Thank you to all of you for your wonderful photos and input on this topic! Because of your input and ideas, I have ordered a few more plants for late summer/fall planting that I hope will be established enough by next season to provide food for pollinators: Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' (the perennial one) Silphium perfoliatum Hardy hibiscus (said to be attractive to both bees and hummers) Echinops 'Blue Glow' Solidago 'Fireworks' (I already have 'Little Lemon') Calamintha nepeta Nepeta 'Joanna Reed' (said to be sterile and constantly blooming, just like Six Hills Giant) Aster 'Edo Murazaki' Aster 'Raydon's Favorite' (to add to Bluebird, Fanny, and October Skies) Vitex 'Abbeville Blue' Agastache 'Blue Fortune' (I already have this but it can't hurt to add a couple more!) Another Helenium 'Mardi Gras' I am going to try to grow the Eryngium mentioned above by seed next year. Thank you all again for the great observations and inspiration!

I have the same question on the Gigandes, I purchased from Purcell. I have planted sweet white runners, runner cannelini and the black valentines (bush beans as snaps) from them. I am pleased with their germination rate even though they are meant for eating. We are planting the edible beans because it gives us a chance to taste before planting. Our space is at a premium, so we like to know that we will like any crop we plant. I will try to paste the links to the other threads on the grocery store beans (I called them pantry beans in one). OK, no luck pasting the links to the older thread, so I will try bumping them.

I can really relate to this woman - I live on a 1/8 acre suburban lot, just one block from a subway stop in a close-in suburb, and I've ripped out nearly all the grass and replaced it with a mix of native and non-native perennials, shrubs, and trees with just grass paths inbetween - my garden is also NWF certified. I'm sure there are some people who hate my garden, but when I am out working in the front yard I get nothing but positive, unsolicited comments from the pedestrians who pass by. But I do make an effort to keep it fairly neat, and I live in an area where all the houses are older, a bit funky, and there is no HOA....we have a tolerant live-and-let-live attitude here, but there are other parts of my town that are HOA restricted and my type of gardening would probably be prohibited. There are some towns near me in suburban Maryland (Takoma Park and Greenbelt come to mind) where the towns actually ENCOURAGE the 1/8 acre suburban lot owners to take out their front and back lawns and plant natives and xeriscapes. There are entire blocks in Takoma Park, MD where everyone has done this and it's just beautiful to walk down those streets in any season. If they keep hassling here, perhaps this lady should move to another area where the neighbors think more like she does...

smdane05 - Sounds really good! I've definitely found gardening to be relaxing and interesting. It's work too, but even that's rewarding. I wish I would have started a long time ago. I hope you do well with tomatoes. I'm not sure when would be a good time to start those, as they seem to like warmth. I'll probably start back with them in April or so. I did get a lot of experience with them last summer. I got some good ones, but also had several battles, which I can go into more detail later, if you'd like. As for preserving, I've only dabbled in veggies, and preferring a quick harvest. Maybe this year I can get into fruits. I've read conflicting information that blueberries are either hard or easy to grow. They're so healthy for a person though that it does makes sense to try and grow them. I'd imagine that they would need more sunlight than veggies. Books and reference materials do sound like a great way to go, along with these great online forums. I have a Rodale's Illustrated Guide to Organic Farming (think that's the title) with great information, and an herb book. I too have thought about catching the rainwater, though this past year was certainly not a great one for that. The tricky part around here is making sure the mosquitoes don't get into the water. You know, they'd breed terribly. I haven't seen a water catchment system yet that gets around that, though I have an idea/design to try that might work. I wonder though about using aquarium water. Doesn't it have algae and bacteria, and/or clorine in it? None of those could be good for a healthy garden. Seems risky to me. It's important to strive for good materials in everything you use. I recommend going organic as much as possible, and watch for recycled items with a possible checkered past or connection (even through Wal Mart and Home Depot).