I placed an order with Hazzard's 12/31 of 2009 so I can't vouch for the quality of their seeds. I ordered peony poppy, turtlehead & ladybells seeds. I also ordered ornamental grass seeds for a friend. Quite by accident I found out the ornamental grass isn't hardy in her zone. I emailed Hazzard's on Saturday, January 2 with a request to cancel the ornamental grass seeds part of my order. I got a confirmation email from Joyce Hazzard less than 10 minutes later indicating she would take care of it and make sure I was issued a refund. I'd call that excellent customer service. I'm going to WS the seeds and if you want to email me, I'll happily let you know how they do. Eileen

There are hundreds of species, similar ones often distinguished by details of parts such as fruits, flowers and leaves. Looking at internet photos alone may not produce the same species, or result in a false identification - unless species of interest is very distinctive and commonly planted. Comparing parts of tree being wondered about with those in a nearby labeled collection might turn up a useful lead. Always follow up with reading serious written descriptions.

I was offered to buy a seedling for 120 EUR and it's from another EU country. I am thinking what to do as I have no idea if Portugal allows importation of palms from other countries of the EU. When I asked the Portuguese Embassy and the transshipper, they told me to NOT bring any plants or soil into Portugal. Regarding climate 66F or 19C at night only happens mostly during summer months here. I am about 2 km from the coast and it is a very slight slope probably not more than 6%, so I may not be at a very high elevation, probably 100-200 m above sea level. The location is Santa Luzia on the main road almost midway between the cities of São Roque and Madalena. The absolute minimum this past winter was 7.7C one night and 8C one night and a couple dozen nights at 9C including one day at 9C and the rest is 10C and that is early morning and night temperatures (Santa Luzia do Pico). The lower lying cities on the coast may be a bit warmer a degree or two including urban heat index. Day temps here in Santa Luzia are usually 13C to 18C during the cold period of the year, with a very occasional 19-20C closer to spring. I think humidity here is quite high, but when there is no rain for a week or two I would guess the humidity may go down as low as 50%? Some days a few days in a row can be very windy and then rain, but lots of sunny days anyway. I think this is a very good climate for those who do not like heat, does not like their skin to crack in February and who hates frost. Germinating tropical palms here may be a challenge, which I am still to endure and test. So far Washingtonia seeds placed in pots of soil last year gave no germination at all at the temps of 10C to 18C. I am now trying to cover the pots with large plastic cut bottles to create a greenhouse effect for the seeds, so far no germination for Washies either. Seed germination may be a challenge in the Azores!

Proactive has a massive advertising campaign but it has no secret ingredients that make it any better than any over the counter store brand.. Step 1: Renewing Cleanser Active Ingredient: benzoyl peroxide 2.5%. Inactive Ingredients: water (aqua), magnesium aluminum silicate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, disodium dimethicone copolyol sulfosuccinate, sorbitol, dimethyl isosorbide, polyethylene, tridecyl stearate, neopentyl glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, tridecyl trimellitate, cetyl esters, anthemis nobilis flower extract, sodium hyaluronate, sodium PCA, propylene glycol, xanthan gum, imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum). Step 2: Revitalizing Toner Ingredients: water (aqua), glycolic acid, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, rosa canina fruit extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, sodium PCA, panthenol, glycerin, propylene glycol, allantoin, polysorbate-20, hydroxyethylcellulose, sodium hydroxide, benzophenone-4, tetrasodium EDTA, methylparaben, propylparaben, imidazolidinyl urea, fragrance (parfum), blue 1, yellow 5. Step 3: Repairing Lotion Active Ingredient: benzoyl peroxide 2.5%. Inactive Ingredients: water (aqua), cyclomethicone, ethoxydiglycol, propylene glycol, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, cetearyl alcohol, dimethicone, panthenol, allantoin, carbomer, ceteareth-20, xanthan gum, triethanolamine, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum). Any acne cleanser with 2.5% peroxide and a bottle of witch hazel would do the same. A lot of acne treatments use Salicylic Acid in place of the peroxide. Clean and Clear products are pretty good.