Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all !! Thanks to anyone that shared a bit of their garden with me this past year...I have learned sooo much and cant wait to get wintersowing !!!!! Angie..thanks for the great card ! Bea...I heard from wenders !! I sent her a card, and heard back from her... Enjoy your holiday !

BrunildaFl Thanks for your reply and kind offer. I read your Trade list and will think about Desert Rose or a lily. I live in a very windy place, especially in the spring when I would be planting, so it would probably have to be a plant rather than seed. Also, would have to be ok in a relatively desert environment. Will follow up in spring when the plants are bigger and can let you know what I have. Joanne

You are doing everything right! All plants are happy to get a bit of fertilizer, organic or otherwise. In my (only in pots)experience, some do get a second flush of smaller leaves after the first eyes unfurl, and some just put up those initial leaves, then flower and don't make any more new leaves. On some, I might get a few smaller eyes emerge, but no bigger leaves. BUT I am getting roots growing out of the bottoms of some pots so I know they aren't just sitting there. -Babka

Momcat--give them some comfortable chairs and a table,some form of lighting (lantern, candles, SOMETHING)so they can play cards, a cooler of soda, and a couple of mosquito coils and you won't see them until they get hungry. Add a fire pit/bowl of some sort and you won't see them most of the fall, either! Trust me on this one.... I'm planning on getting rid of the rusting metal Sears shed at the bottom of our property. Whether DH wants me to or NOT. It'll just be GONE one day when he gets home from one of those business trips of his. (He keeps saying we can't get rid of it until we can afford to replace it. The ONLY thing in there we NEED to keep/store is the lawn mower. I'll find it a home...) The ancient, decrepit swingset is going to. A-1 Haulers is gonna LOVE me! Once that is gone, I plan to address the "wild side of my yard. Nothing TOO drastic..just eliminate the privet, clear ouyt someof the scrubby gum trees, open it up a bit. Plant more ferns... And I'm going to re-do the beds in my front garden. I've decided the sick ornamental plum must join it's deceased cousin the prunus mume in tree-heaven. I'm pretty certain I'll be taking the rose-glow barberry out. I HATE that prickery bush! And I may remove the spirea 'Goldmound'. Once I pull that barberry out I'm not certain how the spirea will look. This is garden DEstruction, if you will. I'm finally remving the remnants of a garden planted before we bought our house. It was designed by a local designer--but hte folks wanted "instant garden" and many of hte trees/shrubs are just too big for the space now... OF course, it MAY have to wait until summer. I'll be working major hours at the nurery this spring. Gives me first crack at the plants, though! melanie