Stanofh: I have had the same observation about the California Delonix regias. They seem to be more compact and denser trees than in pictures of trees I have seen in Phoenix and in Florida. I haven't come to any conclusions why this is...does anybody have any ideas? Katie, there's two D. regias available for sale as of 8/9/08 at Hunter's Nursery in Spring Valley,CA. One is a 15 gal. for $139.00 and a 24" box for $495.00. I took pictures of these tree this past Sunday. I'll post the pics. Also, J.D. Nursery in Fallbrook, Xotx - Tropico Neo Flora Gardens in West Hollywood have them available for sale. Here is a link that might be useful: Sherman Heights, San Deigo - D. regia

Hey, I dropped off the face of the earth. Some brutal work hours with no days off. Sorry about that. Nightnurse- I'll try and stay on topic but that cornbread looks incredible. Looks perfect for a Sunday morning. Thank you so much for sharing. A perfect way to use up my abundance of black eyed peas:) Jim- I don't have anything really great anymore.. It's kind of embarassing and disheartening. I apologize for being a lazy bum here but are you interested in tropical aquatic plants? The things I need to go revive are things like my crypt collection that went through a melt when I neglected them and need to beef back up.. nothing spectacular.. c. balansae C. retrospiralis C. Spiralis C. lucens C. petchi C. willisii C. walkeri The worst of it is they can be a pain to identify at the best of times and right now they're melted to nothing.. being crypts I'm sure they'll come back but they're going to need some coddling. I have the usual stuff like E tennelus some vals and Sagittaria subulata, I mowed those down when I moved tanks but they grow like weeds so I'm sure, especially if I give them some plant love, that they'll be back strong soon.. anubias nana that I'm karmically obligated to share because the original piece was given to me maybe 7 years ago. I killed or preemptively gave away all the fun stuff like glosso, my toninas honestly don't know if the Didiplis diandra, Ludwigia arcuata or Heteranthera zosterfolia is kicking around in a tank somewhere or not. Like I said, it's embarassing. Not sure if that's any help or not. My digital camera's a battery sucking older one and I need to get rechargable batteries before it's much use.. which is a good excuse to buy time to get my tanks, and their plants, looking at least somewhat presentable. MicheleLee- Thank you very much! My balcony's eastern exposure. Really looking forward to going and hoping nothing interferes. My boyfriend's scheduled to go back to London in early Marchand I've already explained his flight plans can't conflict with this. He's not very impressed with it but I think he caught the determination in my voice.

