I'm actually going to plant next year!!. I buy all sorts of seeds and then never plant them. I hate trying to garden in NE Ohio, winter lasts too long. spring is 3 days in may or june. and by father's day drought seems to be setting in with the heat. by mid july everything is crispy and winter seems to start in september-- but you can be sure of snow before halloween, but the leaves haven't fallen yet. Ok, I exagerate, a bit. so next year i'm going to plant and actually water, to see what happens. I'm planting zinnias, zinnias and zinnias. I'm going to move my magnolia (not enough sun) i'm going to put in a korean spice viburnum, azalea viscosium, some type of an elderberry-- i think a cutleaf black one, ravenna grass, regular old joe pie weed. i'm going to dig up my failing front perrenial borders-- divide, separate, amend and lay out ina more outlandish color scheme (i'm actually going to put those bright orange poppies with dark purple iris and light blue catmint, and chartreuse alliums-- cause it works) I'm going to build proper trellises for my clematis. I'm going to plant basil, lavender, rosemary and thyme as well as dill and fennel. and I'm planting some tomatoes-- big fat juicy ones that taste like tomatoes are supposed to taste. OK everybody can email me next september and ask how it went. digger2

Hi Susannah It is good to know that you are recovering from the storm, just like you I started with just a lawn when we moved to this house, year after year we have been changing into something that we like, however the garden is always changing and when something does not do well in the yard it gets a replacement. Fruit trees are always welcome in any house that I ever lived, they are so worth it. From the trees that you are growing I consider one time to grow the macadamia, but it takes long time to grow. When it produces for you it will be great and is ornamental. The bananas in your zone will produce like crazy! unless you can use a lot of ripe fruit keep just a few. If you like organic fertilizer, compost, greensand and others should be a good choice. If the fig is small, I would cover it with a light insect cover. At this time of the year with the rains they get rust anyway. Figs are very hardy and I think it will recover. Glad to hear about the progress with your dwarf poinciana and your sapodilla, I wish your yard has a fast recovery and look lush again. Silvia

I'm just getting started so there is rearranging and changing going on all the time. 2011 I'm putting peach pom pom zinnias along the back of the sidewalk bed with naked ladies, tulips, daffodils, chives, miniature roses, and mums in the center of the beds and the front of the bed filled with Plume Celosia, Portulaca, Miniature Tropical Strawflowers, and crocuses. I'm working on creating a 4 season garden. I haven't gotten all of the layering right yet but it's getting better every year. I moved the irises out of the foundation bed and plan on replacing them with Bushy Sunflowers, Red Columbine, Red Mums, Peruvian Daffodils, Red Gladiolus, Ditch Lilies, Bronze Mums, Orange Blackberry Lilies, and Yellow Mums. I'm using chocolate mint as a groundcover in the foundation beds as a rodent repellent. The driveway bed I'm still cutting down select trees from. But I do have the Irises in it where I have already cleared it. I also have a red crepe myrtle and birds nest spruce and a mature cypress and one deep purple lily in the bed. I plan to add California Bluebells, Centearea Montana, Pom Pom Burgandy Zinnia, and purple crocuses. I may put a center group of purple mums in it to add fall color. Most of the potage is in the tree bed. The moonglo pear, sage, rosemary, french tarragon, basil, thyme, and oregano share space with my peonies, primroses, lilies of the valley, columbines, Double Mock Orange, Red Hydrangeas, and Japanese Forest Grass. Other than moving the primroses to the edge of the shady side of the bed I don't have a lot of plans for this bed. The fruit trees along the driveway may get two dwarf peach trees added to the line to finish the drive. I'm not sure yet. I'm not all that fond of peaches but my friend is and I do need to add two more to complete the drive. And those are my plans for the new growing season.

bpgreen, thanks for helping me remember what RTF is. Steve said "...She'll eat some pie, but it's all about the crust for her.... I have to eat a whole pie myself!" Sounds like torture. I'd suggest you keep making 'em. Maybe one day she'll acquire a taste for it. I used to be a crust person myself. I discovered that I have 'superior' taste buds and now love the pie filling too. I just use much less spice. It was irritating to me to eat apple pie that tasted like cinnamon instead of apples. Many recipes call for too much spice, IMHO. I have a good no-sugar-added pie filling recipe.. I adjusted the spices to suit myself and, this year found a good low fat crust recipe. I'd never realized before having fruits fresh from my own trees, just how good they would be. The apples from my Fuji are different than those from a grocery store... more flavorful and even crisper. Don't rub in my lack of nectarines, Steve. :-( The thought of a juicy fresh nectarine or peach (or even frozen in a smoothie) sounds delicious! One year we got a box of nectarines fresh from a friends tree. Great fresh, needless to say, and the low sugar jam I made from them was fabulous! Parrots: Part of the reason I grow organically on my property..... I mostly have African parrots but also have a couple of Blue & Gold Macaws and a flight of 3 older cockatiels (2 well into their 20's). The "Psittacine" in my online name means 'of or pertaining to parrots'. I was a 'psittaculturist' (raised and studied them) for almost 30 years... retired from the "raising" part a few years ago. They definitely aren't for everyone because, if their needs are truly addressed, most are higher maintenance pets than a dog or cat. I've raised many species of parrots, or have studied them. I've also raised barn swallows, a killdeer, sage thrashers, humming bird, magpie, a starling (fun bird! much like a Magpie) and a common sparrow (Twiggy, one of my favorites)and maybe others I've forgotten. Have never been able to save a common robin, though. What species of conure was yours? Steve said: "Always wanted a falcon, though! Maybe someday..." Not an easy thing to get a raptor license. There is a guy that lives a few blocks from me who is a falconer and has a raptor rehabilitation license. His golden eagle died of West Nile Virus last year, (he now has a new one for his education program). They are beautiful animals. Crystal