Okay, some pictures. If you saw this leaf, wouldn't you think some garden critter was chomping on your leaves? I did too, but there are NO INCECTS bothering these plants. I've looked and looked and looked (and yes, I went out at night with flashlights and searched for slugs, etc....zip zilch nada on the insects. Well, here's how these holes in the leaves get started: As you can see they are brown spots (these can be like leaf on left where they are sort of "freckled and small" and all over or like on the leaf on right where they are bigger and fewer). Eventually the brown spots decay away leaving a hole...making it look as though your leaf has been eaten by some critter. Entire leaves can disappear! In the following picture you can see a leaf with a brown spot AND with the holes left where other brown spots have now decayed away: We've always had a few leaves do this over the years; but I didn't think it was anything to be terribly concerned about; I simply pulled the 'icky' leaves off. However, now practically every leaf on every rhodie (and native mountain laurel I've got) is like this. (Only difference with the mountain laurels is that they tend to become yellow with the brown spots and they fall off of their own accord without being cut or plucked off). I know if it is a fungus that I need to remove the leaves and discard them...BUT and this is a big BUT...if I do that, I'll kill the plants because I'll practically have to denude them of all of their leaves! Also realize that spraying a fungicide will not "cure" the already sick leaves...but perhaps I can get rid of enough of the fungus to allow plants to regenerate and come back healthier next season? These rhodies are simply huge (like trees) really -- they tower over me! They are growing on a slope and large portions of them lie directly on the ground (making getting under them down there to spray almost an impossibility) and removal of leaf litter underneath them was really hard, but I finally got almost all the old leaves out from under them. (They've been accumulating leaves for 15+ years and they are under a vast canopy of hardwoods (oak and ash trees) so there were a LOTTA LEAVES!) Since rhodies need to be well muched and like acid, I figured the leaves (red oak espcially since it is particularly acid) were good for the plants and that's why I left the leaves under there. I'd noticed that when I raked the oak leaves out from under my native mountain laurels (virtually have a whole forrest of these) that they tended to die...so I figured they needed those huge leaf piles under there; likewise my rhodies....but now with this problem that I'm having I'm wondering if I did wrong to leave the leaves so long? At any rate, if someone can confirm that what I've got is leaf spots (a fungal disease) and suggest a course of action that will save these plants I'm all ears! The amount of fungicide I'll need to spray will be vast (and it isn't cheap!) and reading all the warning labels makes me VERY leary about using them...there's no way I'll be able to spray undersides of leaves thoroughly, etc., without getting this stuff all over me! Is there any alternative to get rid of fungus problems that don't involve nasty chemicals? (oh and by the way, I never water these plants by spraying water on the leaves; they are always watered by hand down at the roots and this is done early in the day as I understand watering at night can often promote fungal diseases of this type). Thought I was doing everything right as these shrubs have flourished for quite some time! Are rhodies more suseptible to fungal disease when stressed? We had jillions of the Brood X Cicadas last year! Oh my gosh, it just dawned on me...you don't think these spots are where the cicadas tried to lay eggs do you? It was my understanding that they laid their eggs in the branches of trees! (Indeed many of the small branches where they injected their eggs are now falling to the ground whenever we have a little wind). These spots on my leaves do not look anything like the branches they laid their eggs in though....perhaps they tried to lay eggs and were unsuccessful but the action of their piercing the leaves is what damaged my rhodies???? When I say we had "jillions" of these things I'm not kidding--there were so many that when they died (and dropped to the ground after mating/laying eggs) there were enough of them that they "smelled" as they decayed! Walking around the garden was a nighmare...crunch, crunch, splat, oops....slipping on a pile of dead decaying cicadas was NO fun! Longlocks

Sally, Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifiolia) is Connecticut's state flower. It's a fragrant medium shrub that grows native from southern coastal Maine to Florida and west to Indiana. So, when you mentioned Texas Mountain Laurel (Calia secundiflora) I had to Google. Different shrub - thank goodness for Latin names or we'd never be able to figure out what's what). Your mountain laurel has beautiful rich blue blooms. Not a good candidate for our acidic soils though and we're probably a tad too cold for it to be a reliable bloomer w/o protection. We're Zone 7 and, apparently, it prefers 8+. :( I'm always looking for something different to plant and I love to zone push. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Both of my daughters live in Texas - I'll have to ask them about it. Lars, I love agapanthus and it grows here on the coast well. I've had it in my garden for 6-7 years. Nice plant. Not all varieties are hardy here but Agapanthus 'Blue Globe' has done very well in my gardens. Linda, yes Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' is a beautiful shrub and absolutely cold reliable. Have you tried any of the new hydrangea macrophyllas like 'Pistachio'? They bloom on both old/new wood. So, you should get flowers even if this year's canes die to the ground over winter. /tricia

Wow!! Very nice. I learned to paint the One stroke way about 3 years ago and I have been an OSCI for just over a year. Took up tole painting a year ago and love it too. I hope your grandson knows how much work and love he is getting along with his Ornament! Paint drop hugs Sherry

Helen, I can send you some Sweet Siberian seeds, if you like. Maybe they'll work for you. I haven't grown it myself yet, but liked the look of it in one of my gardening friends' garden. It's smallish, has apricot-coloured flesh and is very sweet and juicy. It'll definitely be in my garden next year. Mistymorn, I never have watermelons self-seed in my garden. This was the first year I'm growing it. It's true, self-sown stuff just is the best. :)