Wow, Lucy, what a healthy looking Hibiscus and it's been like that all winter? And that pink really shows up against that dark foliage. Very pretty. Mine look like sticks, but they are waking up and have new growth. You all, I went shopping(online)with Lucy last night and she ordered some gorgeous hibiscus. We had such fun looking at the pics of amazing blooms and trying to chose which ones to order. We are in for a treat this season when she starts taking pics of those beauties. And you ordered 5 more Lucy? I see a tropical paradise forming in your yard. ;o) Denise, congrats on the new job. I couldn't make any money working there, But I would have the nicest looking yard in the city. ROFL But seriously, what a great job getting paid to work with the things we all love, plants. And since it's just down the street, you won't have far to lug those big ones home. lol Wishing everyone lots of good luck on this Friday. Deb

Hope you get rain soon - I don't know what official was since it lasted past midnight (I think) and my rain gauge was cracked, but Weather Underground station near us recorded 0.18", TWC says 0.28. Guess I'll have to get the wheelbarrow on level ground and measure how much was in that (DH leaves it upright - drives me crazy but I don't always catch it and til it over before a storm). I'm using a double layer (uncut bags) of burlap covered with bark mulch, hay, whatever I can get my hands on, between rows near the house. Out in the 3000sf area with raised beds that we just fenced, I started putting wood chips but only got about 1 cy and the weeds are growing up through it even though I put it on about 3" thick at the end where the weeds were the worst. I didn't pull them, just tried to smother them - didn't work. We have something really tenacious that even started growing (weak and spindly-looking like bean sprouts) under the burlap on the beds, but practically have to dig *those* out, stems just break when you pull. I haven't been out there to check potatoes and onions, but the greens, strawberries, peas, blueberries near the house look fine, not flattened, no berries knocked off. Looks like a deer nipped off a couple of shoots of 1 of my raspberries though - spit 1 out but I didn't find the other. Guess I have to fence/net off those 2 rows while they're growing. I hope they won't bother them once they're tougher and spinier - though I don't know about the TC blackberries since those are thornless. I don't really want to have to fence off the whole area since we have grass/weeds growing between the mounded rows (24 ft long), just the width of the lawnmower. But if I have to I'll put burlap and mulch down there too, try to smother everything (after mowing first!). And make a gate at 1 end between the 2 rows (was going to add a 3rd eventually) so we can get in. I hope a 6-7ft wide x 25 long area sloping downhill (rows run across the slope) doesn't need to be fenced 7ft high to keep the deer out. That's why I haven't left my tomato plants out at night - take them into garage - the wildlife around here is so bold, the motion sensor light doesn't deter the bear getting into garbage right outside garage, and the deer and turkeys will come right up to the house at night, and into the backyard during the day. Found deer prints going over my potato bed (1ft high) and a couple of seed potatoes pulled out of the ground before we put the fence up. Of course, down there (1000ft from house) it's like a deer/turkey/bear/coyote superhighway, from all the tracks we find.

