I'll play!

I have 400 bulbs to plant. I have also planted 4 hostas, 2 Annabelle hydrangeas, 6 hellebores, 8 hakonechloas, 4 lambs ear and a few dozen other things I can't remember...all in the past 2 weeks. I also have to clean up the veggie garden and amend all the garden beds with seaweed and leaves. Feels like I'll never get it all done before it's too cold to work outside and my hands get numb.

As for your vacation, I'm an excellent travel agent! Do you want beach or mountains or desert? How warm/hot do you want your destination to be? Do you want to stay domestic or go international?

I moved a little Norway spruce, a little mountain laurel, and some hostas, as well as some Spanish bluebell bulbs I managed to find where I remembered them blooming in the middle of a path. I'm waiting for a cornus kousa to go dormant before I move it and maybe a crabapple. There's also a volunteer miscanthus seedling in my granite steps that I keep forgetting to move. (once I decide where it should go).

But my major endeavor is removing English ivy that's been slowly spreading, probably for at least fifty years. I more or less ignored it since it was in a woody area and looked good, but then it climbed up my old pussy willow and overwhelmed it while I wasn't looking. This was the last straw so I've started pulling it, one section at a time. And another section and another section and another section. I've also checked all the trees in those ivy-covered areas and cut the ivy at the base wherever it's been climbing. A lot of this involves bending over under shrubs so I don't do too much at a time. So far the body's been taking this surprisingly well.

I'll bring in the last few houseplants in the next couple of days before the night time temperatures drop into the 30's.

I have a few bulbs that haven't been delivered yet but nothing like suzabanana's 400!

Claire

Seriously, Suzabanana I'll take you up on it. Are you reachable through houzz's system?

Yes, although I haven't figured out how to get notifications of messages. If I know to expect a message, I'd be happy to play travel agent for you.

Suzabanana, Here are directions on how to set to allow messages and to ask Houzz to send and email when you get a message.

Go to Your Houzz in upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page under Who can message me is a drop down menu. Choose Allow anyone to message me and you might also want to change over the drop down menu that's a bit farther up the page to send you an email every time someone sends you a message so that you know when you have an email.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

Marie - Check out the area around Tucson, AZ. There's the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park.

Arizona! No damp!

Thanks Barb, and what's happening gardening-wise?

Not doing much this Fall. I planted another pitch pine. I ordered some camassia quamash bulbs. Ordinarily I plant more bulbs in the Fall, but the spot I'd been planting them is getting too full. I also buy shrubs on clearance, but Lowes and Garden in the Woods haven't had as good sales as prior years.

There is a "no man's land" between my parent's privacy plantings and those of the neighbor. There is a similar "no man's land" in the swamp between my significant other's back fence and the neighbor's back fence...I ordered a bunch of hickory and pecans and am going to chuck them into these areas in the hopes they grow and make the little wooded areas more interesting then the current mass of silver and Norwat maple. Hey, trees grow from randomly dropped nuts in the wild, so it's possible. They are cheap, and I can get trees that into a location I'd feel funny actually planting them. This strategy would work better if I could get a trash bag of fresh sugar maple samaras or a pound of beech nuts or American Holly berries...

I looked for compact unusual conifers on sale at Stonegate yesterday. Very skimpy supply, nothing like previous years. I think garden centers are being much more careful about carrying over inventory. However, New England Nurseries in Bedford ma had tons of inventory all very healthy looking.

Well, Marie, I've been quiet because 1. I'm having to learn a new photo program for my Mac (I updated to El Capitan and, sadly, lost iPhotos) and 2. I'm honestly getting a bit tired of the gardens. In fact, I feel a bit like my poor 'Larry Grace' daylily... here he is rain-soaked, transparent, and a bit tattered.

It's been such a hard summer for gardening with all the heat. Many things did not start to do well until the cooler weather arrived. I know I shouldn't complain about the heat considering what those out West have gone through, but it did keep me out of the gardens.

This summer we worked on a patio area down by the river. That was hard in all this heat. But I didn't order bulbs and didn't get those new roses as I had planned.

Like Claire, we're bringing in houseplants. Today it was the 17 orchids that have summered on our deck and one begonia that I really loved. But I don't have much hope that it will survive very long inside. We're expecting much colder weather so I'm guessing most of the annuals will need to be mulched soon.

