I did plant an insane number of seeds this autumn (already looking dubiously at the full greenhouse before pricking out a single seedling)...so I am hoping that the usual attrition is not too extensive and the perennials for the damp southern edge are going to thrive - filipendula rubra, peucedanum palustre (this is for the swallowtails), ranunculus cortusiodes (because I love buttercups) epilobium angustifolium album Angelica sylvestris 'Ebony' for the allotment a whole slew of brights such as pentapete, ipomopsis, incarvillea, heterotheca, talinum, Cow Pen Daisy, hoary verbena, callirhoe, sp.penstemon, malvaviscus, and illiamna and iochroma. Also, looking forward to more rehmannia alata, ribes aureum and a new foxglove, digitalis obscura.

Nothing still in the mail that I have to wait for. So, I did a blind drawing today and our winner is ........................ The globetrotting LOIS from Minnesota. I'll get the blocks in the mail to you soon.

@amberm145 I have to chuckle at your post about the electricians. I went and helped my Dad put this sucker up one day. He was sitting on the top of a 16 foot ladder while I was hanging over the railing handing him each and every crystal ball. They were all numbered and had to go in a specific order. To say the hooks were small is an understatement, I'm surprised he could even hold on to them. He was fine, but I was the one shaking like a leaf even though I had a railing to lean against haha! (I was about 20 ft up) I think I was more nervous for him than anything. As for an update: Finally caught a break!! My bulldozing guy stopped by last night and informed me that the County called him because they saw him working on my property and also saw my "clean fill wanted" sign. They are bringing in 50 loads ... for FREE! Which is huge for us because it's not cheap here (is it anywhere?!) and I'm going to need a total of about 120 loads. I had a company bringing 30-40 loads on Friday so I had to ask them to move that to next week. I felt bad but simply can't turn down free fill. Hopefully this will help pay for the changes I had to make to my kitchen haha!

They're finicky, Steppskie. Out of about 10 that started germinating, I got one tree. First, like all legumes, they have a hard seed coat that must either be filed or acid-treated. I didn't mess with acid, so I filed them. Just file a tiny bit at one end of the seed, I recommend the opposite end from where the radicle emerges, not broadside, as that will often cause the cotyledon to abort entirely and stunt growth. I then soak for 24 hours in water until they expand. They don't need cold stratification. The seedcoats tend to get stuck as well even after they sprout. I'm going to try more next spring and fine-tune my technique.