I have birdhouse gourd seeds to trade for some of yourClimbing Vine - Black-eyed Susan Email me if interested. Melanie

Well I gave up on my fairy garden, after I found out that moomin mama wouldn't need a ladder for cleaning the second story windows. I'm really amazed at nack you've got for this, Purple. Even if I'm not commenting every time, I really enjoy your pictures. Keep 'em coming! For the bricks, you would have to make sure that you use a VERY thin paint if you go by the "shake'n'bake" method. Otherwise, I fear it would run down at the bottom while drying, in a way that would create a small tip on each brick. spray paint would be possible, as long as you keep a good distance to the bricks. Perhaps you could dry them on one of those plates, that little girls use for making pearl plates? -After they have dried you could "effect" paint them with a thin layer of slightly different colour pigment paint (not acrylics) on the sides that face out: put some thin paint on a flat surface (a lid or something) then dip a piece of sponge in the paint, then dap it on a piece of paper to get the worst excess off, and finally dab it onto the brick. You could also use this technique for the burgers. -For the illusion of searing, it's hard to get a brush that is thin enough... even a no 2 could easily make too fat chunks of paint, but perhaps if you take a string of hair, and strech it out between your fingers then dip it in: a: thin paint, and run it along the direction you want the line (still stretched out), or b: use a thicker paint, and remove some of the excess paint on a piece of paper, and run it along where you want the line on your burger (also with the hair still stretched out). Perhaps it could be done with cheese cutting wire, which is a bit thicker. I have yet to see a no 1 brush in an art supply store, but perhaps they would have it in a hobby supply store (I always wonder how people who paint tin soldiers makes those small dots for eyes). VG

I don't think 8 roses are too many to start with. That's how many I started with two years ago now. Last year I added about 30 more. This year I'm adding another 30 (I think, not sure what it was on the last count). Peace does fine here in Wisconsin, it will die to the ground but it comes back and was three to four feet tall by fall. It does get blackspot but I use that Bayer Garden Disease Control stuff and it is very simple and works well. I'd recommend leaving some room in your rose garden so you can add to it. You'll want to do some research on this forum for good cut roses once you've had more experience with roses. A good cut rose is more than just a pretty bloom - other factors to consider are how long it lasts in a vase (some very pretty roses only last a few hours) or how well it perfumes a room (some of the cut roses have very little scent). Check out Palatine roses as they have a great selection of beautiful cut roses. For other nurseries, be sure to check Dave's Garden Watchdog for feedback from gardeners. Some of those pretty catalogs look good but don't deliver what they promise. When you get your roses in the spring be sure to plant them deep. Don't over-do the fertilizer as they won't need any right away. And if they don't turn out well then don't give up. One of the roses I thought would be great turned out not to do very well for me, it was a different color than I thought it would be and didn't bloom much. It died over the winter and I replaced it this year with a different rose that was much closer to the color I really wanted and that rose has done much better. I hope they all survive the winter, but if they don't it means an open spot that I can get another rose to fill.

I already have run out of space. But there is no way I would move. After all these years working by butt off in the garden to finially get it too look like this. The idea of starting over is just impossible. I could never do it all again. And I love everything that is here, I could never leave it. I love dahlias when I buy them already growing in pots. When I try to do them myself I make a mess of it. This year I do have some dahlias tubers and have finially learned how I should be growing dahlias. I have been doing it wrong so no wonder I had no great success. But today I thought why all the bother. I don't start them under lights and started now, they might flower by July. Buy the darn pots and I have flowers now and all summer until frost. I think thats what I will do from now on. The Clematis are just sooooo gorgeous. I can't even begin to describe the color of the light purple. Of course, the plants locally were almost twice the price of the mail order ones. Thanks for the prunning group tip, I haven't gotten a chance to look that up yet. I have another obelisk in my basement for years that I had never ever put together yet. Looks like I am going to be needing it.