Oh, wow...what are we going to do here in the party room if everyone is taking a break? Does that mean I'll have to take a couple of days off to do....to do.....(I can say it, I know I can say it...) h-h-h-housework? I did get another whole yard of cow poop today, and a yard of bark mulch, and I (we...Mr. H helped) got the final bed built. And I got 2x10s for it! Woo-Hoo!!! And the Mr. said "Too bad we didn't get them all like that." HAH! We might make a convert out of him yet! Anyway, I also found the boards to use for cross bars on the raspberry bed, so I must get those cut and screwed on. And then all the new stuff needs to be painted, because that's just the way I am :-) I am having an entire dinner from my garden tonight, except for the olive oil, salt & pepper! Mr. H had a couple of grilled brats with his, but all I ate were baby beets (my first of the year, sweet as sugar), beet greens and chopped onion sauteed in olive oil, steamed green beans and crookneck squash and cherry tomatoes. Oh, Mr. H also had sliced cukes...I just do not like them. Mr. Poopyhead and Angela, hurry back, OK? Granny Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

I got a beautiful large clivia at the Fall ETPS. It looked like a specimen they would have used in a catalog or something. Not a single blemish, and even the roots had been dug so that they were in pretty much ideal condition. It's my first clivia and so far is doing very well. It's put out quite a few new leaves. I haven't killed it yet!!! So far as small evergreen shrubs, I've been working on a list of ones hardy in this area, so I'm going to use this post to post the preliminary version. If anyone can add to the list PLEASE DO! Also, if anyone sees any mistakes (spelling, etc), please let me know. There are countless kinds of dwarf evergreen conifers. All of them will eventually either die or grow beyond 30", but some of them could take a lifetime to get that big. Many dwarf Buxus (boxwoods) and various smaller Ilex (hollies) could be kept under 30" with pruning. Again, some of the most dwarf varieties would take many years to get beyond the 30" size. Other types of dwarf evergreens can be found among various genera. Many of the listed genera include both evergreen and deciduous species, hybrids, and varieties. Most, if not all, of the listed genera will include members not hardy in this area as well as ones that are. The ones in bold are probably more common and easier to find. Abies (firs) Andromeda polifolia (bog rosemary) Arbutus (madrones and strawberry trees) Arctostaphylos (manzanitas and bearberries) Ardisia Aspidistra elatior (cast iron plant) - not a shrub, but could be used in place of one in a shady area Aucuba Azara Berberis (barberries) - thorny Camellia Ceanothus Cedrus (cedars) Chamaecyparis (false cypresses) Chamaedaphne calyculata (leatherleaf) Choisya (Mexican mock oranges) Cistus (rock roses) - probably would be hard to grow here Corokia Cotoneaster Cryptomeria - I'm in love with some of the Cryptomeria japonica cultivars! Cunninghamia (China firs) X Cupressocyparis leylandii (or whatever the correct name is this week)(Leyland Cypress) - yes there are dwarf forms of this monster Cupressus (cypresses) Cyrilla (contrary to wikipedia, there are multiple species) Danae Daphne Daphniphyllum Distylium (winter-hazels) Drimys Elaeagnus (silverberries or oleasters) - many are invasives Erica, Calluna, Leucothoe, and related genera (heaths and heathers) Eriobotrya - probably only marginally hardy here Escallonia - there may not be any species/varieties totally hardy in this area Eucalyptus Eucryphia - there may not be any species/varieties totally hardy in this area Euonymus - generally, sickly Fatsia - there may not be any species/varieties totally hardy in this area Gardenia Garrya Gaultheria Gaylussacia (huckleberries) Gelsemium (jessamines) Hebe Helleborus - not a shrub, but could be used in place of one in a shady area Hypericum (St. Johnsworts) Ilex (hollies) - countless species, hybrids, and cultivars Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly) - listed separately because it's so different aesthetically than most of the rest of the genus Illicium - have you smelled this stuff? I think I could get high on it. Itea (sweetspires) Jasminum (jasmines) Juniperus (junipers) Kalmia (mountain laurels) Laurus (bay laurels) Ledum - our climate is probably too warm for any of these Leiophyllum (sandmyrtles) Leptospermum (tea trees) Leptospermum - not sure if there is an evergreen type totally hardy in this area Leucothoe Lingustrum (privets) - many are invasives Lithocarpus Lonicera (honeysuckle, yes there are honeysuckle shrubs) Loropetalum Lyonia magnolia X Mahoberberis (Mahonia X Berberis) Mahonia Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood) - yes there are small ones too Michelia - not sure if there are any dwarf varieties totally hardy in this area Microbiota decussata (Russian Arborvitae) Myrica (myrtles) Nandina (heavenly bamboos) Nerium oleander (oleander) - there may not be any cultivars totally hardy in this area Osmanthus (false hollies) Paxistima (or Pachystima) Photinia Picea (spruces) Pieris Pinus (pines) Pittosporum Podocarpus - don't know of any truly hardy in this area Polygala (milkworts) Prosanthera Prunus Pyracantha (firethorns) - thorny Rhaphiolepis (or Raphiolepis)(Indian hawthorns) Rhododendron (rhododendrons and azaleas) Ribes (currants and gooseberries) Rosa (roses) - not sure if there is an evergreen type totally hardy in this area Rosmarinus (rosemary) - and if it gets too big, you can always eat some of it Ruscus - I think all of the sucker and spread extensively Santolina Sarcococca (sweet boxes) Sciadopitys (umbrella pines) Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) - yes, there are dwarf cultivars Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Sequoia) Serissa Skimmia Sycopsis - not sure if there are any dwarf varieties totally hardy in this area Taxus (yews) Ternstroemia (cleyeras) Teucrium (germanders) Thuja (arborvitaes) Thujopsis (false arborvitaes) Torreya Tsuga (hemlocks) Umbellularia californica (Oregon Myrtle) Vaccinium (blueberries, cranberries, etc.) Viburnum Yucca - not what many think of as a shrub I don't think there are small shrub forms of these evergreen trees or vines that are hardy in this area, but maybe there are: Aleurites Araucaria Desfontainia (contrary to wikipedia, there are multiple species) - not sure if there are any small varieties Persea Quercus (oaks) Smilax (sarsaparillas, etc) - most or all are vines Stranvaesia Trachelospermum - most or all are vines Vinca - most or all are vines or groundcovers

