I went a tad overboard myself this year. I only intended to replace two plums which had left holes in my 10 tree orchard lineup. But we got irrigation water awarded to us last year, and on the assumption that we'd get it again this year, I folded and decided to put in the second line of trees. Plus it'd be nice to get some highway noise reduction started, so I.. well... I went a little bit crazy and... 1 each: Emerald Beauty Plum Bavay's Green Gage Plum Blake's Pride Pear Bosc Pear Comice Pear Ashmead Kernal Apple Anna Apple Cox's Orange Pippin Apple Sunburst Cherry Montmorency Cherry 1) Western Schley Pecan 50)Pecan: Carya-illinoinensis 50)Redbud: Cercis-Canadensis 50)Tulip Tree: Liriodendron tulipifera So far, I have 24 or so in the ground, 63 potted up, and I'm flogging off the balance to any of my clients who also like to garden. Next year, Tupelos and olives!

Marguerite, I purchased all my Coleus from one mailorder nursery (in 2004 and 2005) but pretty sure they were pestfree when received...especially as I kept them all near sofa the first few days so I could admire them...LOL They spent all summer on my patio so probably picked up mealybugs (or eggs) there. I think I've found part of the answer...attached article says Coleus very susceptible but constant inspection and washing can prevent infestation and spread if caught early. Also, I just had 3-4 little mealybugs...not all over the stems as I've seen in photos (shudder!) Another thing the article recommended was growing potplants inside house a little dry and using less fertilizer. In winter I just "maintain" my plants, not try to grow them...and I never use fertilizer (although some may be in some of potting soil I buy). My house is kept between 66-68 degrees F days and cooler still at night so they sort of go into hibernation mode. So maybe I was doing the right thing inadvertently. I'd always felt fortunate not to have had pests on my tropicals indoors...I think possibly my method of brisk thorough shower and watering well and then letting pot dry out a good bit was, in addition to catering to my laziness, a good insect preventative...LOL Of course when outside they get thorough spray/watering every other day...temps in 90's all summer here. But they flourish and grow so well they don't mind the lower light, cooler temps and reduced water in winter inside. Oh, the one Coleus that got the mealybugs was 'Klondike', orange-red leaves with yellow edge. Iside house it fades to a soft copper-pink but still nice. josh Here is a link that might be useful: Mealybug Life Cycle & Prevention

Thanks, guys! I ended up being gone most of the day so didn't get to do much more searching. Seedmama, I'm with you! As Carol mentioned, I was only there to throw my children to the lions, er, the Mississippi. The three oldest boys did it and, together, raised over $1,000 -- all going to benefit the Special Olympics. Two of the boys are also in the middle of a Klondike campout with their Boy Scout troop this weekend. They slept out in 20* weather last night and again tonight, got snowed & iced on, and still managed to do the Plunge. I was so proud -- and cold! (I'll link the blog post with the videos below.) Hubby and I were having a little marital smack talk while waiting for the boys to change out of their wet clothes. He suggested that he and I do it next year. He'd be a caveman and he, being a chivalrous fella, would be so kind as to drag me, his cavewoman, in & out of the water by my hair. Long story short, I told him I was in as long as he promised to wear a loin cloth -- and nothing else. And wouldn't you know it? There were witnesses. Witnesses who are on the staff of the event and also happen to know us -- our names & where we live. We will be held to this. So, by this time next year, I'll have changed my identity and moved to a different country. Diane Here is a link that might be useful: Polar Plunge

alisande, I found this I hope it helps. Hope you grand-daughter is doing well. Kittywhiskers Double Solitaire This is a competitive version of Klondike patience (solitaire). Each of the two players plays with their own 52-card pack. The backs of the cards should be different so that they can be sorted out after the game. Each player deals a layout as for Klondike: 28 cards in 7 piles, each having the top card face up and the rest face down. The left hand pile has just one card, the second two, and so on, the right hand pile having seven cards. Between the two rows of 7 piles is space for eight foundation piles, which can be played on by either player. Each player begins with a stack of 24 face-down cards. The player with the lower card on their one-pile starts - or in case of a tie whoever has the lower card on their two-pile and so on. At your turn you can make a series of moves as in Klondike. You may move cards around on your own layout, move cards onto the foundation piles when they fit, and move cards from your discard pile to your layout or the foundations. You are not allowed to play onto or use your opponent's layout or discard pile. You end your turn when you cannot or choose not to make any other moves by turning over the top card of your face-down stack, and placing it on your face-up discard pile. Your opponent then plays. The game ends when one player has played all the cards to the foundation piles, or when both players are blocked, in which case the winner is the player who has played more cards to the foundation piles. A free Double Solitaire computer game playable across the web is available from Robert Nichols' solitaire.com web site.