Love Lies Bleeding I enjoyed this plant so much last year, I saved a tassel for the seeds. I discovered during the winter, the seeds had gone moldy. :-( I took them out and sprinkled them around anyway. Despite not being watered, the dry soil in the area and the haphazard way I spread the seed so simply over the ground, they sprouted! They then grew tall and blossomed! Interestingly enough, this is a kind of grain, Amaranthus. I find these plants to be dramatic in the garden. What else would I expect from a nickname like Love Lies Bleeding? I read once that they are the opposite of a sunflower and make nice companion plants. This year, I am definitely saving another tassel for reseeding!

Another fan of Miss Marple! I am talking about the BBC series with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, cause there have been some others that aren't as good. The gardens in that series are always gorgeous too. Oh, if only I could have lots of balmy rain and no 5-below days, then I too could have roses like Miss Marple's, dash it all. But I digress. I love Downton, but, really, the kitchen? I could not work there. Cramped cellar-like space, no exhaust fan or high-btu cooktop. But mostly, I am always surprised at how shabby the Downton Abbey kitchen is, from the pots and pans, to the rickety shelves, to the grimy walls. So, no, I am not a fan of Downton's kitchen! Love the rest of it though. Here is a link that might be useful: BBC series with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple This post was edited by shannonplus2 on Fri, Dec 14, 12 at 20:54

Persuasion is my favorite, too. I love the theme of second chances in a life that has turned out to be disappointing. It has a bittersweet quality that has always appealed to me. Having said that, I really do like them all. Mansfield Park is fascinating to me. Some of the moral issues that are being weighed in the book seem trivial to modern sensibilities, others are timeless; but I like its exploration of what it is that makes a good person, and how easily the world overlooks these true qualities. Northanger Abbey is the lightest novel she wrote. If you grew up reading Victoria Holt and similar writers as I did, you will laugh at this wonderful spoof of the gothic novel, popular in Austen's day as well as the 1960's and 70's. Sense and Sensibility is a story of two sisters who embody the extremes of a debate going on in Austen's own time. Marianne (Sensibility) stands for the Romantic movement, all emotion and aesthetic experience and the sublime experience of nature. Elinor (Sense) expresses the values of the Enlightenment, self-discipline, prudence, knowledge, and moral virtue. Each one has something the others lack, and in the story, they both learn this. I love this book, too. Emma you already know, a story of just how wrong an intelligent, overly confident young woman can be. And Pride and Prejudice you are reading now. I'm thinking that pretty soon it will be time for me to re-read Austen yet again. Rosefolly

Yet another P&P spin-off will be hitting UK TV screens this Autumn with a new series Lost in Austen. The story line appears to be . . . our modern day heroine is a big JA fan and finds herself able to go back into the world of P&P. But will her knowledge of the outcome of the story alter what takes place in the world she has entered? Also look out for yet another TV adaptation of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Many of the outdoor rural scenes were shot in my area. They wanted a realistic 'backwards' landscape. :-) Pity I didn't know it was happening, maybe I could have got a part as an extra playing 'an aged crone' or 'third hag'. Another Dickens series is coming up, this time Little Dorrit. Last year Bleak House was beautifully produced. Some of you may have seen it.