Hi Joann, I don't know much about SC but I live in zone 7 in NM. Some of the plants that do well here and come up faithfully every year are: canna, iris, four o'clocks, roses, sedums. I'm sure there are a lot more, but I have personal experience with these. I have mixed yellow & pink four o'clocks and some semi-dwarf (3-4ft) canna with a yellow bloom sprinkled with red that I'd be willing to trade if you're interested. I'm interested in liriope, angels trumpet, or even a small palm. I have a greenhouse so I can over-winter them there if I need to. Thanks, Denise/plantlady35

Hhhmmmm. If you want something that truly looks like a Christmas tree in the fir/spruce mould, no, nothing stops at 20 feet high. However, there are a number of hollies that can be quite permanently sheared to that size, with the right equipment. In the upper south you could go with American holly but some more uncommon hollies might be both more easily shearable and better looking plants. I've seen pictures of 'Scepter' looking cone shaped. All hollies are a little slow when young, but then so are most conifers besides pines bred for forestry. Also, 'Scepter' or certain HIghclere hollies won't be hard to decorate because the leaves are smooth. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1316017

tobyt- After my school psychologist daughter arrived last night, I consulted her about how to make cooking/baking more successful. She said the key to success is to keep busy and keep changing the activity. -Copy the recipe so it's on a single sheet of paper, rather than within a field of other recipes on a page. More than one recipe per page can be distracting. Read it through together. Enlarge it if possible, to make it easy to read. -Go over good kitchen safety practices (hand washing, equipment use, electric cords, how to safely plug something in, etc.). -Highlight/underline things in the recipe that she will be doing or would like to do, OR, cross out each step as it has been finished (this is not only busy work, but how to track things). Kids like to know they are on the right track and accomplishing something. -Get the equipment out and assembled in one place. Measure ingredients and line them up on a tray/cookie sheet, or in one place on the counter. -Go over what kitchen equipment you will be using. Be very verbal and deliberate in instruction on use. If a timer is going to be used, practice with it first. -Do one thing at a time - follow one step at a time - concentrate on one instruction at a time. Don't give multiple tasks. -Check off each ingredient on the recipe as it's measured and assembled. Checking off is another form of busy work. -Keep in mind other busy work associated with the project like keeping the counter wiped clean, moving cooled cookies on the cooling rack to a container or stacking them on one end of the rack, etc. -Grainlady

It appears that 3 of the 4 Samoan seedlings sprouts are making some progress with new growth. Don't know why but the 4th one of them seems to be near death, almost completely browned out. :( I've read the strong sun/heat can crack the husk too much and cause the plant to have a reduced resistance to the environment. Maybe sunburn, overwatering, underwatering? Maybe 100% success rate is asking too much. If it dies, I think I'm going to replace it with a Satakentia liukiuensis rather than another coconut palm.