When I lived in suburbia, I felt incredible pressure to have a "good lawn" and zero "conventional weeds" anywhere, especially since I always had a lot less lawn, and many more flowers, than most houses. In neighborhoods where a good lawn is a priority, the paltry amount it costs for a service might be worthwhile in terms of the property not being labeled as "needs new sod" at the point one might want to sell later, especially if it is a very large lawn. When we lived in a golf course community, of course you're supposed to have a good lawn. I mean it's in the HOA. I'm sure there are a lot of plants I don't want about which others would rhapsodize, with much more traditionally pretty flowers. Just trying to encourage people to think for themselves and make their own decisions if they've found themselves at some point wondering why they're paying or spending time to get rid of plants they do like, or why it's "necessary" to only have grass in the mowed areas. There may be an objectively valid reason, there may not. I became so curious about the whole thing a few years back, I bought a couple books to satisfy my curiosity about why we even have lawns, where the idea came from, and how to be a property owner/tender without devoting so much of my life tending something about which I'm ambivalent. As long as there's enough room to play with the kids and grill some burgers, the way I see it, the rest of the area being mowed is wasting my time, my money in gas to run and maintain the mower, and doing virtually nothing beneficial to nature. At one house, I had the lawn down to 20 minutes of mowing. But if it makes someone happy to look over 5 acres of freshly mowed lawn, more power to ya! If the HOA says no weeds allowed, not much option there. Admit, it's a lot easier to be non-chem when the property is so much smaller, a lot easier indeed.

It seems like it's pretty common to have mis-labled dahlias from the garden centers or big box stores. Swan Island is more reputable and will probably never have that problem. The size and shape of your dahlias will depend on a lot of factors (weather, soil, and how you are 'grooming' your plant). In terms of grooming - be sure to top and disbud your plant. That means, do not allow the side buds to bloom on a lateral(or branch) - only the center bud. Generally, the lower laterals produce larger blooms than the upper laterals. The upper ones are usually the ones that bloom first; so sometimes I'll get bigger blooms later in the year once the lower laterals start to bloom. I 'disbranch' many laterals in order to focus the plants energy. With the larger AA or A dahliad, I'll only allow 3-4 laterals to grow initially so that the plant's energy is focused on producing those blooms. B's - 4-6 laterals, BB's etc - 8-10 laterals. A much better explanation of some of the grooming can be found in the link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Topping Dahlias

Hello all, Our pumpkins are doing the same thing. Some of the fallen ones were smaller than a marble, and none of the flowers opened. Only one was close to opening, and was probably 3-4 days away when it fell. The baby pumpkins turn yellow, the unopened blooms turn brown and they eventually fall off. We have no lack of male flowers or new baby pumpkins, but no female blooms :( We've fertilized, water adequately...it's been really hot the past week, could that be the problem? There is no evidence of pests or rot or anything else. The plants themselves are really healthy. Any help appreciated... - Star

I guess the problem is I never met a plant I didn't like. Maybe it's because the conditions in which some of them developed their own particular characteristics to cope, and even to thrive, are envisioned and appreciated. When I think of the relentless difficult desert conditions that cacti, agaves and succulents and that whole family of plants endure they become a metaphor of this world with lessons to teach as well as their own type of tenacious beauty to share. Cacti, like some of us, manage to survive and grow in the harshest of climates, and while prickly on the surface they strive in their own way to show us beauty in the design of those very prickles and thorns and in the graceful shapes of their forms. Their true colors and magnanimous inner softness emerge in spring, or whenever the conditions are not so harsh, as they open up their blossoms to display their sweetly scented nature that lives within, as if to say "Love us for what we are -- since we couldn't have survived otherwise -- and we will show you our inner loveliness as well."