Buyer Beware> I have bought items from Goodwill off and on for the past few years. We didn't have a store close by. One thing you need to check is the outrageous shipping charges and handling charges. I saw a lovely metal vintage style tea pot I would love to have....bid 3.00 reasonable............shipping 10.00........handling.....2.00. Hmmmmmmmmmm tea pot not so attractive at 15.00 and that's if you get it for the 3.00 bid. I love looking thru all the items Goodwill has but some of their shipping rates are way out of line. All these items are donated and I know for a fact it doesn't cost 10.00 to ship one tea pot. Don't want to rain on your parade just want to make you aware. I also bounce between goodwill and ebay and yes I am a wicked sniper...............LOL Does anyone remember Andy's Warehouse Auction? It was run by Fingerhut no less..........oooooooooh the bargains I got there and their shipping was reasonable. How i miss them. There were a couple others but I don't remember the names. Sigh! Hmmmmmmmmm maybe I should google. Then there's freecycle.............I can't begin to tell you all the goodies I have gotten off there. Ok so I belong to 5 different ones.............:) I subscribe to all that are within a 50 mile radius and try to pick up two or more items on one trip if possible. Anybody watch the Junk Brothers? Boy would I like to find some of the loot they find. And that Workshop............ ChelCass

They certainly aren't the "old" Edmunds. But, they are trying! I ordered 3 roses last yr. They arrived I believe in January, which is normally a good time for me. All three roses died. One broke dormancy and then died, but the other two never did sprout anything... just dried up. I emailed them and they told me one of the roses was sold out, but that they would replace the other two. In March, I received TWO each of the two they could replace. All 4 roses grew and did really well. They also had sent me a gift certificate for the other rose that couldn't be relaced then, but I can't find it, so didn't use it for this yr's order. But that's ok. They made the others right, double! I'm happy.

Ah, the Alps--in my dreams, Mindy. But you pose a fair question. The best books for New England gardeners were written by longtime New England gardeners. No surprise there. Here are a few to get from the library or from a used book site like bookfinder.com, the most comprehensive such site, link below. The original Time-Life gardening series by Jim Crockett-- JAMES UNDERWOOD CROCKETT. A basic collection would include his volumes on perennials, annuals, flowering shrubs, evergreens, trees. But there are many more--bulbs, house plants etc. Jim was from Haverhill MA and was of course the first and longtime host of PBS' Victory Garden. The books have clear how-to info and accurate descriptions of the best species/hybrids for our area. Mostly color drawings, not photos, but that's why they invented the internet! DONALD WYMAN was at the Arnold Arboretum for many years and wrote a number of terrific books on woody plants--shrubs and trees. One I use constantly is "Shrubs and Vines for American Gardens"--the revised edition, pub 1969. Wyman's info spans decades so he can talk about the once-in-25-years freeze that killed a certain popular evergreen and you can save yourself the trouble of planting it. His one-volume "Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia" is one-stop shopping for people who want a lot covered in a small space. Not a New Englander, more's the pity, but a Michigander from similar climate was ISABEL ZUCKER. Her "Flowering Shrubs" is the best book on the subject I've ever read. It also covers small flowering trees. Isabel was a no-nonsense calls-em-like-I-sees-em type and tells you all the bad as well as the good, a very rare quality in garden writers--or the editors who censor them. B/w photos. Her no-nonsense personality shines thru her writing and you will find yourself chuckling as well as learning. My favorite garden book genre is the book written by someone about his/her own garden of many years. These books are full of the trials and tribulations, thrills and successes of real gardeners. They are full of information and interest; many focus on perennials. New England has been fortunate to have many such writers. FREDERICK MCGOURTY, whose Hillside Gardens home and nursery in Connecticut may be remembered by many of you, wrote "The Perennial Gardener" about perennials. Knowledgeable, skilled, witty--but that could be said of all these writers. I learn something new each time I read McGourty. The book is a collection of articles written for Horticulture Magazine so you can read one at a time--or just look up the plant you are interested in. ELISABETH SHELDON gardens in upstate New York and created the most amazing garden with her own hands. She has written a number of books, mostly about perennials, and every one of them is packed with information based on experience. Again, they are independent essays that can be read separately or the reader can look up specific plants. "A Proper Garden" and "Time and the Gardener" are two of her titles. HELEN VAN PELT WILSON was one of the most popular garden writers in the country some years back. She gardened in Pennsylvania and then Connecticut. She wrote many books but "The New Perennials Preferred" is my favorite. It's about perennials, obviously, but like all these writers, she presents them in the context of a real garden, her own. And, just like talking to a friend, she describes what perennials really do in a real garden and how she copes with the endless surprises of a real garden. No advertising copy here. One of the very best garden writers for New England today is GORDON HAYWARD. He gardens in Vermont and all of his books are filled with beautiful photographs as well as his excellent, experienced writing. He writes a lot about hardscape too, especially how to incorporate our native stone into our gardens. I like "Stone in the Garden" but every one of his books is worth buying and learning from. And I'm sure many of you know the name of SYDNEY EDDISON. She gardens in Connecticut and has written many books based on her experience in her own garden. She deals with deer and declining energy, as well as the joy of a successful planting or the latest daylily. Again, all of her books are worth reading over and over, learning something new each time. There are certainly others to be added to this list but this post is long enough. Do not be put off by the fact that a number of these books are older; the information is still reliable and useful. The internet and magazines are the places to find the latest cultivar. Cultivars are mostly here today and gone tomorrow. The real-garden experience is these books is longlasting. Here is a link that might be useful: Best site for buying used books

The Secret River - it's pretty good, but it's just another story about a convict who is transported to Australia and makes good. Also had an annoying affectation of putting all the dialogue in italics, rather than the usual quote marks or dashes. I'm used to italics being used for what people think, so it wasn't easy to read. I enjoyed the book, but I'd be astonished if it wins. I have to say that I think it's a fairly weak short-list this year. My own personal favourite is Carry Me Down, which stands out head-and-shoulders better than any of the others. But others will almost certainly disagree with me. I thought The Testament of Gideon Mack was at least as good as most of the books on the short-list, and I also liked Black Swan Green - though I can see why they wouldn't want both BSG and Carry Me Down on the shortlist. I'm certainly not thrilled enough by any of them to risk a bet. Anyway, I'm told the result will be live on the 10:00 news on the BBC. Looking forward to it, but not with the same sense of anticipation as I felt for the last two years. Last year was an exceptional short-list, and the year before had Cloud Atlas which I still feel is one of the best books of the last ten years, and should have won the Booker. I'm going to re-read The Night Watch as it's a while since I read it - just to be fair. So, in summary:- Desai, Kiran: The Inheritance of Loss A bit wordy, but I quite liked it. Confusing as to dates. Can't see this winning. Grenville, Kate: The Secret River A good yarn, but not what I'd look for in a Booker winner. Hyland, M.J: Carry Me Down My personal favourite - a powerful story about a family in Ireland, and the consequences when a young boy finds out more than he ought to know. I hope this wins. Matar, Hisham: In the Country of Men Probably my second favourite - a powerful story of a young boy in Libya under Gaddafi. I'd be quite happy if this wins. St Aubyn, Edward: MotherÂs Milk A horrible book. Well written, but not a single nice person among any of the characters. I am so sick of books about rich people's problems. I bet this one wins. Sigh. Waters, Sarah: The Night Watch A good book about the relationship between four women during the war. Written "backwards", so to speak - we find out what happened later in the war, and only later in the book do we find out how they got there. The favourite, and already a best-seller. I don't think it'll win, though I wouldn't be upset if it did.