Well, I have to admit that I don't have a ton of experience growing cherries in the shade but I have a very shady part of my nursery where I planted some sweet cherries years ago. The spot gets almost no direct sunlight and has a huge sugar maple over it. The trees were prone to canker but one that I never sold is still reasonably healthy although the shade and my inattention has produced a tree too ugly to sell. I do manage a couple of montmorency that get total morning shade that are completely healthy. I don't look forward to the day when the earth heats up enough that we have Don's weather here. We seem to be just north enough to still be able to grow anything that grows down there but with far fewer pest problems. Weisman, I live in the county up from you, Putnam. Most of my customers are in the tony parts of Westchester and CT.

If by garlic chives you mean sprouted garlic cloves, then yes they should grow fine and hopefully form bulbs, but the bulbs will be small due to the late start. Keep them mulched as garlic hates weeds. TomNJ

My experiment is a failure. Can't remember what happened to the late July/early August seeds, but they didn't make. Then we had lots of kid activities getting them hither and yon for college etc for most of August, so I tried sowing suns & zinnias in late Aug, early Sept. They were okay, but I started & left them too long in a friend's "sunroom" that didn't, in fact, get enough sun. Still they were alive, tho stretched, so I planted them, and they were doing okay. But the zinnias never did look strong, and one by one they died--either from their own lack of strength or me forgetting to water one day. The few suns I started were actually looking good, 4-5" tall, and then the grasshoppers came. (Pause for DEEP sigh, many tears, and insert a picture of Oklahoma from The Grapes of Wrath) I discovered their damage/demise Tuesday evening, and I've been in a sad slump ever since. It's my own fault. Like everyone's been saying about the hurricane(s), we KNEW bad things were going to come, but..... I HAVE tried spraying seedlings in the past w/ nice strong chemicals to kill grasshoppers, but the stupid bugs eat the poisoned leafs anyway! Then, maybe the vile things go off to die, but only after they've ruined my tiny crops. I also should have kept row cover on them for a longer time, but I got impatient, and wanted them to have plenty of sun, and the grasshoppers weren't THAT bad,.....yet. I even started another tray of mixed suns & zinnias about two weeks ago, most have germinated, some are looking good, but several have also been snacks for the grasshoppers. The ones still there need to have better sun than where I have them in my house garden because they too are starting to stretch, and they need to be planted, but w/ the hurricane coming this weekend, and possibly several days of heavy rain, now is probably NOT the time to plant the last of my efforts. I had SO hoped to have SOME suns and/or zinnias for the fall--these last, if they live, will be (should be) blooming late Oct, early Nov, perfect timing for great late fall bouquets. Just no wonderful orange or purple or lime green zinnias for Halloween. :( Now I may have to either cancel Oct. bouquets w/ my customer, or order flowers from a wholesaler, or buy plants at Lowe's again, or just sit down and cry! On the other hand, the rain this weekend should do wonders for my roses, and the few plants of salvia leucantha I have, so maybe I'll have at least some October flowers after all! Welllll, enough sad news. As an aside, I do have one interesting success. I delivered the regular bouquet on Monday (made up of things from my M-I-L's garden), and there on the lady's desk was the bouquet from 2 weeks ago! I'd used ( all store-bought plants) of a feather type reddish celosia, some orange marigolds, and even some Kermit Green mini mums that were in a discounted, few days old bouquet at Walmart that I'd bought in order to have flowers for the bouquet I deliver. And all 3, the celosia, Kermit mums, and marigolds were still as fresh as when I cut them! I used floralife conditioner in the water--or maybe just a Chrysal packet, left a packet w/ the lady, and she did or didn't use it but she did replace the water every few days. So that was way cool! High Fives to all of you who WERE successful w/ your late sowings. Now you know and you can repeat that success next year! Susi

excellent advice from everyone. It sounds like the classic methods used by abusers everywhere. They act charming, they bring flowers, they're *very* attentive, they move quickly, sweeping the person off her feet. They push for a commitment, making the person move faster than she can think. Then once they've got control, once they've caught their prey, they reveal their contempt & treat her badly, & the bad treatment escalates, becoming more overt, more insulting, & eventually it gets physical. The abuser will slap her, shove her, "lose control" & "go too far" & punch & kick her, because "she just frustrates the he!! out of me, she pushes my buttons, she knows just how to do it". In other words, *it's all her fault*. By this time, she believes him, especially since everything she does "pushes his buttons". She thinks she's such a mess that she can't take care of herself & that no one else will want her, & she believes that her friends dumped her & that her family is relieved that he's taken her off their hands. or, sometimes, to "innoculate" her against expressions of concern from frients & family, he convinces her that her friends & family want to break up the couple out of jealousy & spite, which is brilliant because then *she's* the one who breaks off contact with them. These guys never make a move until they know they can get away with it. (He wouldn't walk up to a pretty woman on the street & tell her she'd be lucky to have him!) Before he tells her that he doesn't have to treat her well becaues he's already "got" her, he makes sure she's in his territory & under his control. By the time he hits her, he's limited her access to the real world so completely that the only human contact she has is *him*, & he has used that to destroy her sense of self. By the time she lands in the hospital, she really believes that she's lucky to have him, that no one else would put up with her miserable self, & that she has no choice but to cover up from him & to stay with him. Other things abusers do: Isolate her from any way to escape. (the *neighbor* is watching you? This guy is a piece of work!). Make sure she quits or loses her job. Get her to close her bank account & cancel her credit cards. Take away her car keys, phone, etc. Since your family is still "with" you, please get them to help you, let them help you. Get away from this guy. I wish you the very best.