Thanks Nate! Windhaven, Cedrus deodara is generally hardy to about 8-12 degrees. Some are a little more so, others a bit less. We rarely see temps below 20 degrees here in Winter and never below 0(farinheit), so it probably has very little chance in zone 5. It is indeed grafted on standard which is helping it shape up better. The purple plant is a purple flowering heather. Not sure of their hardiness, but they are wonderful companion plants to conifers and come in a huge variety of colors. Thank you Edwin for the confirmation/correct and though I will need to double-check I believe all four seedlings I am growing from Jason are original plants. -Will

I just downloaded and uploaded photos for the 1st time in 2 weeks. I doubt I'll get the June thread up tonight - since I want to finish dealing with my photos. But I'll have it up some time tomorow. prairiemoon - I usually buy my clematis from the Middlesex Conservation District. They have a spring plant sale every year. That is where I got Carnaby this year. I'm starting lunaria from seed since I only had 1 little plant - which I stole from somewhere. And I don't have enough patience to wait for it to reseed itself! claire - your comment about Siberian Iris being a weed got me thinking about mine. I've been putting them around the pond. These are the siberian irises I've transplanted - the 3 photos are 1 year old plants, 2 year old plants and 3 year old plants. terrene - what an amazing path of digitalis. I see lots of blossoms forming, but no blooms yet.

You can't go wrong with a 7-layer salad. I make mine a little different, but no matter what, it just gets better the longer it sits. It's great for picnics or cookouts because it doesn't last long enough for the mayo to go bad! Jasdip, that glaze sounds delicious! Have any of you ever made gazpacho? I've wanted to try it so this may be the summer to do so. I found this recipe, but if you have one you really like, I'd appreciate it if you could post it. GAZPACHO 1 red pepper, diced 1 green pepper, diced 3 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced 1/2 red onion, diced 4 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp apple vinegar 7 leaves fresh basil 1 cup minced cucumber 1 clove garlic 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce 1/4 tsp cumin 1 pinch salt 1/2 cup cold water For garnish: diced avocado, fresh basil leaves, radishes, parmigiano reggiano. Put aside 2 Tbsp diced red pepper, 2 Tbsp diced green pepper, 2 Tbsp diced tomato and 1 Tbsp red onion. Put the rest of the ingredients in a blender and mix them for about 10 seconds. Transfer the mixed ingredients in a soup bowl and add the chopped pepper, tomato and onion that you set aside. Give it a stir and put the covered bowl in the fridge for a few hours. The longer the soup stays in the fridge, the more the aromas blend. Serve in glasses or bowls, garnished with the diced avocado, fresh basil, radishes and parmigiano. Serves 4-6

oh lets get decadent! Bananas Foster Tart . 1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust 2/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 Medium Bananas, sliced 1/4 Cup whipping cream 4 1/2 tsp. light rum ** 1/4 Cup Butter or margarine 2 tsp. grated orange peel 1/2 tsp. Vanilla 2/3 Cup chopped Pecans Vanilla Ice Cream, if desired Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pie crust as directed on package for one-crust baked shell using a 9" pie pan. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine bananas and rum, toss to coat. Sprinkle orange peel evenly in bottom of baked crust. Arrange bananas in single layer over peel and sprinkle with pecans. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, whipping cream and butter. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil. Cook an additional 2 to 4 minutes or until the mixture is thickened and a deep golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in vanilla. Spoon warm filling over bananas and pecans. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool with ice cream.. Store in refrigerator. **To substitute for rum, combine 1/2 tsp. rum extract with 4 tsp. water