Hi everyone! 5 years later and soooooo much more experienced...well somewhat. My update: Have planted a 3-in-1 apple grouping; Dorsett Golden (mostly because it's a good pollinizer), Gold Rush, and William's Pride. In five seasons, these trees have grown very well and the Dorsett Golden has been most productive -- but also boring. Gold Rush on the other hand, is a most spectacular apple! It is so hard to wait until October to harvest it, but well worth the wait. It is dense and crispy with a unique flavor, the finest I have ever tasted. I suppose if I went to Whole Foods, I'd never find a Gold Rush apple for sale among their heirlooms; GR is small, tends to have that brownish scabbing on the shoulders, doesn't look impressive at all. They only sell perfect-looking produce at WF and other organic, premium type supermarkets. Their loss...but that's why we grow our own fruits, so we can experience what retailers don't know for sensational taste. The William's Pride produces great, early apples; in fact, I get 2 or 3 smallish harvests per year now. WP is like a much-improved Red Delicious, with that similar sweet, perfumey scent and deep purple/red color. Like the GR apple, however, WP is crisp, never mealy. Too bad it's not a very productive tree overall, but still it's worth the garden space. "They" said I needed low chill apple varieties in Orange County.. "they" were dead wrong. If I could have proven "them" wrong with more varieties in my small, humble yard, you bet I would have by now! But since I have had such unprecedented success with my two "HIGH CHILL" apple trees, I would encourage anyone in my zone (or even warmer) to try ANY apple variety you think you'd like... I have a strong gut feeling you will be eating some pretty amazing apples in a season or two. Oh, and as a West Coast gardener, you will enjoy the fact that those apple moth pests are absent. At least, I haven't yet seen any of the typical apple tree pests and diseases I'd been warned about. So far, I have not had to spray anything on my apple trees. I'm a lazy organic gardener, so all I do is spread compost and a little fertilizer at the base every spring. This county must be heaven on earth for apple growing. So thanks for all the advice, garden forum people.

I see that some people in this thread mentioned using Pentas for a Cottagey feel in a Florida garden, but I think one key to getting Pentas to work is to get the non-dwarfed varieties. As England's Alan Titchmarsh mentioned in one of his specials, "A Cottage Garden should be billowing, blousy and a bubbling froth of flowers." You don't get this from the dwarfed varieties foud in the big box stores. You need the 3-4 ft vaieties which I mostly see at plant fairs and sales. The Lake County demonstration gardens, Discovery Gardens, has an example Cottage Garden section. I will have to swing down there again for some pictures and names, but the stuff they had planted you just don't find at your average nursery, much less the big box stores.

Just an update on Bella Anna... You can still find a few nurseries carrying these as growers still seem to be producing them. And, the product still has its own page hidden on ES's website. But, the product is no longer shown alongside its ES brethren or acknowledged in its product listing. So I guess we can assume it's getting the axe, a.k.a. dropped from the product line. Personal observations over the last 3+ years are that: 1. The plant does not grow as fast as Annabelle. New shoots from the ground are several inches shorter. 2. The blooms are not quite as large (overall) as Annabelle. 3. Old wood stems are not much sturdier than new wood. Old wood with new shoots will fall to the ground under the weight of the new shoots (minus blooms). 4. New shoots coming from old wood will randomly die off throughout the growing season. 5. Nursery specimens have looked leggy and disheveled, which doesn't make the consumer want to buy it. Dr. Mike Dirr's commented in his recent paper about breeding, selection and marketing simply that is has "stems that do not support the inflorescences." My conclusion is that what the folks at ES probably agreed on: There really is no pink Annabelle.

Thanks you guys! We're doing well. Always busy, and always something going on. I'm still employed by a large company during a 5500 cutback. In fact, busier than ever. When I hear about all these companies cutting back, I count my blessings that I have a great job with good benefits. We have a Plan B for when the time comes, and I'm glad it doesn't have to be in the forefront of my mind. DH is almost a second year resident. He is finishing his intern year by spending a rotation with his dad. It has been a great month for both of them to spend time together. DH has a bedside manner very similar to his father's, and I'm glad that he's had the opportunity to spend more time watching him practice medicine. They are both wonderful, caring physicians, and I'm glad they are both a part of my life. In July, DH starts concentrating on neurology, and he's very excited to spend time learning more about his favorite area of medicine. Three more years to go until private practice. Jacob is five and a half, and has graduated from pre-K. He's spending the summer at a day camp, and has aged 2 years in the past 2 weeks. I think it's because he is surrounded by older kids. He's maturing, and I love watching him grow into a school aged kid now. I love the things that excite him and watching him interact with Tyler. He's always had some reflux problems, and they've been escalating lately (vomiting, breathing problems, and lots of pain). We are scheduled for an endoscopy soon, and hopefully we'll get some answers and a long term plan. He's a very, very smart kid, and always keeps me busy with questions and finding the answers. His recent interest is the weather, and each night we watch the radar, look at patterns, and discuss the conditions for a proper tornado. He starts kindergarten in the fall, and we are all very excited. Tyler just turned three, and has started outgrowing the baby feel that he's carried around for a while. Tyler is on the small side and his speech is slightly delayed, but a perfectly healthy three year old. He's cute as a button, but still felt baby-ish. Not that I mind; he's fun to snuggle with. With some speech therapy, he has blossomed. He is more intelligible, and now we are working on some language comprehension. Potty training is on the back burner, as I refuse to make it a battle. Potties and underwear are plentiful in our house when he decides to no longer use his pants :) He's adventurous and loves imitating his big brother. We've spent the summer going to the pool, participating in summer reading at the library, and taking day trips to smaller Indiana towns. We had planned to go to Destin, FL in July, but those plans are on hold pending the oil spill migration to that area. We'll either make last minute reservations or we'll head north to Lake Michigan. Sorry for the novel, but I thought an update was in order :) Thanks for the birthday wishes!