or too much acidic rain). Potassium is most available in moist and fluffy soil. MG-potting soil back in 2012 had more peat moss and roots were soaking wet when I transferred own-roots into my clay. MG-potting soil changes in recent years to more sawdust (forest products) so it drains faster. It was a nuisance to water pots twice a day in hot weather, but potassium is more available, so I have to pinch off buds constantly on new own-roots (at least 20 buds EACH for these own-roots: Parfum de Paris, Well-Being, Sonia Rykiel). Below is Well-being, pic. taken July 14, 2-months after purchase as tiny band.