Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes. I've spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get the most bang for my buck. I wasn't allowed to get the yellow peony, 'Too much money for one plant' I believe were his words. :0 Anyways, I'm still starting out plantwise and am missing lots of the basics so somethings are pretty plain. So.... here is my list; Lee Valley Tools - English Digging Spade and Fork (need a new shovel and have no fork) Thompson and Morgan Aquilegia clematiflora Pink And Purple Shades Venidium fastuosum Jaffa Ice Aquilegia x hybrida Green Apples Aquilegia x hybrida Royal Purple Gazania Daybreak Tiger Stripes Mixed Aquilegia viridiflora Chocolate Soldier Free Aquilegia Pink Bonnets Tradescantia Mixed Colors Aquilegia x hybrida Roman Bronze (Most expensive seeds so I got them free) West Coast Seeds Calendula 'Pacific Beauty' Calendula 'Single Orange' California Poppy 'Ivory Castle' California Poppy 'Mission Bells' California Poppy 'Purple Gleam' California Poppy 'Orange' Cosmos 'Sensation Mix' Lupin 'Chandelier Yellow' Nasturtium 'Tall Single Mix' Nasturtium 'Tip Top Alaska Mix' Papaver 'Peony Flowered Mix' Papaver 'Giganthemum' Plus your usual assortment of vegetable seeds. Botanus Here is where I went nuts, lots of plants. :) Dahlias Glory of Noordwyk Kenora Macob Fringed Tsuki Yori Fringed Lilies Iceberg-Asiatic LA Elegant Lady-Longiflorum Snow Queen-Longiflorum Black Beauty-Novelty African Queen-Trumpet Plants Anemone tomentosa 'Robustissima' Aster dumosus 'Schneekissen' Astrantia major Crocosmia 'Lucifer' Geranium hybrid 'Brookside' Geranium hybrid 'Patricia' Geranium sanguineum Hemerocallis 'Crimson Glory' Hemerocallis fulva 'Kwanso' Hemerocallis 'Autumn Red' Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbury' Hemerocallis 'Frans Hals' Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns' Hemerocallis 'Mini Stella' Hosta 'Gold Standard' Hosta 'Golden Tiara' Hosta 'Sum and Substance' Hosta sieboldiana 'Frances William' Hosta tardiana ''Halcyon' Ligularia dentata 'Othello' Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket' Papaver orientale 'Patty's Plum' Papaver orientale 'Perry's White' Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard' Rudbeckia triloba Trollius europaeus 'Superbus' Dicentra spectabilis Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' Thalictrum delavayi 'Hewitt's Double' Unfortunately Botanus was out of the one thing I can't get anywhere else, one of their t-shirts that says 'Nice Bulbs' on the front and then has the website address on the back. :( I guess that means I'll have to place another order with them in the fall. You can't order just a shirt right? Thanks again for the birthday wishes everyone. I'll let you know when I have seeds or tubers for trade. :) Syreeta

Geez Louise!! My tomato seedlings that I started in late Feb are just dying to get into the ground!! They are getting leggy and turning yellow. Three live tomato plants from Burpee arrived last week and the directions that came with them say plant them in 10 days!! I just moved to the area from warmer climes and waiting till May 24 is really going to be tough!!! Will my seedlings last till then in 4" pots?? Call me impatient! Are my poor little tomatoes doomed? I did plant 3 of them in those Walls of Water from Burpee...

Mmmm. Spinach is good especially as a salad green. However ... Usually, we have a cool, cloudy spring. On average, our hottest month is July. So, we go from cool to hot and dry. Spinach bolts after a short season. I can't seem to remember to try it as an overwintered crop, now that I have learned that is possible. Instead of remembering to sow spinach seed in the fall, I allow its cousin, orach, to self-sow and show up as volunteers. And! It's not just because I'm forgetful and lazy. No, see how I have transplanted an orach volunteer with the lettuce starts together in the potato bed? A little companion and succession cropping there. And. I like the texture and flavor of orach better than spinach. Steve

And tomatoes are also tropical in origin :-) Yet they are now cultivated pretty much globally. Loofahs are no more difficult to grow than any other cucurbit. In fact, they (and most other gourds) are quite similar to growing a winter squash. But they do need a long growing season so in more northerly locations, it's best to start indoors about 6-8 weeks before soil and air temps are sufficiently warm. About the same time you would put out tomato starts. Full sun, rich soil, plenty of water and a strong trellis.....the vines can get very big!!