VALENTINE'S PLANT LIST GAME CONTEST WINNERS!!! well guys, we had three entries, from Jess, Vina, and Sue. Sue wins by sheer volume and patience with 624 names!!!!! Jess won most creative-- i loved your explanations. Vina came in with 215 names, still quite respectable, so you're getting a prize too LOL. those of you who are getting to know me know that i am scatterbrained, so please send me your address even if i already should have it. the lists are both really long, so here's some highlights. if anyone wants the epic plants o' love lists, let me know and i'll email them to you! these are the first 50 from Sue's list: African Daisy �" Change of Heart 2 African Daisy �" Change of Heart 3 African Violet �" Country Romance 4 African Violet �" Emerald Love 5 African Violet �" High School Sweetheart 6 African Violet �" Love in Bloom 7 African Violet �" Makin Romance 8 African Violet �" Sheer Romance 9 African Violet �" Yesterday's Love 10 African Violet �" Yesterday's Valentine 11 Amaryllis �" First Love 12 Amaryllis �" Romance 13 Angel's Trumpet �" Sweetheart 14 Asiatic Lily �" Endless Love 15 Asiatic Lily �" Forever Susan 16 Beet �" Red Heart 17 Bell Pepper �" Bell Chocolate 18 Bell Pepper �" Chocolate Beauty 19 Bell Pepper �" Miniature Chocolate Pepper 20 Bell Pepper �" Sweet Chocolate 21 Bishop's Mitre �" Sweetheart 22 Bleeding Heart �" Buring Hearts 23 Bleeding Heart �" Candy Hearts 24 Bleeding Heart �" Gold Heart 25 Bleeding Heart �" King Of Hearts 26 Border Bearded Iris �" Romantic Interlude 27 Broccoli �" Heart 28 Calla Lily �" Captain Romance 29 Canna Lily �" Beloved 30 Canna Lily �" Cupid 31 Canna Lily �" Romance 32 Canna Lily �" Valentine 33 Cantaloupe �" Spring Love 34 Cantaloupe �" Summer Love 35 Cape Primrose �" Victorian Valentine 36 Carnation �" True Love 37 Chinese Radish �" Rose Heart 38 Chocolate Lily 39 Chocolate Mint �" Peppermint Chocolate 40 Chocolate Vine 41 Christmas Rose �" Valentine Green 42 Climbing Rose �" Chocolate Sundae 43 Climbing Rose �" Valentine's Day 44 Coleus �" Chocolate Drop 45 Coleus Painted Nettle �" Dark Heart 46 Columbine �" Chocolate Soldier 47 Common Sugarbush �" Valentine 48 Coneflower �" Secret Romance 49 Coral Bells �" Chocolate Ruffles 50 Crepe Myrtle �" White Chocolate these are from Vina's: 51.Iris: Candy Dancer 52.Iris: Chocolate Swirl 53.Iris: Little Dream 54.Iris: Aphrodisiac 55.Iris: Black Diamond 56.Iris: Butterscotch Bronze 57.Iris: Chain O' Gold 58.Iris: Chocoleto' 59.Iris: Dream Time 60.Iris: Fairy Rose 61.Iris: Jewel Tone 62.Iris: Love Story 63.Iris: My Girl 64.Iris: Pink Plume 65.Iris: Play With Fire 66.Iris: Rose Caprice 67.Iris: Silk Romance 68.Iris: Sweet Musette 69.Iris: Thai Silk 70.Iris: Tuxedo 71.Iris: Wish Upon A Star 72.Iris: Ever So Lovely 73.Iris: Passion and Purity 74.Iris: Crinkled Gem 75.Iris: Cutie 76.Iris: Bye Bye Love 77.Iris: Orange Passion 78.Iris: Windsor Rose 79.Iris: Cherub's Smile 80.Iris: No Other Love 81.Iris: Blushing Kiss 82.Iris: Goodnight Kiss 83.Iris: Sambuca Rose 84.Iris: Cocoa Pink 85.Iris: Kissed By The Sun 86.Iris: Young Heart 87.Daylily: A Kiss For Kathy 88.Daylily: A La Mode 89.Daylily: A Midsummer Night's Dream 90.Daylily: Abigale My Love 91.Daylily: All Of My Love To You 92.Daylily: Always My Love 93.Daylily: Angel Kissed 94.Daylily: Be My Love 95.Daylily: Candy From Heaven 96.Daylily: Candy Heart 97.Daylily: Candy Kisses 98.Daylily: Candy Gram 99.Daylily: Candy Lovers 100.Daylily: Your Embrace and here's jess' list in it's entirety 'cause it's cute :) Cupid- Cupid's dart Cute pet names for your Valentine: teddy bear sunflower Honeycrisp apple Tenderette snap bean Don Juan climbing rose- I think he was a romancer. sugar baby watermelon honeysuckle sugarpearls apricot Sweet Stuff sweet pepper Big boy tomato Better Boy tomato Beefsteak Tomato- I could go on... candy: strawberry candy daylily Chocolate: Chocolate bell pepper Chocolate striped tomato Chocolate cosmos Hearts: Hearts of gold Hosta bleeding hearts (poor lonely people!) chocolate mint chocolate scented geranium Love: Love in a puff lovage- an