GOD'S TAKE ON LAWNS - I think this has been posted in other (gardenweb) forums here. Let me begin by saying "To me Grass is a perennial weed That invades my vegetable garden". :-) This may be a good time of year to re-visit this conversation... ************************************************************** GOD'S TAKE ON LAWNS: Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the subject of lawns: God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? (or Quebec) What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect "no maintenance" garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles. St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass. God: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there? St. Francis: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn. God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy. St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it... sometimes twice a week. God: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay? St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags. God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it? St. Francis: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away. God: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away? St. Francis: Yes, Sir. God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work. St. Francis: You are not going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it. God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life. St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away. God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose? St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves. God: And where do they get this mulch? St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch. God: Enough. I don't want to think about this anymore. Sister Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight? Sister Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber", Lord. It's a real stupid movie about..... God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

I plan to make all my seedlings (that I can handle) flower, then force them for the following year, and give away. I already promised the first one for Cindeea, for she sent me seeds, the second one for Maria, for her seeds... And then the rest will go to Project Angelfood. Hopefully they will see it as a nice gesture and not an unnecessary burden. :o)

Momto4kids - Hopefully you're still following this thread. I remember way back when you got your counters rehoned on site. A couple of years ago, DD made a batch of "lemonade" on our island, squeezing an entire bottle of lemon juice on it in the process. I have lived with it, but I had a marble restoration company come out to give us a quote - we are replacing the mantle on the fireplace in our DR and need to have the slate refinished - so I figured while we were at it, we'd do the counter. I recall you saying it was fairly inexpensive to do - the first company, who apparently does a lot of work for an Ivy League college, came out and quoted us $2000 for the job (and told us it was a 2 day job). My jaw hit the floor. The next company quoted us $450 for both the fireplace and the counter and said it would take 3 hours or so. Do you mind telling me how much it cost you? I want the job done right, but I don't want to get taken, either. TIA!

Mustbe, I just ordered a Candice and looking forward to her doing well in my climate. I ordered it largely due to your beautiful photos - thanks for that. It's good to hear she's doing well for you. I was also thinking Ingrid... I have lost countless other plants in my climate/environment due to weather and critters. Hydrangea? Yeah, right. Gardenia? Smells great, can't take the heat. Love chives and parsley? So do the chipmunks. Like Gerber Daisy flowers? Hope you like looking at the stems. So many slow deaths. I hate to think about how much I've spent so I just don't think about it. We're gardeners. We garden and let nature take its course. I get down sometimes and write about it in my garden journal, but then the sun comes up another day and it's so nice to see the good things. At the moment, I'm seeing munched-on rose buds by grasshoppers. Seems to be quite a colony of them this year. No disease yet - that comes in the Fall. I was irritated yesterday because I picked up a no-name "Vig Rosa Patented Assortment" red rose and when I got home it was infested with spider mites. Swarming. How charming. I really don't understand how I didn't see any when I was looking at the bush at the store - very strange because I did look at it. Now it's in quarantine getting spray baths for a while. I learn more every day...