My plants are bought from all over. The big box stores are fine because I usually know what I am looking for and what will do well in my garden. I have my favorite mail order places for unusual stuff and for old garden roses that I can't find around here. I tend to plant things fairly close together only because I am a plantaholic who has NO willpower. I figure I can always fit in one more plant. I just have to be creative about it sometimes. I try to leave a bit more room for my roses. I have an automatic sprinkler system that I would love to convert to drip. Right now I can't afford it. Maybe next year. My watering schedule seems to do fine. Sometimes I have to go out and hand water a few plants and that is just fine with me. My soil was pretty darn good to begin with. The areas where I dug up the lawn were pretty compacted but on the whole I can't complain. It is deep, dark, easy to slide a shovel into and teeming with worms. I add stuff to it continually. I do have my problem areas that I am amending via lasanga method. My MIL has horses so I get all the manure I want. I have a small compost bin and I amend the soil with coffee grounds as well. I also started adding alfalfa tea to my roses this year. WOW! That stuff is great! I have been pretty good at pruning and keeping things clean. A little here and a little there. Some prima donna plants get more care than others. I live in the same town as Nancy and the wind here pretty much sucks. It is not a gentle breeze but a strong wind that makes it miserable to be outside at times. Our summers are cool. Maybe too cool sometimes. However, on the whole I think that my climate is great for gardening. I can pick lemons off a tree at one end of the yard and raspberries and blueberries at the other. I can gather an arm load of roses and cosmos for the table centerpiece and stop to inspect the bougainvillea on my way inside. How great is that! As for the bugs. I have the good guys and the bad guys. Usually, as soon as I see the aphids I start seeing the ladybugs. There seems to be a pretty good balance. I also have birds GALORE in my garden due to six mature Toyon bushes that are planted in the common area right behind my backyard fence. It sounds like an aviary in my back yard. The birds nest in the bushes, eat the berries in the winter, and the bees work the flowers heavily in the summer. The birds come down from the bushes and feast on all the bugs in the my garden and I get to watch from the window. Of couse they also feast on my raspberries but that is another story. ~Melissa

the ghosts seem to have been woken up indeed. I keep seeing the petals fall off flowers without the rest of the bud falling off (the start of a pod), it keeps getting me excited, up until the rest of it falls off. I guess I should look at it as baby steps. I am starting to see new red thai's every time I walk out back. I really need to get going on the hot sauce production. there's just sooooo many boxes left to be dealt with. as for fertilizer, I never give them what the manufacturer would call a "regular" dose. I always give them a weaker dose, but somewhat more often. to me a "large dose" is still smaller than normal. and yeah, FL is a great place for peppers. minus the heat. it seems to rain a lot in tampa, for 5 minutes at a time, at random intervals throughout the day.

I'm soooo glad your test came back as ok and will continue to hope and pray all is well, regarding the cancer. I'm so sorry you were struck low by shingles-darn, darn. I had a stress test for chest pain recently, which I was quite sure is related to digestion. I get air 'stuck' that was giving me chest pain, so they had to do a stress test with ultrasound. If I didn't have the chest pain, it would have been just fine. You will be pooped, but it lasts for such a short time. Thinking of you, Kat, and Patti too.

wow!! your kitchen is amazing! Can i steal some of your ideas? I am also trying to do a mediterranean. I have been debating whether or not to go with the flat panel doors or the raised panels, but could never find a kitchen with raised panels that I liked, but I think I have found it now! Can you tell me what wood you used for your cabinets? everything is so warm and earthy. Your ceilings are also wonderful. I can't wait to see pics with your range in!