What a lovely gift!! As Ginny said a bit more info about where in the state would help. One thing to be aware of is that spring is prime time for ticks in NH. Some of them are relatively large, but the small deer ticks are the ones that carry Lyme disease. When working in brushy areas I tend to wear long pants tucked into my socks, a long sleeved shirt and a hat, and when I am done working, change all my clothing and check myself thoroughly for ticks. Spraying clothing with bug repellent containing DEET helps also. Any ticks I find go into a vial of alcohol and clothing goes outside or into the washing machine after a quick check to find any obvious ticks. Lyme disease isn't something you want to pick up! Here's a link to a thread from last year suggesting several great NH nurseries (I am pretty sure all the listed nurseries are in the southern part of the state, but range from E to W,) and it also has a link to a 2006 or 2005 list of New England nurseries. Some of the northern MA nurseries may be close to your sister's place. Where you are in the southern part of the state will make a difference as it's probably about 2 hours from Keene to Portsmouth. Also, where you are will affect the seriousness of deer problems you have. In more suburban areas with less hunting and habitat, feeding from deer can be a problem. I'm in a rural area just a few minutes north of Concord and although there are lots of deer, the only plants that I can't grow due to deer are yews and Tricyrtis/Japanese toad lily. There are so many other food sources available that they don't bother to visit my gardens except to snatch a real treat. The seacoast is zone 6, but most of the southern part of the state is zone 5 with some of the hillier areas around Keene and my river valley location are probably on the border of zone 4, but all are in the southern half of NH. I mostly plant for zone 4, but sometimes zone 5 for things I really want with the knowledge that if we have a particularly cold winter and poor snow cover, I may lose them. I don't know what type of budget you have, but often soil improvements can be found locally relatively inexpensively. Many cities and towns have composting programs that make it available to residents. Local dairy farms will often deliver a huge dump load of manure, and horse manure can often be found for free if you are able to pick it up, but it will have more weed seeds. Mulch can also be found from various commercial suppliers by the dump load, which will probably be an important part of the low-maintenance aspect of the garden. Three acres is a large space, so you may want to consider some smaller heavy equipment. You may also be able to find someone to run a tractor for you for brushhogging, moving rocks, moving dirt, etc or if you are comfortable with machinery, bobcats and tractors can often be rented. We have been happy using Carl Mattews equipment in Boscawen. (I laughed when DH bought a small tractor many years ago, but as I age, the ability to move things with that tractor instead of my body makes it one of my favorite gardening tools now.) Some general thoughts on gardening in NH: Depending on where your sister's house is, you will probably have lots of granite (this is the "Granite State" after all) though on the coast and in the Merrimack Valley soil is sandier (or on some areas of the coast there is a layer of marine clay a few feet down) and there may be less rock in general. For building walls, rough field stone is often used while edging, patios, steps, etc are frequently made of dressed granite. It's something you have to keep in mind in planning a garden, that you will probably have a goodly amount of rock mixed in with soil and you may have shallow bedrock or boulders too large to move that you need to work around. We buy dressed granite from Swenson Granite Works in Concord, which is our local granite quarry for items like steps, but that may not be the best choice for you if you are looking to build something that needs dressed granite if you aren't close to Concord. With good planning fall color can last for 6 weeks or more, with the red maples starting the show in September and the blueberries, Fothergilla, Viburnums, oaks, and beeches ending the color at least a month and a half later. It is my favorite time of the year and well worth planning for in the garden. We are lucky to have many natives that are stunningly beautiful in autumn. Because so much of our year my garden is deeply snow-covered, I do try to grow plants that extend the season of interest and plant gardens that can be viewed from the house in winter. Herbaceous plants and short shrubs that stay green in cold weather usually aren't of huge value in my yard during winter since we often have more than 4 feet of snow on the ground. I try to plant a few things in warmer areas on the south side of the foundation that will bloom early like snow crocus, reticulated iris, and snow drops to get some early flowers. I plant taller evergreens (larger shrubs and trees) along with woody plants having interesting bark (beech/Fagus, birch/Betula, Stewartia, Acer griseum/paperbark maple, red and yellow twigged dogwoods/Cornus ) or interesting branch stucture (Pagoda dogwood/Cornus alternifolia) to provide winter interest. I also leave up my clematis obelisks year round since they tend to look nice against the snow. Many folks have bird feeders and bird-friendly shrubs to bring in some extra winter (as well as other seasonal) activity as well. I don't since we have blackbears emerging from dens in just a few weeks and they enjoy birdfeeders a bit too much. Tell us a bit more about your goals for your sister's garden beyond low maintenance - do you want easy or wheel-chair friendly paths or good visibility from a patio or porch? Does she have someone to help with basic mantenence such as an annual cleanup of easy care perennials like type 3 (hard prune) clematis or Baptisia? Will she want chair-accessible raised beds near the house for a few veggies and herbs? Is the garden all on one level? Are you looking to put in almost all trees and shrubs? Are flowers or scent or colorful foliage important? Hope that wasn't more info than you wanted or needed! Here is a link that might be useful: NH nurseries thread

Gina, Here are a couple of other options for you. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Praline Cheesecake ================== (Toronto Star Newspaper: 1981) 1-1/4 cup crushed graham crackers 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans toasted 1/4 cup butter melted 3 - 8 oz packages cream cheese 1 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup evaporated milk NOte: I used coffee cream 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 eggs 1 cup pecan halves toasted. Caramel Sauce topping 1 cup corn syrup - dark 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 Tablespoon Brown sugar 1 Tablespoon vanilla . Combine graham crackers, sugar, pecans and stir in melted butter. Press mixture over the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9" inch spring pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup brown sugar, evaporated milk, flour and vanilla. Add egss and beat until just blended. pour into crust. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until set. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Loosen sides and remove rim. Cool completely. Arrange toasted pecans on top of cake decoratively. Make Topping by combining corn syrup, cornstarch and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla. To serve cake, Pour sauce over top and serve remaining sauce in a pitcher at the table. NOTE: I baked the cake in a Baine Marie. I wrapped foil around the outside of the springform pan to prevent any water from seeping in to the cake. Nnte: I use my regular caramel sauce instead of the one mentioned above: Caramel Sauce 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup cream pinch of salt 2 teaspoons vanilla Mix all the ingredients together and simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes. Serve over Bread and butter pudding, apple pie and icecream, warm gingerbread, etc.. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table White Chocolate Cheesecake ========================== Adapted from http://www.dianasdesserts.com Dulce de Leche Cheesecake recipe Crust 1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs 2 tablespoons sugar 6 tablespoons melted butter Mix together and pat into bottom of a spring form pan lined with Buttered parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool Filling: 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (24 oz. total) 1 cup superfine granulated sugar 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour 2 tsp. vanilla extract 3 eggs 1/3 cup heavy cream 6 ounces melted quality white chocolate Reset oven temperature to 325°F (160°C). Melt white chocolate with heavy cream. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. With an electric mixer beat cream cheese, sugar and flour together until well mixed and smooth. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth.Add the melted chocolate cream mixture. Stir until smooth. Pour plain batter over crust. Wrap foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place in a shallow pan and pour in hot water. (Bain Marie) 7. Bake in preheated 325°F (160°C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until center is almost set.Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 or 5 hours. DRizzle with white chocolate and or Dulce de Leche.