To those of you who have been using these "home made" detergents, are you experiencing any odor, mold or mildew issues? The reason I ask is because castile soap builds up into a gooopy, gel-like gunk if not properly rinsed. This could potentially cause problems in washers. Every home-made product I've tried - from detergent to fabric softener - has proven unsatisfactory. Either the products don't clean well, they risk building up in my machine or on my clothes or they just don't work. Price is not the only consideration, which is what appears to be driving this homemade laundry movement.

In an effort to try to find things I could use on my ailing mom's clothes and on ours, my list is huge. I have just about every low sudsing or HE detergent you can readily buy in the US. Hold on to your hats...this may take a while. Powders: Tide HE Tide HE w/ downy Charlie's Soap Country Save Biokleen All Tempurature Sears Ultra Plus Stain Fighter Sears Ultra Plus w/Oxi Cheer Brightclean Cheer Brightclean free and sensitive Gain HE Fresh Start Liquids: Tide HE Original Scent Tide HE Coldwater Tide HE Coldwater Free and sensitive Tide HE/ downy Gain HE Original scent Gain HE Island Fresh Biokleen All tempurature Misc.: Soap Nuts Fabric Softeners: Downy April fresh Liquid and sheets Gain Island fresh Liquid and sheets Gain Original fresh liquid Purex lavendar and cotton liquid Final touch liquid Suavitel Field of Flowers liquid and sheets(aka Cuddly in some countries) Suavitel Morning sun liquid and sheets Suavitel Aroma sensations jasmine & stargazer lily Bounce outdoor fresh sheets Bounce fresh linen sheets bounce unscented sheets Store brand Unscented sheets Additives: Borax Washing Soda Baking Soda Tide stain release granuals Store brand & Sun Oxi bleach powders Cholorine bleach Most items were bought in the last month and a half. Some items purchased are not listed as they were given away to others cause they made all of us break out including mom and not too mention I didn't need all the things I had tried. Some of you may remember me telling you about the laundry issues I was having while taking care of my mom. I ended up going back to Charlie's and using Sears and some fab softeners depending on what was needed. She declined shortly there afeter. Her decline caused serious odor issues and Charlie's was not cutting it even with three washes, and that included using additives and chlorine bleach. The sears didn't make a dent in it either. I was gonna try some Henkel Persil, but didn't want to spend that much just to try it. Ironically, I ended up spending even more just trying to find something locally that would work, and washing a load of laundry 4 times was unacceptable. It was really that bad. I ended up buying whatever I could find on sale that I had not tried already to counteract the odor while hoping we wouldn't itch like crazy. Mind you I already had a stash of things I had tried prior. With everything I bought the only thing that ended up working to get rid of the odor in one wash was the friggin soap nuts. However,although soap nuts rocked at getting out the odors it did nothing for my kids stained clothes. Mom passed on the 7th of May, another irony. Now I have all these laundry products I have to use up. I have already donated all that others would take and I refuse to waste money. My sister said to hold on to the Gain as she would take it when she ran out, but that still leaves everything else. I've been slowly experimenting with amounts and combinations to see what I can get away with. I figured some of them out so they are slowly getting used up. One surprising developement was so far no one has had a problem with the Suavitel even though it is pretty strong smelling, it was the one fabric softener my mom could not stand, but doesn't bother the rest of us. Another of Life's irony. Go figure. I will still try to give away as much as I can until I get back to my favorite. Anyway, that is my list and my tail of laundry and Life's irony. I'll be happy when I'm back to just Charlie's again. I'm the type who likes to keep things simple.