Hello Everyone... Cactusmcharris...yes, that is me behind that huge Agave!!! We were on vacation down on the Outer Banks fishing that day...I really didn't want to post a pic of myself...but I wanted to show the size of the Agave!!! "Great Hair day after boating all day!!!" LOL... I know you have many palms up in your area (Kamloops) : ) beacuase I have passed through your area several years ago on my way from Banff to Canum Lake near 100 mile house!!! Beautiful area...lots of snow, but missing the palms!!! If you ever get the urge to hug an Agave...make sure the points have been removed!!! LOL...or else you will have natural piercings all over...this is a plant that demands respect!!! That's why I had to give this "Mac Daddy" a small hug!!! It has to be the biggest one that I have ever seen growing close in my area... Hello Josh...That is one beauty of an Agave!!! You are very lucky to have a friend that would let you dig up a beauty like that!!! Great find!! You must have been thrilled!!! How is it doing now? Thanks for all of your help... Hi Mike!!! That AGave came from a friend of mine that is no longer here with us...so it is very special to me...I call it "My Jack Plant" A coworker of mine had it growing in PA and sent me a pup to grow...It has taken off and loves the climate here in VB. I really need to plant it in the ground because it is so root bound, but I am afraid of losing it...hopefully next spring I will plant it somewhere in my back yard...my son gets very tired of moving it around for me...like I said to catsusmcharris..you get pierced all the time!! I use fingernail clippers to trim the points off of mine!!! Yes, that is my mug peeking through the leaves of that beautiful Agave... Take care everyone!!! Laura in VB

Thanks a lot for the compliment Bananafan! I appreciate it! I definitely try to make the best of my climate. Luckily there is a lot of moisture year round by me so that does give me the opportunity to grow a lot of vegetation. Every year I get more and more species of plants, it's hard to keep up with them all after a while, but so far I've managed pretty well. Not sure what purple sedum you are referring to (is it the purple heat vine?), but that, the arborvitae and the passion vine are all cold hardy here so they are one of the easier plants for me to grow! Arborvitaes are a little bit overused here so I'd rather have something else in my yard other than them, but they look nice and are expensive (and just as expensive to dig up and replace) so I'll be probably be keeping them for many more years! The passion vine is probably my favorite bloom. Not only is it cold tolerant, but it's a fast grower too. I got it as a small plant for 2 dollars at a local nursery in July 2010. Now they cover a huge portion of my pool fence and there are seedlings popping up around my yard (they dont seem too invasive though). I know that the Pacific Northwest has some of the best gardening in the country and it is definitely cool year round so I would agree that cool climates are actually great for a lot of flowering plants! It gets pretty hot by me in the summer so that does limit the number of flowers I can grow a little bit.

Hey Everyone, Yes they do well here in VB as well as the Outer Banks... I was just down in Hatteras fishing and noticed several large Agaves one was or looked like an Americana Agave and the other was a huge Varigated Agave...I will be back down there in a few weeks and will take pictures. If anyone does travel down to Hatteras they are at the Marina on the righthand side, right before you get on the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Here in VB, I have seen them growing for over 20 yrs without protection...they are located at the 6th street or around 7-8th street on Pacific ave. at the corner near the parking lot at the corner.... My large Americana continues to be brought in every year. I know it is probably so root bound and probably begging to be repotted outside...so I will consider doing that. I do have one different type planted in my backyard that I have not shown before. so I will take a pic when I get home. This different type of Agave does very well unprotected, but grows very slowly...Winesett nursery has several types of "Century Plants" that they grow outside for years and years...and like Nova (Ken) says, Sandbridge has had them planted with much success for along time as well. I love these great plants...I will take pictures of the local Agaves soon and post for you all to see!!! Take care everyone!!! Laura in VB

LITH, Ask the possible cash buyer out to see the place, now; if she won't bother to come at this point she's just hoping to scoop up something cheap, cheap, cheap when/if you get desperate - perhaps more desperate than you would ever get. Test her interest with the invitation. If your place meets her needs, invite an offer from her. Your buyer is in default (and I have no doubt he knows that) -in addition to being in the Caribbean, so if the cash buyer makes you an offer you can live with, then take it. Tough luck for your current buyer. He coulda, woulda, and definitely, shoulda! Everybody is right, IMO, about who should be screaming (metaphorically, maybe even literally) at the bank and it is NOT you! Your pressure is more likely to screw up the process because you have no relationship to the bank. The way that they see it, they're not going to lose a dime if they p*ss you off. The buyer, OTOH, is their customer - not that that matters all that much these days. But truly, it is your buyer who has pledged to buy the place and getting the funds together to do so is entirely his problem, not yours. In your eagerness to get the deal done, you have have overstepped the correct boundaries of the separate, and distinct, roles and made it too easy for him. I'm not saying he's not committed, but I am saying he isn't carrying HIS load. He needs to man up and act like a competent grown-up who can get a fairly straight forward home loan done. In a perverse way, your efforts have enabled him to continue to fool around on his way to this purchase - and now you're feeling the fall out. Tell the cash buyer this: it appears that your current buyer is in default and may not be able to close (she needs no other details, and hopefully she doesn't know them) so you are preparing to put the property back on the market. But given that she has shown so much interest you are, courteously, offering her a "preview" to see it before anyone else does. This is putting some tactful fairydust on the situation, but she doesn't need to know that. Just set it up as a chance for her to see it before anyone else, and not a last ditch effort on your part. Meanwhile, the old clanker down in my basement is still puffing and screeching away and mojo-ing like mad on your behalf. (And, if there is a next time, DO NOT DEAL WITH YOUR BUYERS' BANK - that's their job, and if they aren't on top of it, at every single turn, consider it a clear sign they aren't really committed to the deal. Build hard pass/fail tests at various stages of the contract so you can bail at the first sign of dilly-dallying - even on the part of their bank. It will save you time and angst.) HTH, L.