Thanks everyone for all the compliments. My floating baskets aren't doing too good this year. Don't know if it's the weather or my koi (now that they are bigger they are able to tip the basket with their body just enough to nibble. They remind me of deer they don't eat the whole plant just enough to stress it out). I heard a rumor it could be my water is too clean. Pond is in it's third year so it may be fully cycled now. Don't know if any of you read Nosambos (Lisa's) post earler this month so I am linking it to mine. She is so creative she can turn anything that floats into a planter as you can see from her post. I just love visiting her pond because I never know what she has created that is going to surprise me. I got 4 large sheets of styrofoam pads from work. They are about 3 ft long by 1 1/2 ft wide. I am planning on connecting them together with computer cable ties. I am going to try to make a large floating impatiens, watercress island out of them by cutting holes in the pads and placing punctured styrofoam cups in the holes (hopefully this will make them koi proof), then placing impatiens and watercress bare root in the styrofoam cups. It may work unless my koi decide to tip it over. (They completely destroyed one floating basket of watercress in a day). I will post pics if it does work. I am just wondering if I should surround it by pond noodles to make it more stable. Only problem will be getting it in and out of the pond. My pond is in full sun and my fish have no shade other than the floating planters you see in the post here. As they are getting bigger their shade is getting smaller. Jenny Here is a link that might be useful: Nosambos floating watercress idea

Lovely pics. I am looking forward to my Gaillardia blooms next year. I was lucky enough to get it as a bonus in a trade and I am waiting for my Canna's. I think the daylily is either Abba, Burgundy Express or Bela Lugosi. These are the three deep burgundy daylilies with which I am familiar and there are subtle differences in the shade of the throat, the presence or not of a rufled edge, and fragrance. Take a look online and compare.

Yeah, I'm having fun with the photochops-- not a new program, but I've had a little more time to play. These were just a few little doodles that fell out of my warped mind and landed in my files. I know that there are still some folks waiting for the real butterflies to come back, so I figured I'd release a few "butterfaux" here to bring out a few smiles and make the wait a little more fun. I only hope I NEVER see anything like those "species" in my garden-- I have no idea of how I'd report them to the feds!

Thanks Panamajack! I live in NYC! Thanks Jim! I think we got our Saba's at about the same time and at the same size, but mine sounds like its a little smaller than yours (the soil here isnt as good as in the mid west and root space might have been a problem too). But its still grown a ton. The "trunk" on mine is about 4.5 feet and the tallest leaf is about 7 feet tall. I cant wait to see it this time next year! At this rate it will be probably 13 feet tall by next year! Thanks Protempsfish. The spindle is already barely fitting into the house. I have it in a room with a 10 foot ceiling and the top fronds are touching that. But I have another room with about a 20 foot celing. The lighting isnt perfect in there, but at least its high enough to keep the spindle palm doing well for several more years. Its a fast grower though! Thanks for looking everyone! -Alex