Shamefully, Christin, I find myself returning to the apocalypse you call a garden, in order to reassure myself that January ALWAYS looks like this - wet, dreary, cold, unwelcoming and as far as possible from the lush summer garden. Having spent a dispiriting time shivering at the allotment, where I forced myself to concentrate on one tiny job because the big picture was horrifying (pruning the blackcurrants and apple cordons), it is always comforting to share the misery.....although, it is only January and I am having little shivers of anxiety that this year, it will all finally prove too much. Require some stiff motivation to actually get down and dirty amongst the mud and weeds. We (in east anglia) are also classed as semi-arid although it feels as though the entire UK is drowning, grey and by the time I have had the 13th cup of tea and dragged my pyjamas off, it feels like there are only 20 minutes of light left! Those hardy Alaskans, Canadians, New Englanders are obviously made of sterner stuff than this wimpy fair-weather gardener.

I grew my Gaura from seed so it's just the plain Gaura. I have it in a pretty root congested front border (I water pretty regularly in our hot summers),but because of all the other plants there is seldom any excess moisture that accumulates. The fact that it grows with all this root competition impresses me. I cut mine back after it's first bloom cycle in mid summer or so and it flowers again in late fall for me. This might not work however for those of you in a more northerly climate where summers are much shorter. I've also tried the pink Siskiyou but it kept reverting to the species so I pulled it. I want to try the Crimson Butterflies this year. There are many varieties to try if you get hooked. Here is a link that might be useful: Gaura Varieties

The problem, from what I've read, is that people found a love for austrian pine and everyone and their brother planted them. They became popular screen trees, windbreaks, and specimen trees. Then you add in the cultivars and dwarfs, and the appeal grew even more. With this many of one species, when a pest or disease comes around, it multiplies rapidly, and doesn't have far to go to find the next host plant. The same thing happened with dutch elm disease; so many elms were planted as street trees, that they were everywhere. Dutch elm strikes, and poof, all of them are gone. The same thing is apparently happening to austrian pines now. Like I said, I have 2 in my yard, but as far as I know, I'm the only one in the area with them, so I'll hope for the best. I suspect that arborvitae, with their massive overuse these days, will someday be the next species to get ravaged by pests and disease. Joe

Loss of Red bud/ last year i purchase a beautiful tree. It had slight damage about a foot up the trunk, when i bought it. It grew beautifully and displayed flowerd in the spring that were beautiful. I was delighted as it was thr memorail tree i purchaed to remember my sister who died last year. A few weeks ago, with just a slight wind, the tree was felled. It was so upsetting to see that beautiful tree on the ground, with it’s heart shaped flowers acting as if nothing happened. They did not shrivel up even three days later. I tried in vain to figure out how to raise the tree and tape or somehow attach the trunk back. In the end i had no choice but ti cut the tree below the damaged trunk. It is now growing little branches, one week later. Will this grow into tree or a bush? Does anyone know how i would care for this tree? I would like to save it.