Cathy, My yard is barren pretty much. LoL I have a couple lantana planted. I had to do a total burn down of the lawn. It was over ran by broadleaf, invasive thistles, bindweed and gods above knows what else. We were gone for almost a year. When we moved in here it was pretty bad to begin with. (A foreclosure property.) Anyway...Starting over completely! I just wanted desperately to try and snap a picture or three...Ah well! Next year! :) I'll have things coming up! I have dill, fennel, lantana, tropical milkweed just to name a couple of things. I'm going to try my hardest to draw them to me instead of me following them! I surely felt silly wandering around 1/4th of an acre trying to catch an image of them. I'm sure you all can picture that! *g* yeah, yeah... laugh along with me, because I am giggling about it. I know how silly it had to have looked! Anyway, for now...I'll just keep oogling everyone elses photos! ~Tina Marie

Just planted my cukes, hubbard squash and melons - durned skunks already found the nice cool damp soil for digging, but I think they missed the biggest areas. As luck would have it, I harvested some promising dill weed a few weeks ago, as I didn't notice any promising new dill sprouting. It hung in the kitchen corner on a nail, and this morning I took scissors to it, as it was nice and dry. The smell was mouth-watering, and I think it will be strong enough to flavor cukes, in case I can't find any later. Still prefer fresh tho. Also harvested some horseradish the other day. There was some talk about harvesting at certain times, but I've never noticed any difference. Whenever its done, it smells and tastes just as pungent. (and don't put your nose in the blender when grinding - huh Ken?). I usually add a bit of white vinegar when I do, and then refrigerate. Seems to stay fresh-tasting for long time. This year, I planted some red type garlic (from grocery store - where else?), and though it was smaller than my usual growth of soft neck types, I thought the taste was much more pungent - and garlicky. It may be hard neck - couldn't tell - which usually doesn't like our climate as well. This deserves a bit of research, however, as I really do like the flavor of it. Will harvest some thyme and oregano today - to dry hung in my kitchen corner along with the other dried stuff. So festive - my corners are with the garlic, dried peppers, mints, and dill weed, all on their respective hooks. The thyme and oregano were both planted as ground covers - under my fruit trees. Not sure if they will eventually rob the trees, but with our water problems (and the city looking over my shoulder - to conserve, conserve - or else!), I like the idea, cuz it helps preserve moisture, and they take little water as well. We have had some very dry winters - and I note also that the water smells more chlorinated all of the time. Wonder what effect it is having on the more susceptible plants. The new peppers seem to be a bit more yellowish than I'd like them - although weather is foggy and cool too. Zabby - that Sauvignon Blanc sounds like fun - my only attempt at wine making was a simple balloon type - not especially outstanding - and I figured it was so expensive and bad tasting, that almost any box wine could have beat it by a mile. But then - considering my amateur standing, I wasn't expecting it to be for the connoisseur crowd. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

I have a big clump of grass that needs to be moved too. My kids wanted me to plant Zebra grass, so I did and it's huge now. I think it's going to stay where it is. Ceresone - Would it be easier to dig out a little of your grass so you'll have a couple starts and Round-up the rest? I'm sure it must be hard for you to do just anything. How frustrating. Gld - I remember seeing solidago 'Fireworks' in the High Country Gardens catalog. Maybe you ought to move those two closer together. HCG has their Purple Dome pictured with solidago and it really stands out. Here is a link that might be useful: HCG - Purple Dome Aster

THanks heathen..that was most helpful (and waay polite)...we're sub-tropical...about same latitude as Miami, FL. Now that summer's comin' on I have noticed these things do wilt as soon as they get a little dry and with water they're good as new in a couple of hours...so I'm starting to think the others might've died of thirst...been murdered actually!