I'm loving Dicentra 'Goldheart' And all the emerging hosta. Way to go guys! Spring's here. Heuchera. My heuchera is looking really good in all the gardens, particularily H. 'Encore' and 'Marmalade.' However, in my front garden is an old seeded variety called 'Oakleaf,' well over 15 years old, grown in direct sun. It has exceptionally ruffled, deep purple leaves and never scorches. It gets bigger and better every year. I replant it about every 10 years, when foliage becomes sparse. I have a lot of the new villosa hybrids, which I like very much indeed, but right now, I have to say that 'Oakleaf' is remarkably beautiful. Hellebores - all of them. Any of them. All the time. Mertensia virginiana- (Virginia Bluebells) is just opening, and remarkably late at that, but those soft blue-green leaves and true blue flowers make my heart beat stronger. Tulips and daffodils. Maybe the weather has been horrible, but like hellebores, these plants just look better and better when conditions are cold and wet. Trilliums. Our trilliums were at least two weeks late this year, but my goodness, what a proliferation. Their blossoms are huge and expanded, and the forest floor is a carpet of white. Even better, the much more rare (in my forest) red Trillium erectum has decided to spread. There are clumps of it all through the forest, and its bloom season has been prolonged. I also discovered a huge, showy patch of Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's Breeches) in the forest. I have never seen it before. The flowers are just fading now. It's a charming plant, and although I've been on the lookout for it for years, never found it before. Fritillaria. I have a good fritillaria collection, and the bulbs have spread and bloomed admirably, lasting a nice long time during the recent nasty weather. I'm enjoying them particularily this year because I know that the dreaded Lily Beetle is very close to my gardens, and I expect we will be infested sooner than later. Euphorbia 'Bonfire'. Just get this plant. It is beautiful all spring, summer and fall, but is at its most fetching right now with glowing chartreuse flower bracts and purple foliage. Glaucidium palmatum. Google this, if you don't know what it is. I have a pink one, with several flowers blooming now, but all of a sudden, a white one has emerged in my back shade garden. It just glows. Curiously, I planted the white one in that place about five years ago, and it promptly died, only to emerge now in all its triumphant splendour. There's more, but I have taken enough time. There is also less, with the depredations of the deer, rabbits and ants, but today, finally, the sun is shining, the rain has stopped, and it's bad karma to worry about the imperfections.

Hi everyone, well i've finally woken up, i think i'm fighting off something and i've slept all day, maybe it's that featherbed we bought, so nice and a good deal 67$ for a queen size, i'll try anything to make Al comfortable, the dampness is unbelievable and the weather i won't even complain about it was -20F with the wind yesterday and i think plus 26 today. carley and her friends have went to the theatre this evening to see isold and -sorry can't remember the other name so it's just me in the living room and i get to watch anything on the 3 channels we get there by myself - one channel is hockey-can't believe that matthew played since he was 5 and i never learnt anything, i'd bring my knitting and stay away from all those screaming people. Nora when i was shoppping yesterday i noticed that the seed are are out in stores already, we buried Buddy in our garden so i've already started to plan something special for him--i know i keep on mentioning him, but i do miss him so much. i guess with our warm winter i have noticed buds on the apple tree we have. Connie i noticed last night that you had a weather warning, is everything ok, our cable - main stations like the rest of canada get detroit tv signals, congratulations another grandbaby how lucky you are! Gabby, i think probably the wood is cheaper here but not by much speciality woods sell by the lineal foot here, i do know that a 2x4 not treated is 76 cents, 3 pulp and paper mills have closed here in town, 3 out of town and alot of other places have closed their doors here, it is just terrible, i read in the paper that there were only 3 new houses that were started to be built since jan. 1 but there sure are alot of them for sale here. Al is still in alot of pain, his doctor is the leading cancer doctor here in the area (Al regular doctor retired and this is the doctor that was suggested to him to get, we here in our family are lucky to have a family doctor, we are 28 short here in the city) so he does try to keep him pain free, Al loves the spring and summer, he sits as long as he can in the ramp under his big green umbrella, and when people see him outside they all come over to chat to him or he'll come in the backyard and give me orders on how to tend to the flowers or the garden, right now with this sat. tv, he controls the remote (like every man - lol), so we have to watch whatever he wants, oh well, he doesn't seem to relize that we can keep ourselves busy doing other things - lol. well i think my pots and pans have finished soaking, so i better get them done! debbie

Mona, so sorry this is happening to you and your family. It really is frustrating beyond belief when things are so far outside of our control yet impact us so greatly. I'm afraid this kind of breakup is quite common now--I know two husbands who began online affairs with ex girlfriends via Facebook, and one of my female coworkers left her husband just last year for her ex boyfriend who reconnected with her on Facebook and then started texting, etc. In these cases, anyone could/did see signs of problems in the marriages before the online affairs started. One of the husbands who cheated, I have to say that no one could be blamed for leaving his wife--she was awful. Still, that's not the way to do it, especially with kids involved. One of the divorced spouses got remarried SIX WEEKS after the divorce was final. My friend went from being married, knowing nothing about the affair to being divorced and having her kids spend weekends with a complete stranger *and the stranger's equally unknown children* in 90 days. As for meeting that 'one special person' who is perfect for you.... my mom did that and divorced my dad to be with him. It's now 30 years later and yes, she has been blissfully married ever since. They truly are soulmates. Unfortunately for my sibs and I, our stepdad was far from being OUR soulmate, and we all left home in our midteens as a result. So, two people happy, but four people unhappy. I'm absolutely not against people who are unhappy separating and starting over, but speaking from experience, hardly anyone honestly looks at what it's doing to their kids.

That sounds like a plan, Chris. The only problem would be if the hollyhocks had any kind of fungus or other disease. I am supposed to be getting rid of yard work. Last year I had a consult ("won" it at a charity event) with a landscape designer. I told her about my limitations, and about what I wanted to do with the yard, to make the side part of the back yard pretty. She said to leave it as it is! She suggested cutting back the hedge between the backyard and the sidewalk on the side street, to let it grow back fuller. She suggested we replace a couple of panels of deteriorating privacy fence at the end of the patio with some dwarf lilacs. I wanted a large evergreen and some bushes in a nice configuration there. She was sticking too much to my "can't do much yard work" and not giving me anything nice for the yard to look improved. It really was a waste of a consult, but the charity was a good cause. We are a typical city corner lot. The house is a square ranch-style house. The back yard is surrounded by trees and hedges. Your hollyhocks will go in a bed near where the side hedge and back hedge meet and along the inside of the side hedge where they will have afternoon sun. There is only a chain link fence between us and the side neighbor. They are a nice couple with adult kids. He speaks a bit of English, she none at all. I think they are Romanian. Nice, family-oriented, quiet people. They have beautiful front flower beds that are tended perfectly. It makes me feel guilty because my front bed is weedy, and messy by design! Our neighbors behind us speak English, but we never see them. Their garage wall faces our back yard and there is a tall wall-o-privet between us. So for a city lot, we have very good privacy. I will miss the height of our side hedge, but the city ordinance says it should only be 4 ft high, and they could come by at any time and tell us to cut it. It is scraggly and see-through at the bottom, anyhow. I am making plans with a guy from Craigslist to come help me do the trimming of the backyard hedges. I will be mostly supervising.