thanks for all the compliments! I don't have anyone other than my DH that I can get critiques from and "oh, that's cool!" is not very constructive..grins. Kim: I forgot to add a drainage hole to this planter so will just use a pot to put inside it. I think I will use a small pot cause I like the inside color too! I am too chicken to try and drill a hole now. Power tools don't always agree with me...another story. Laurie

Love the saying! And, I must also say "I love Wyatt!" IMO, Cats, dogs, and I even saw someone with a pet bunny ARE the most wonderful garden decor!" Jeanette from Mississippi my favorite quotes(not gardening, though...): "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~ Immanual Kant "The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals" ~ Anonymous "Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!" ~ Theophile

I winter sowed all I had, and have never tried them before from seed. Only one yellow I had collected from my own plant, and just wanted to see if the seeds would germinate. I'm grateful for the other columbine thread where we were cautioned they may take a very long time so I won't get impatient and throw them out too soon, will have to water them once the tops come open, probably shouldn't let them dry out if it doesn't rain. Those lovely red ones (Swallowtail) were so different, not sure what red you're talking about, but they were only 10 seeds/pkt, and I passed them up, have been extravagant enough as it is. Now if I have good fortune, I will have several varieties of columbines and am not keen on them crossing, would welcome it for some. But you never know. I don't know how much of a tendency they have to cross or revert. One of my yellows, not the whole plant, just one part, had some red in it, every year, didn't care for it. If say my Nora Barlows cross with Blue Star or some odd kind I got, I would probably save seeds but don't know if they would stay true to form or not. I don't even know if they do cross if too different.

And so do I! I planted sunflowers for the first time this past spring. I just bought seed packets everywhere I saw them , so had sunflowers from 12" to 12', lemon, orange, red, and even a couple of black ones! They made the side yard look so bright and cheerful, I'm going to do it again in 2015! I just need to find a way to keep the seedheads on the stalks till the birds have had their fill - I ended up cutting some and putting just the heads on a privet hedge next to my driveway. The cardinals went crazy for them - I LOVE SUNFLOWERS!!!