I ended up buying an Evans Bali a few days ago, by the way. Nice looking little tree (about 6 feet tall sitting in its pot on my patio right now). Even has some flower buds, so maybe if I protect a few clusters of the cherries in mesh bags this year I'll even get to taste a dozen or so cherries this August. My main concern at this point is whether I have gotten a tree that will end up growing too large for the space I have. The label says 15 - 20 feet tall and 12-15 feet wide, though other things I have read have suggested that this variety gets 10-15 feet tall. I guess I am figuring I will try to keep it pruned to a smaller height. We'll see how this goes. If it produces good fruit in abundance, I will probably be willing to indulge its space needs. I know a person in the neighborhood with a Masabi cherry as it turns out, so maybe I can learn how to do grafting and get a branch of Masabi on my Evans Bali! Thanks everyone for answering my questions.

Wow...what an AMAZING collection you have. I can't get over how many different ones you have. Thanks for sharing your beautiful collection!

Morning!! Margo, it's not as bad to take care of as people think. I think because its bigger, its pretty self sufficient. I do need to get in it every month or so and weed. My water plants reproduce so quickly they would cover the whole top if I didn't. What's nice is I put all the pulled ones in a wheelbarrow and bring them down to the veggie garden. Pile them up and let them dry. I about a week they are bone dry. So dry they crumble! I use them for fertilizer. I don't know if its the pond water, fish waste or what but those plants work almost like miracle grow ;) Shirley, we have a Master Gardener's plant swap usually every year here around Mother's Day. I say usually, cause this year we didn't have one? I was so busy at the time, never asked why, and till you just mentioned it forgot all about it :) My fair swap has been growing a little every year by 1 or 2 people. :) A lot of the same people come every year once they get hooked. The like the variety of different things I bring every year. What's awesome is that it all comes from the gw. :) The seed swaps in the fall produce nice little babies for my swap. This year I tried a bunch of Dianthus.... I have Ipswitch, Black Adder, Yellow something I can't remember, Black Magic, Fire Witch...as you can see I got most of these from the Halloween swap last year :) I also have some different Althea's that I can't remember right now, lol. The turtle is officially done. He's not a fancy turtle, but, he does look cute. ;) The kids are so excited I hope he wins. Taylor was looking through the entry list for ecology classes. She's entering photography, art (painting and sculpture), sewing, flower arranging (gee, wonder where she's gonna get those?), and house plant arrangement. I have 1 house plant in my house. Taylor's zebra plant. This thing has produced 8 babies! She took my tea cup planter and planted them around in it. She then used one of my old spoons and stuck it in. Made a tea bag tag to tie to the spoon, " Taylor's Tea" It came out so cute! Billy is entering art. He made the most beautiful pastel drawing of a fish this year in kindergarten. It won an honorable mention at the school art show. I framed it. He's also entering the house plant arrangement too. We didn't have any house plants for him, but, we did have some hen's and chicks. So yesterday we got a pair of his old sneakers, washed them, and filled them with hen's and chicks. They are so cute!! Little blue sketchers!! So adorable!! My neighbor saw them when she was walking her dog and asked if they were going to be at the plant swap...lol! I have to get a photo of them. Have a great day!! vina Here's a weird one...found this double gaillardia. It looks like a science experiment gone wrong, lol.

I will be sending out all the prizes today, so everyone start looking for them in a couple days. Please post here when you have received your prize so I know everyone has received theirs. Winners of the games. Sign up game - Mary Fill in the Blanks - Nicole Sent and received. Dog/Cat - Mary Pet Bingo - Promise Big Wind - Erica 2nd Fill in the Blanks - Nikki Shirley, I'm so happy you were given the ok to walk on your foot. I know some days will be very trying for you, but here is some advice I was given ... Take it one day or one hour or one minute at a time. Keep breathing. If you can, journal about your struggle. Once in a while look back at your journal, sometimes that is the only way to see your true progress. Truly, this advice has worked for me. Beautiful pictures everyone. My garden is in full bloom and I'm loving it! Margo, a wedding in 2 months ... how wonderful! Nikki, keep looking, you will find it. We had a wonderful 4th of July Week. We were at the cottage with friends and family. It was a very FULL week. We had a Birthday, Graduation, and a an Engagement to celebrate and of course the 4th! Our daughter made it in from Boston for a couple of days ... that was the best part! Been missing all of you these last couple of days ... seems so funny after a month of being here everyday. sharon