Well then, letmesee here. I've been impressed with the roses overall at Tropic World Nursery in Escondido, but they don't have a website. Here's the contact info though. It's right on a frontage road to the I-15. Deer Springs Road offramp. It is fun to just browse there also -- big place -- lots of interesting stuff beyond roses. Tropic World Nursery 26437 N Centre City Pkwy Escondido CA 92026-7808 760-746-6108 And, I just got an email from Laguna Hills Nursery in Lake Forest that says all their roses are 60% off starting now. That would make them about $12. You may just want to wait until you get back here. They usually have a good group of Austins there, as you probably know. Kathy

I had a good laugh cuz I coveted someones plants once myself many years ago in my old neighborhorhood. In answer to #10, I don't know Polish, so can't help there. But I was wondering if this lady is out in her front yard every evening when you run by. If so, I would cultivate her by start waving, smiling, and saying something like "Hi", "Good evening!" or "I love your gardens", "Nice weather today", etc. And keep it up every time you see her. After you've done that enough stop for a rest in front of her house when she's outside and start talking to her. Even pointing at a brug and telling her how beautiful it (or all) is. She may understand nothing you say or understand more than you or others realize. If she's a really elderly lady, could she be living with one of her childen? Maybe you could stop by there on a weekend afternoon, knock on the door, and see. All you have to say when someone opens the door is that you stopped to tell them that they have lovely garden. I have yet to meet a gardener who didn't love talking about their gardens, and only two who didn't want to share even their weeds. If someone who speaks English is also living in the home, somewhere during the conversation ask if when they prune their brugs if they would be willing to part with some of the cuttings instead of putting them into the trash can. Offer a plant/plants/cuttings in trade. There was one older gentlemen (many moons ago) who never talked to anyone in the neighborhood, but had one of the loveliest front gardens I've ever seen. After many years of watching this absolutely beautiful front yard develope, change, and grow, I couldn't stand it any more. I took some home made cookies over and met him and his wife (didn't even know he had a wife all those years) and thanked him for 'sharing' his garden with me, even if he didn't know it and I only did it from the sidewalk. I could never describe their back gardens in a million words. There are very few things that have ever taken my breath away, and that was one of them. I can't tell you how many wonderful hours I spent in their back yard after that and how many times he would walk to my house and spend hours giving me tips and helping me with garden related stuff. As far as the brugs by your hot tub, how close would they be? Brugs can be incredibly messy plants. They can also become quite large so will the plant itself be in full sun all day? They would do best with morning sun and afternoon shade or dapple shade down there. I'm guessing at that as I live in a Zone 9 climate (up by Sacramento) and I have some brugs that get full sun and seem to do ok (Charles Grimadli and Frosty Pink). However, I do water 'em heavily twice each day during the hottest part of the summer. I got several brugs to add to my gardens from the link below. Due to the summer heat, I don't know if she ships right now. But the brugs and hibiscus that I've gotten from here (Seed Sprout) have all been in excellent health and huge sizes and the prices are very good. Hopefully someone from your area can give you a better idea about planting them down there. Jenna Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Sprout

Hi all, I went to greenmart last saturday. and got A.Hexapetalus, Jasmine, Aglaia, Osmanthus and sweet osmanthus. Almost all the plants no-clue bought. All of them were with flowers filling the car with fragrance the whole trip I got 30 min to do my shopping .Not a lot of time to go through the nursery with kids and family waiting in the car. I forgot to ask them about ceylon cinnamon. I have been looking for this plant for last two years.Came to know that they carry this plant too through one of my other post. I bought all these plants but still sad for making that stupid mistake. Hi bunti, I know how you feel.. Did you get A.Hexa. Those plant are very big. Try to get them so you will have flowers soon. If you don't find anything else, I can ship my smaller one which is two years old. Email me raji_100@hotmail.com Raji

I'd make the drive. Understand completely. I too made a quest for EK this week (started last week actually). Moved into a brand new house and the whole thing is beiged out with KWAL and SW colors. I thought I could deal with it but I can't. I can appreciate a good neutral as much as anybody but holy cow it feels so incredibly dead and flat. Ellen went above and beyond to get 10 gallons to me stat. I'm a color junkie and needed it pronto. It did take some time to get a brand new ICI dealer up to speed on full spectrum. There was a bit of a language barrier but we (mostly Ellen) got thru it. I had no idea where the hell I was driving to get my fix -- new town and none of it looks like the golf course laden, sleepy suburban communities around Dublin, Ohio that I'm used to. Pleasantly surprised to find that via an expressway the ICI store is less than a half hour from my new house. Thank goodness. Even better is that it's the cutest little independent store. Clean, well organized with friendly and knowledgeable owners/staff. They were positively fascinated with concept of full spectrum color and are eager to learn more and mix more. THEY GET IT! I honestly got in my car and wiped a tear from my eye. THEY GET IT, THEY GET IT, THEY GET IT! I think I'll be okay here.... but this crap currently on my walls has ta go.