Lol - I'd been thinking about how everyone here keeps saying that plant selection should come closer to the end of the design process, but for a lot of people, a large part of the design process is how to find places for the plants we want to include! IMO, for a lot of gardeners, when putting together the initial list of things that are wanted in a garden, it is entirely fair to include specific plants to design around, as well as more purely functional things like "a place to eat with shade in the evening hours". When I was working on my wish list for the new house, I actually wrote down 5 or 6 different color schemes/garden feels that I wanted to include somewhere on the site. I also included lists of plant ideas for each area. Iirc, they were: - blues/whites/purples with a romantic feel - Rose garden with peonies and other romantic plants in pink/red/white - bright cheerful colors, with hollyhocks along a fence - prairie feel with purples and yellows - white and lavender in the front, to set off and coordinate with the Norway Maple and red brick / siding. And in fact, I think I have places for all of them. The first bit is the border I planted this year, which will border the back corner secluded area. It will extend toward the house, transitioning to the pink/red/white rose garden. That border will also enclose the veggie garden area. The veggie garden will also be the transition area for colors, as well - the fence side is where I want my hollyhocks, and I will probably put my daffodils there, too. (My dd was born when daffodils bloom, and I have a picture of her coming home from the hospital in front of our old house, with daffodils and grape hyacinths in full bloom. I decided they were her flower, so I must have daffodils forevermore!) The yellow/purple prairie feel will probably go to the front on the side of the house, opposite the side with the Norway maple. (I think there was another color scheme that I didn't manage to fit in - maybe yellow & red?) Otoh, we are still sorting out what else we want to do with the whole site! We've been talking about adding onto the house, but as the summer progresses, I'm finding I really like eating out on the existing patio, which would turn into enclosed space in our current addition scheme. But, we are consciously trying to include both interior and exterior spaces as we continue the design... Irene

You guys (incl. gals) are making me laugh! Good thing! What I like on a forum. Love this, Laura: You guys must hate all the "I bought a darn cactus and I have not a clue what it is" posts. Don't you just want to ping a rock off my head? As the others have said, no...I enjoy identifying plants. Keeps my brain cells working. =) I think all remarks have been in fun. There are, on rare occasions, posters who are mean-spirited & say nasty things. But, for the most part, we like educating & being educated about all succulents! So, no need to be paranoid, Laura, as we were all newbies at some time & can relate! Mrlike2u, pretty plant and pot!! Thank you, Rina, for turning the pic upright. =) Jeff & Dzitmo have a way with words (among others). Not always easy for me to decipher, but fun to read! Sometimes, explanations are in order (as seen above). If you're not sure about something, just ask! A hybrid E. obesa seems likely (as Jordi, Geoff & others indicated). Do you have any closer (clear) pix of the blooms (cyathia)? RoRo This post was edited by rosemariero6 on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 13:19

Judith, there are quite a few new people here, you should post the link to your album here again so the newbies can go see all your great bunnies and how you use them in arrangements. You really have some nice big ones and cute little ones, I always enjoy seeing them. And I still remember all the "escapades" of "Stud" or was that "Spud"? He's Kathleen's cute bunny and was quite a naughty boy until he went through rehabilitation! LOL For the newbies here, you can probably still find the posts about him in our archives from last year around Easter time. I have to say that bunnies always catch my eye too. They are just so cute and just add that element of fun to a tabletop, mantle, or even on the floor. Luvs

Yes, my problem has obviously become more serious. I came home from shopping and I could only bring 3 elves in the house with me. I didn't think DH would take it well to find an army of elves when he walked in the living room! And since the elves are over 2ft tall it's not like he wouldn't notice! Alas, another sign I have a serious problem as I'm now hiding elves (hanging my head in shame). Once DH left for work I quickly scurried to gather my elves from the car. Thank goodness DH didn't take my car to work as he would have had a heart attack to look in the rear view mirror and see all these elves staring back at him! As I sit here there are 14 very happy elves watching me. Our little puppy girl gave them a few barks and determined they were friendly, and she was outnumbered, so she backed off. Now what to do with the elves? It's not like DH (though sometimes oblivious) won't notice a 2ft elf. Without a doubt he'd notice 14 of them! You may be thinking the best way to handle this is to put out the 3 elves and each day as we get closer to Christmas just add another one and maybe DH won't notice the elf population has exploded. If he does notice then pretend he's loosing his memory and we've had them for years or vigorously assert that you read on the internet a recent article about the unexplained elf population explosion. I know what your thinking ... the problem is even more serious then you thought as she is now lying to cover-up her elf addiction. Not to worry I've already figured out what to do! We are living in a very small rental while building a new house. All of our Christmas stuff is packed away so we are not actually decorating for Christmas. So only 1 elf will be enjoying the holidays with us this year as there is not enough room in this small rental for more. My plan for next year is to strategically place them throughout the new house which is much bigger! I may stick with the idea of putting out a few and then just add one (or two) here (and there) as we get closer to Christmas. Hopefully DH doesn't think to take a daily elf "head count". Honestly after more than 20 years together he shouldn't be the least bit surprised. Now I must get busy and do something with all these elves before DH gets home from work! I have to find some big boxes to pack them in (note to self ... do not label boxes "elves"). Then I'll slip them in the pile of boxes to go to the new house. And just a little snicker on my part as DH will unknowingly be the one that takes the boxes full of elves to the new house and puts them in the storage area. Someday (but not anytime soon) I will fess up to my DH on my "elf capade" and we will have a good laugh! I'm not doing that though till I have too ... Did someone mention they know of a 12-step program for elf addiction?