Shadow, Thank-you for all of your kind words. I just wanted to let you know that (as I understand it) the Hollingworth's aren't going to have a catalog this year. Ensata is introducing one SIB (this year) for Bob and according to their catalog: "...we are starting to carry the Siberian iris of hybridizer Bob Hollingworth. Bob has decided to retire to just hybridizing Siberian iris almost full time and also quit making Judy dig and wash and ship HIS iris plants!" So, you can still add their future intros to your garden, but it sounds like they won't be selling their own plants. I bet I know the sold out variety you're talking about, because I wanted it too, but I guess I won't mention the name here so you'll have a better chance of getting it sooner than later. :) Not to push a point too far, but don't forget you could see their intros, all their seedlings, and wander the fields yourself on June 6 (when they'll have open gardens and JT). nudge, nudge... lol Carlos, Thank-you for your kind words as well. You must have been wandering (which I whole-heartedly support) to find those BB photos and you don't know how happy I am to hear that I can help convince anyone to buy more iris. :) Brock

Here's a few shots I took this morning. Don't get your hopes up; nothing's really getting started much yet: Golden Rose of China- bought these as literal 'sticks' on eBay 3 years ago, and this is their first year blooming...what a 1st year show! They are about 3'h x 2': This is the row of them. Planted to hide the roof of the building in front of us (our house is to the right up the hill.) Some of the bushes had to be replaced after getting mowed down, so they are only 2nd year 'sticks.' A little container of Persian Shield that I decided to try this year. Don't mind the duct tape over the hole in the planter... Iberis- Perennial Candytuft. This is it's um...4th season, I think. Bought as a little pint-container plant. DS picked this one out. It's about 2' x 8" high. The hosta bed...looking a little better with a few new additions this year. New additions for the hosta bed later today: Heuchera Marmalade and H. Fragrant Bouquet I think I might actually get poppies!!!! Finally got this bed all weeded, and there's really poppies in there! How exciting! (Raised bed because the leach field is under this area) Thai Silk Poppies in two of these barrels. Positioned in the traditional 'guarding the driveway' spots: Wintersown Cosmos, snapdragons & Zinnias with a couple purchased violas And the smaller bed that abutts it (new daylily bed down on the front): A slow-getting-started Pork-Chop Bed: And a small bed that surrounds the inlet to the culvert under the driveway. Transplanted paperwhites that I found behind my mother's barn...first year to bloom, and a couple of cranesbills, iris, and looks like too much grass....

Peggy, I googled name gifs, and got some, but not a lot of them had Peg or Peggy, for some reason. So I went to Gifworks.com and made this one for you. You have to import a picture and then add the text. After you have your image made, save it to someplace on your computer. Then go to tinypics.com, follow the directions there,and you can post the picture here. Or, if in email, just use the insert key to put it in your message.

Do not add purple to that room. That would not make any sense. You already have your color palette established. Adding random colors should not be the goal. What you need to do is stick with the palette you already have. Color is not your problem. You need LAYERS. You need to build up that space so it's not so flat and one dimensional. You need an area rug. You need to upgrade the throw pillows. You're trying too hard to match the pillows to that piece of art work. Yes, keep the colors in the same family, but focus more on texture and then add pattern. All solid color pillows are too boring and flat. Then you need to pull that sectional away from the corner. Do not stick furniture in corners, that will never look good. Pull it into the center of the room and reconfigure it so that it is looking at whatever the focal wall is in the space. Without being able to see the entire space, maybe turn the couch so that it is looking at that blank wall that the long part of the couch is backed up onto now for example. in other words, get the couch into the center of the space on a large area rug however that fits best. Then get a console table to put behind the long part of the sectional with a large piece of modern sculpture art on it to go with your modern wall art.