No need to freak out kim.....you can cut back just about anything.....it is a good practice once your plants have outgrown their planters and are drying out too fast.....my impatiens are becoming little trees and are drinking alot and may start to seperate in cooler months ahead...I will post a photo after I hack the hell out of them and the after they recover....I will be away for a week at the end of the month and everything would be dead when I come back if i didn't reduce them....regular petunias planted on the ground really benefit from heavy cutting back the last of july to avoid getting leggy......I think you should try the flowering kale at this late date for planting in your zone.......and a trailer like creeping jenny or vinca.....if you can find something small in flower like begonias or lobelia at this time of year and you can stuff it in there, do it...........this time of year you can get away with cramming in some plants because they will not have enough season left to be overplanted.......your kale and trailer planted so close to your house should get you to christmas.......another option would be geraniums or marigolds(or both) if you think you need a flowering plant......you could buy some kale put it in the ground, plant geraniums or marigolds for now with a trailer.....and swap them in november.....Kale will look nice to minus 20.......as long as snow does not lay on it you could have it well into january that close to the house, when choosing Kale, try to find some that the stems are not too tall, if they are a little leggy, plant them deep..........I don't believe you posted your supertunia photo kim......lets see what your other containers are doing

Great idea using the deep frying basket, Kirk! Looking at it, I would have thought it was an old fashion egg basket. I love the barbed wire one too. And those rocks! Love of rocks + love of polished rocks = Love your eggs! Just be careful if you put the rocks out where the elements can get at them. I have an ashtray I bought at a thrift store years ago that is made out of a rock. I kept it on the patio in case any smokers came by. The polished look of the rock wore off and it started look like an unpolished rock. Still looks ok but not as pretty as it was originally.

Great photos Lenfocenter. I have known people who have also had this happen in their hanging baskets. In the UK it's usually sparrows or wrens that do this. There are many of these red and purple fuchsias so quite difficult to say which one it is for certain, might be 'Son of Thumb' but I'm not 100% sure. Maybe someone in the Bird Forum can give you better advise re the nest, link below, Kath:) Here is a link that might be useful: http://nature.gardenweb.com/forums/bird/

Hi there, I figured you guys would be the experts to ask. I bought a "coconut geranium" from Richters Herbs. Nice foliage scent. I was wondering about the blossoms though. I researched pictures on google images and the blooms look pretty but tiny. Despite being tiny, do they appear in any great number or does the plant just throw out a few small blossoms at a time? I am thinking of putting this plant in a hanging basket but debating if I should include at least one other annual in the pot so at least there's always something blooming. I guess it's just a new way of thinking, I'm used to annuals that bloom their heads off (but have gone to more attractive foliage annuals as well). Thanks for your input, Glen