Its true! I finally got to speak to a Cornell fruit breeder earlier this week about the Pearl series woohoo like 2x espresso laced crack While taste is subjective I asked his personal opinion also any taste panels conclusions. He did specify that there is no such cherry as a "no crack cherry" only that oh so lucky weather to provide it. I guess they are being questioned on that particular point a bit windfall rob his very fave cherry had been the White Gold!! but now is Burgandy Pearl a compex little gem of luscious sweet tart & rich whopper flavor Ebony Pearl is really big & Black is reliable they are ALL improved in every way with regard to taste quality, crack tolerance & disease resistance. Better than the Gold series BUT its a matter of very good & exceptional ... that last sentence is the only one that I did not get from my scribbled notes.

Interesting subject. I have several old varieties of Rose of Sharon, a double white and a double blue...they are agressive in that they spread and have formed a hedge but I like that where they are. My newer varieties are not, Diana and a double pink, Lady something or the other. I do have a pink one that is a monster, cut it down with a chain saw and it still came back, finally poured diesel oil on top. I think it may be gone, but its seedlings keep popping up. I have Obedient Plant, but it is confined between the drive and a building in a narrow 18 inch wide bed. Then there is the lonicera purpurea, aka purple honeysuckle that I planted on the porch to vine up the railings....it has got to go! For one thing, it has maybe 10 tiny blooms that you can barely smell. I will just plant it in a fence row somewhere. It is covering the entire bed and trying to choke out the Jackmanii clematis. I will also move the more restrained red and gold honeysuckle....I have to keep it pruned so you can walk up the steps and that cuts back on the blossoms. I am going to put it on a trellis in full sun because the hummers love it. Lythrum I love and it certainly isn't even agressive here. I just have one plant of it; wish I had more. I had a Kolreuteria tree and loved it. Lost them due to an ice storm. They have little lanterns that contain the seeds. Lost the tree a few years ago but they are still coming up everywhere. I am actually letting some grow! I will live to regret it. But you get a nicely shaped 20 foot tree pretty quickly and we have lost so many so I succumbed to temptation. Cameron, if you are talking about eragrostis, I have it too and agree with you. It reseeds way too much for my taste. I have two by the front steps and they are going to be relocated out front.

Traci, please don't apologize...I know exactly how you feel. Though I'm mortified to post these, maybe seeing someone else who is going through the same thing will make you feel a little better! My house is a wreck from top to bottom and as if that weren't enough, we have to move everything around AGAIN for the flooring guys to do the bedrooms and family room this Tuesday! And did I mention that I got the bright idea to totally re-do the HUGE front flower bed so now that is a disaster too!!! I'm an idiot! We still have our toaster on the kitchen table in the family room because our electrician isn't able to come back until NEXT Saturday so I don't have plugs that work in there...UGH! The irony of this whole thing is that the one room that was completely gutted, the kitchen, is actually the most pulled together room in the house now! Go figure!!! Our LR & DR with the lovely *spikes of death* look in the ceiling where we took two walls down! The blue *I* picked...no comments please...I WILL make it work come he** or high water! Our daughter's room, she is driving home from college as we speak...with you guessed it...more STUFF! Our family room with a box of swiffers perched on the table...as though I'll be able to use those anytime soon...that's a laugh! ;) Don't you feel better now? LOL Hang in there...it will get better! I had to step away from the BS decision for a couple of months and it helped me find just what I wanted in the end, so don't worry, it will all work out! Kat :)

Here's a pic showing our faux rafter tails. Not the best pic, but you get the idea. I remember now why closed soffits are required in some areas- fire prevention. Almost all of the outside materials on our house are fire-resistant, offering some small comfort living in the woods during an extreme drought.