herb Star struck dahlia Kiss: Kiss me over the garden gate baby kisses rose tulips- you need two lips to kiss! Sensual/sexy named plants: sensual sundance daylily Lakeside black satin hosta Betty Boop rose- a sex symbol of sorts... peter pepper (not a pepper to show your mother in law!) Lion's tail flower ( from a distance look like a spikey ball of tubular orange flowers, up close it resembles something else more closely than a lion's tail...) While we're on the subject; Canna, if you don't get this reference look up the painting Red Canna by Georgia O'Keefe. Early and Often sweet corn- I am not kidding, that is a real name of a real variety of sweet corn After Valentine's day: Fenugreek (an herb to increase new mother's milk supply) baby's breath baby's toes bleeding hearts (not all love was meant to be...) fern leaf bleading hearts (not all love was meant to be even in the shade) Misc. related to valentine's forget me not- message of many roses carnations baby's breath gardenias Calirohoe- little wine cups- I can't imagine Valentine's day without a little cup of wine Stilleto hosta- Valentine's attire Black pearl ornamental pepper- gems are always a welcome Valentine's gift Fairy tale eggplant- at least that is what my marriage seems like :) Black magic rose Double Delight rose Fantasy perila Pandora's box hosta or daylily (love can sometimes be one of these!) All things we grow in Love- consider it the Valentine's Day everyday list- Blondkompchen tomato- translates little blonde girl- This is where my husband says he gets all my presents "It wasn't me, it was the little blonde girl!" Arbicola (sp) house plant- this is the plant I was buying when I first saw and fell in love with my husband (All at a greenhouse where he would get me a job after never knowing my name, speaking to me, or even checking my application. He would be my boss in less than two weeks, and my life long soul mate in less than that.) The Joker Sunflower- The flower I planted 5 days after I gave birth to our first child, a vibrant boy who at 4 loves to make people laugh and loves to laugh Giant Marconi peppers- where we found our 6 month old when he slid out of his stroller parked in the garden while we picked. He had crawled under the massive plants and picked himself the biggest reddest pepper on the vine. Having no teeth, he was content gumming the pepper into a red ooze that ran all down his chin. At three he still loves these peppers and I will plant them forever just for him. 4 o'clocks- my tribute and memorial to my mother Scarlet Christmas Cactus- the last standing of dozens of my mother's personal collection of houseplants. In the first 6 months after her passing I killed (me, with the greenest of thumbs usually)every single one but it. Three years now it has held on and just finished blooming this year. "Goldie" the golden pothos- This was the first plant my husband ever owned. He lived in NV, and has reverently cared for it and carried it everywhere he has lived since. It is over 15 years old now.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, I transplanted on May 8th. Our growing season is extremely long (like 8-9 months!) We had a heat wave the week before, and the week after I transplanted, where temps were in the mid 90's and reached 103 for a couple days during each week. Since then, it has cooled off. I am in East LA/San Gabriel Valley, which is about 7 miles south of the foothills and at least 30 miles from the coast. Temps here are 2-3 degrees warmer than Los Angeles. According to accuweather.com, the observed weather temps for June have been on average in the low 80's with the high at 86 and the low at 77. Those are daytime temps. Night temps have been around 60. Humidity has been unusually high between 60%-80%. I checked my tomatoes this morning and found a 2nd one growing. It's only about the size of a small cherry though. I checked the flowers around the 1st tomato at the bottom of the plant I can see what looks like a tiny tiny tomato in the center of the petals but it must be like 4 weeks behind.