Hi everyone , Well this is turning out to be a can of worms. Not at all what I intended. But then worms are good for the garden. I wrote to Blueiris because I was concerned that the saturday dates for the swap that I suggested were not good for a number of participants(Lilacislove, Gardeng8 who travels so far to come and Luckynes) and Sunday dates are not good for me so I asked her if she would choose a date so that I could know if I could attend . If it turned out to be a Sunday , so be it . It just makes more sense for me to bow out so that three others can attend. I dont have a problem with that . It just means that I may have to pass on the swaps I have arranged as I dont know when/where I could get your plants to you. If we can work out something that's great otherwise I have to cancel the swaps I have made with you all . Blueiris has very kindly offered to pick up and take but it is so far out of her way that I just dont feel right doing that and if past experience has proven anything , I am working on swaps right up to and including the last minute of the day of the swap . I just want to say that I appreciate all the garden plants I have traded all of you in the past.They for the most part are growing merrily along and increasing as I write. I now am working on garden number 40. Who do I blame ? The fault belongs to all of you LOL! This has grown to be quite the event since I started it all some years ago . So when you choose a date please choose what really works for you all . If you think we can still work out swapping outside of this swap let me know . I was ssssssooooo close to having a dark purple lilac !!!!!!! I will check in some time later to see what everyone has decided on , in the meantime I am all about making a Ladybug cake for 30 people for my neice's first birthday right now . Ladybug , Ladybug fly away home ....UGH!!!really this is a horrible nursery rhyme! Signet

September 20 update: Currently enjoying a streak of sunny warm weather but I believe the average first killing-frost here is Sept. 19, so the garden is on borrowed time now. Alas, we had a punishing hailstorm on July 12 which beat the crap out of the peppers in the garden, thus ruining my experiment. However, it was clear by then that the pot of Charleston Hot on the deck was far outpacing the one in the garden. Then it hailed. The Charleston in the garden slowly recovered, but by mid-September had only set 3 very immature peppers. The Charleston on the deck however (which I whisked inside at 2 a.m during the hailstorm) were a completely different story. I'll let the photos below -- taken two days ago just before I picked all the red peppers from the plant -- speak for themselves. In the two days since picking the ripe peppers, I can see lots more now turning colour. The longer it remains frost-free, the happier I will be, but once the frosts begin I plan to keep these protected at night as long as I can, under the deck or in the garage. I turned all the first pickings into hot sauce, diluted with some Hungarian hot wax peppers, because the Charleston Hot really are brutally hot. The plants themselves usually looked sickly and pale, which I understand is typical for this variety. I managed to also save one pot of Hungarian hot wax peppers from the hail, which I then grew on our back deck for the rest of the summer so I could move it quickly if hail threatened again. Here's a pic of it from 2 weeks ago, after I had already picked some ripe peppers from the plant. The other pot of peppers I grew on the deck (Firecracker) is completely loaded with peppers (no photo). It has the odd habit of the peppers having no heat at all when very immature, but extremely fiery when red ripe, far hotter than a cayenne. I was kind of dismissing it as not being able to ripen in this climate, but over the past week or two I have picked lots of red-ripe peppers from it, though the vast majority are still green. Not sure yet whether it will go down as a "hit" or a "miss".

I still have quite a few daylilies blooming, but I haven't had time to post pics. I do keep up with the forum and have enjoyed all of your pics - thank you! Due to our long growing season, most of my daylilies rebloom, even if it's only one scape with just a few buds. But some of them have been exceptional this year. I will only list the ones that have been most impressive, reblooming more than twice. The longest blooming daylily in my garden is STELLA'S RUFFLED FINGERS. It started blooming this year on March 25 and it is still blooming. It has two more new rebloom scapes on it as I type this, so it will definitely be blooming into August. That's 5 months of blooms. I can't say enough good things about this daylily - not only is it a workhorse, it's also a fast multiplier, and rust resistant. If it were my favorite color (red), I think I'd dig up every daylily I own and replace it with this one. Here is a pic taken July 14, 2012 long after most daylilies have finished in my garden. Check out the leaves...still green when most of my daylily foliage is yellow and burnt. STELLA'S RUFFLED FINGERS - This next one was something of a surprise. I've had it several years and it has always had some rebloom (but nothing worth bragging about). Last year I moved it from a somewhat shady spot into a sunny bed. It is currently reblooming, but I've lost track of how many times. Each rebloom scape has been taller and has more buds than the last. EVENING ENCHANTMENT - The next one is one of my most reliable rebloomers. Although the color fades somewhat on these later blooms due to our high temps, I think it is still an attractive bloom. Here it is reblooming July 29, 2012 - EYE ON A STRING - Last year this next one put up rebloom scapes into Sept (very, very late for my garden). It is currently reblooming and I'm hoping for a repeat of last years performance. It is the pink one in the center (with 3 blooms) surrounded by seedlings. MISSOURI MEMORIES - Next is one of my oldest daylilies. It's a huge clump now, but I'm reluctant to divide it. A very reliable rebloomer, fast increaser, rust resistant double is BIG KISS - Some of my best rebloomers have already been mentioned, but I'd like to add them to my list: BUTTERED POPCORN ( but rusty and may have to go), DARK WONDER (rarely doubles, but I think I like it better as a single), INSIDER TRADING (very rust resistant and currently putting up more rebloom scapes), LITTLE MYSTIC MOON (my bud king this year), and last but not least, SPIDER MAN (my personal favorite). Kathy

Dee: I leave them out all winter. Granted, we don't usually get large amounts of snow here - just lots of ice since we hover around the rain/snow line. These rubber treads are not at all slick. The pattern is like a web with holes in it for the ice to settle in. I'll occasionally lift them to shake off the ice, although sometimes the ice is too thick to to move them. I tend not to use those granite steps when it's too icy anyway; I have an alternate route down the bluestone paver path (which has different problems). I have to shovel these anyway to feed the birds so I don't always bother to shovel the path away from the granite steps. The rubber treads are best on my wooden porch steps which are partly sheltered and essential for my getting out and in. Claire