Hi Dale, "How accurate are these estimations?" Reasonably accurate. The Burpee estimate is a bit conservative, because you might get first blooms in 7 to 8 weeks, depending on the variety and growing conditions. I have had my indoor-grown zinnias bloom in as soon as 5 weeks from insertion of the seed into the growing medium, under near optimal conditions under over-driven fluorescent lighting. "...tried growing Burpeeana and they didn't look anything like the pic..." Actually, I like the idea of the Burpeeanas, which are supposed to be large informal flowers on a good bushy plant that isn't excessively tall. Any zinnias will stretch and grow tall if you crowd them. But uncrowded Burpeeanas are supposed to make good two-foot "hedges" in a landscape. This is one of my "home-hybridized" zinnias, and it has some Burpeeana "blood" in it. Burpeeanas can get as large as 6 inches in diameter, but this home hybrid had very long petals that hung down. I referred to it as my "Pink Shaggy Dog". Even though it has some Burpeeana blood in it, it is not a Burpeeana. If those petals had stuck out in a more horizontal direction, that bloom would have been upwards of 8 inches or more in diameter. Although some of its offspring have had similar flowers, none in my opinion have quite lived up to it. I will grow more seed from it this year. I enjoy growing and breeding zinnias as a hobby, because that way you can get some flowers that you would never get from a commercial seed packet. There are dozens of different commercial zinnia varieties, which give you a mind-boggling number of possible crosses that you could make. I am just scratching the surface myself. I have been meaning to grow some green zinnias, and cross them with everything, to see what I might get. If you want to see some interesting variety, the Whirligig strain is a good one to grow. Most of the Whirligs have at least two colors in each bloom, and sometimes three. Probably half of my home-hybrid zinnias have at least some Whirligig in them. This is a picture taken in my Whirligig patch last year. I'll have another Whirligig patch again this year, and I will be looking for unique specimens to use as "breeders". I prefer the Whirligigs from Stokes because they seem to have more doubles than the ones from Parks. Although, single Whirligigs can look quite good, with a "daisy" like look. Incidentally, you will probably see some "favorite" zinnias in your zinnia patch year. I highly recommend that you mark them in some way to save seeds from them. You could tie a little colored yarn on them or attach some sort of tag. Just anything to help you to know which ones you want to save seeds from. You can make a surprising amount of progress by simply saving seeds from your favorite zinnias each year. If you want to make the process more interesting, you can make crosses between your favorites. Crossing zinnias is not hard to do at all. ZM

Yeah, I was very surprised to see the current berry situation. All the talk during the cold front was that the price would increase. Tough times for farmers... I like that Wishnatzki Farms are collecting donations for the Migrant Workers charity: Farm president Gary Wishnatzki is asking visitors for a minimum $1 donation to Redlands Christian Migrant Association, a nonprofit organization that provides child care and early education for rural, low-income working families. Here's a link to the TBO.com info on the temporary UPick situation: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/27/na-you-pick-strawberry-fields-now-opening-to-publi/

Hi Glenda, my family and I have been going on ski vacations once a year for the last 7 years - usually heading to Colorado. We made it to Park City for the first time last year due to the cheap flights and lodging we found. I can tell you that Park City is amazing - the town, people, atmosphere, and most importantly the snow and mountains. I fell in love with the town and recommend to anyone planning a ski trip. We booked with Park City Lodging and they were great! Very reasonable prices, great location and they can book transportation, lift tickets, activities, etc. I just checked their website and they are offering some pretty great specials. I would check them out (specials page) to make sure you're getting the best deal. I can tell you that staying in town (near Main St.) is worth it! I'm attaching their website for you to check out. Good luck! And have fun! Here is a link that might be useful: Park City Lodging

Hi Chas and Thank You Its good to read that you are having luck with your roses, not here we have had terrible weather this past week. So much rain and the hailstones have been as large as golf balls and they have smashed so many of our plants. I did managed to take quite a few photos that morning of the Petunia and the Frangipani before the hail come Yes its certainly a busy time this Festive Season and you have a wonderful Christmas also.