Thank you again everyone for the kind words. :) Where am I going to put all of these ? That certainly is the $64,000.00 question !!! I counted yesterday: 31 different types in pots 3 of those pots are Andrew 33 pots total 3 different types in the ground 3 Elegans (stationary, not moving them) 2 Wide Brim 1 Tiny Tears 5 NOID in ground 3 clump #1 3 clump #2 1 ½ clump #3 1 mature mini no ID 1 mature mini no ID TONS of Elegans seedlings we dug up out of the front bed and put in the back. That is all the hosta on the property. So I have about 31 places to find for all the new additions. This does not include the 40+ I have still “to order” on my wishlist. As of today 7/29/12 I have only one bed clear. Initially I feel like I want to panic . . . but the flip side (for me at least) is I am not necessarily in any hurry to get them in the ground. I would almost prefer to let them get a few years in pots where I can coddle them and take my time finding just the right spot. So, in theory I believe I have enough room for them all (plus more) but it may be a good long time before they get placed in a permanent position. When I started this project I knew it would be a long hard road to beautification. My goal is to work with as much already existing in the ground as feasibly possible. I will be ripping out a lot of established shrubs and moving existing perennials, but more so to rearrange and start over. There is an existing design that was originally landscaped into the yard, so I will be working with that and adjusting lines and height as needed. But for the most part I am settled into a very long project with no real agenda. I will of course keep you all updated as to any progress that is made. This year though is rather uneventful since I am still in the process of amending and clearing out the first bed so that I can be ready for a spring planting. Here are some glamour shots of “The Jungle”. This first one is a pic of me in the process of clearing out the first bed. These were all taken in early June. And here is basically the jist of what it looked like before I mowed it all to the ground . . . The next grouping are of the section of yard that leads up to the side porch. This I don't think ever had anything planted in it. There is a bed separating the two sections of the front yard so you can't get to this part without going around the house and coming off the side porch. The Hosta in the picture are of seedling Elegans and one of my MIL NOID. It is still too young and neglected to pitch here for proper ID. So all in all I def have enough space to keep me plenty busy for a very long time. Plus we are having an arborist come out in the winter and trim a few trees that desperately need it as well as remove a few that are too close to the house. So there will still be a nice canopy but I will have a lot more light coming through starting in 2013 and that is also something I am going to keep my eye on for plant placement. Thanks as always for looking and reading, Ludi

I can't wait until I start taking photos this year with my new camera!!! Theresa, I love the photos. I wish some of this year's were labeled though! I do the "ooh that's pretty...what is it?" thing, lol. At least tell me the roses names pretty please. : ) Zabecca, I love the poppy, and the blue morning glory. I've got a bunch of poppy and morning glory seeds for the upcoming year, I can't wait. Laura, You have done lots of garden construction, and you have lots of great plants! I think patience is the key now. As those areas mature, they will look great. And if something doesn't look right after things grow in and up, you can always move them. Here's a pic of the Clematis 'Star of India' that I think I posted awhile back on the Cottage Garden forum, but not here. I can't wait to re-shoot it with the good camera this summer! Remy

Pretty sure I don't have voice recording. My one camera, is a Canon A650IS which is a couple of years old. Its been described in reviews as a Canon G7 minus frills. I like the 12 megapixels in it, and size. 6 x zoom. Lately, I use a Canon SX10 IS, with 20 x zoom. Also no voice recording. Would be a nifty feature though. The most important part for me seems to know when I left one grove and am in another. What I do sometimes, is take an image of my palm in-between to indicate the transition, or a note on a note card. But I can see where the voice option would be very streamlined. Seems like most manufacturers have really worked the bugs out of most cameras these days.

Read the review at Steve's Digicams (link below). This is a very nice camera with a "super" 12x zoom. The biggest complaint you're going to hear about this camera is that it's noisy in the mid and upper ISO range. Noise is a fact of life for digital cameras just like grain was a fact of life for film. Shoot ISO 800 speed film and get grainy pictures. The noise problem worsens as the camera sensors get smaller and ramp up the number of megapixels. Smaller sensors make for less expensive cameras in a couple ways so the marketplace dictates that we get noisy cameras. If you're making 4x6, 5x7 and occasional 8x10 prints you're not going to see the noise. Just like with film: a 4x6 print from an ISO 800 color negative looks pretty good. There are sample photos taken with the FZ7 on Steve's review page -- look at a couple of them and ask yourself if you're seeing a lot of disturbing noise. The 12x zoom is extreme and you're going to have to expect some compromise to get that feature. This could show up as some loss of quality, maybe a little soft in the corners or less that stelar MACRO performance. Again look at the samples on Steve's website. Because of the 12X zoom this camera is equipped with image satbilization. Panasonic's reputation for image stabilization is good and it's a real advantage in this camera. I've worked with a couple of this camera's predecessors and found them to be better than the average camera in their class. I've made 16x20 inch prints from Lumix images that rivaled results from low end DSLRs. For the money it's a very good buy. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: review