Well, that rabbit or his/her relatives did not behave. They hit the gazania plants again, just as they where full of buds. Seems that gazania is #1 on the list of rabbit food in the flower beds. Now the chipmunks and groundhogs are not particular, the first thing the find goes down the throat. BUT They do not like marigolds, and will not go near plants that have marigolds beside them or around them. So next years plan is 100's of marigold plants used as an edging all around the beds, sort of like a fence of marigolds. At least it's worth a try to keep the 4 legged critters away. Angie, Paula, I should have plenty of seeds of the easter egg plant. In the fall the white easter eggs start to turn yellow and when they are bright, bright yellow, they are ripe. Then I pick them off, but them in half, then each half in quarters and let them dry to get the seeds for next year. The fun look is that you have various colors on the plant as the "eggs" start to ripen ranging from pure white to starting to turn yellow to bright bright yellow. Oh, when you feel the "egg" it feels like a real egg as well, feels like an eggshell on the outside. The irony, to me, is it starts out looking like a real white egg, feels like a real white egg and when ripe, turns to the the color of the bright yellow yolk of a real egg. I've seen various information on them with google searches that say they are just ornamental and that they can be eaten. I've just decided to leave it as a conversation piece of plant growing in pots in the garden, since I haven't been able to get a clear answer as to whether they are safe to eat. Paula, I should have plenty of seeds from the cosmos candy stripe for trade, the seeds are just beginning to ripen now. Will be posting in mid Sept for trades Mnswgal, i planted the zinnia "Old Mexico" in HOS of about 10 seedlings at a time. All the seeds where from a burpee commercial pack of zinnia old mexico seeds purchased at K-mart. They had all their seeds from the time they came in to the store through the late spring at 40% off. Did get several packets of seeds there of burpee and martha stewart brand. Anyways, they where all sown at the same time in 3 different containers and believe it or not, they bloomed with 3 different types of blooms. the one above and these 2 blooms this big clump of old mexico that is blooming as it it supposed to look except for one bloom if you look carefully on the right of the pick, there is an old paler flower in the middle of the clump and this bloom of a clump that bloomed totally different from what it was supposed to also, but I do like this one as well and the entire clump is like this The dwarf balloon flower grows about 8 inches tall. I'll have tons of seeds of them once the pods ripen, but it takes forever for them to do so. At least another month before I have ripe seeds for trades, but will have them Thanks Karen Fran

Here's a few of my yard this week The grass bed, a little droopy after a shower The rock garden isn't looking very rockish. The two big grasses are Calamagrostis Eldorado and the smaller ones are Koeleria glauca Floppy fleabane I added Blue Oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) to this area I moved these established Rosy Veil baby's breath to this area last year and they didn't miss a beat Lots going on in this bed

I'll try and answer a few questions that came up. kathi, my brother owns a greenhouse and nursery. I work for him until the snow melts and the ground thaws out so that I can start landscaping. Pattico, years ago most greenhouses started their own plants from seed. Now, that has become a very specialized industry. They're called plugs. Plugs can be produced in mass quanties cheaper than Joel could start them himself. Of course then you're limited to what's offered. There are some varities that can't be found in plugs so he still starts a few things from seed. The plugs transplant much faster than seedlings. In a few weeks I'll try to show you some pictures that illustrate the difference. lynnd, yes, the heliotopes are very fragrant. My sense of smell is not very good and even I can smell them. And I'll get more pictures of Blossom for the next installment. Ron

So sweet! I love the side by side!! It's funny how you can see Grant's face now in that baby pic! Steph-you have to watch out for the little girls. Katie is pretty thin too (15% for weight) but tall. She was able to do everything faster, since she didn't have all that chub slowing her down! She was rolling, crawling and walking faster. Plus Camryn will have Grant to show her the ropes!