And suzabanana, how wonderful! I'd surely like to see some photos of those 400 bulbs next spring!

That picture is exquisitely descriptive!

I'm late to the party but I could use some garden talk now. A couple weeks ago I transplanted two blue baby macrophylla hydrangeas (they were my mom's and she doesn't remember what kind). They were offshoots of the mother plants. I put them in my newish shade garden on the side of the house and transplanted the pachysandra that I had to move to dig the holes. I put some closer to the new plantings and also near the entrance to the front side garden. Also finally planted the Honorine Jobert anemone I bought this summer.

I've been super busy caulking and priming and painting my newly rebuilt front porch. What a pain!

So...I got more bulbs. Clearly, I've lost my mind.

We got 400 grape hyacinth in the ground, as well as 6 Gladiator allium, 75 daffodils (Red Devon, Barrett Browning and Golden Ducat), 6 fritillaria (yellow) and 15 iris (Katherine Hodgkins). I still have 50 daffodils (Ice Follies), 8 fritillaria (orange), 100 anemone and 30 Spanish bluebells to plant.

Lucky for me the weather will be warm this week! I've got so much left to do!

I've been planting ornamentals that have been sitting in pots all summer since I'm running out of time. I tend to buy plants before I have a spot for them, so then I need to figure out where to put them before I can plant.

The veggie garden is mostly put to bed, but there are still a few things there - leeks (mulched for winter), kale, parsley, and broccoli, though the broccoli plant I transplanted in August hasn't formed heads yet.

DH reroofed the house, and bless his heart, he made sure not to squash the plants in the front garden. He set up tarps to divert the old shingles onto the drive or front walk, so I did the final clean-up for him to be sure we wouldn't pick up roofing nails in the tires. (A strong magnet in a plastic bag dangled near the ground does a great job of finding nails!)

Taking down the last of the staging planks at the end of the job; he's not up for manhandling these on his own, and I would be of no help, so now he uses mechanical means to lift them.

Doesn't look like half the roof was dropped onto it, and giving access motivated me to prune back the quince quite a bit. I moved several rooted quince branches into the garden behind the house in the hopes that they will take. If they do, this monster is coming out to be replaced with something that isn't a large twiggy/green blob for most of the year. I like the early blooms for the bees andthat it stays at 4' tall, but I hadn't counted on it wanting to expand sideways infinitely. Despite being trimmed hard three times in the past 5 years, it keeps returning to a width in the 6-8' range, a bit wider than the space available.

I also pruned my Annabelle hydrangea down to 6" (in the top left corner of the photo above under the windows to the left of the door, but not visible due to current height) so I can see where to dig and pull to get it back to a reasonable size. I planted both the quince and Annabelle almost 20 years ago, before I had much experience with shrubs, and both turned out to be much wider than planned, though they have stayed at the 4' height that keeps them below the window sills. Here's what Annabelle looked like last summer, definitely in need of some severe reining in of suckers! I vow that I won't let it get this bad again!!

I've been putting in my sale perennials as well. I did very little to loosen the potbound roots.

I "should" but I can't bear to dig up what was laborously planted. I'll mulch with pine needles in mid December- if the ground isn't covered with snow- and tamp down the heucheras I belatedly divided this fall. It may be a sad spring if the plants I abused this fall pay me back in kind by dying.

I think I ordered about 300 bulbs. After one has learned to tell up from down, it's pretty difficult to screw up planting bulbs. I will not jinx myself by commenting on rodent activity in the bulb plantings. I'll just say so far....so____. All the small bulbs and most of the tulips are in. Just another 200 daffs.

My best helper and digger is on reduced hours. His hip, which was cranky, has gone downhill. unfortunately the more effective anti-inflamatories are not allowed because he just started taking coumidin. We're in limbo....waiting for a heart fix so we can do a hip fix. This reminds me.....find a snow blower or a snow blowing person.

These health issues have been a distraction this fall. Although I am not working (for pay) it doesn't feel like there's a lot of time. However, I think the real issue for me is that I have really slowed down. I was observing myself digging out holes for bulbs. One step, lift. Second step, lift. More....lift. Chop up compacted soil.....slowly. Lower self to stool (goes slowly) place bulbs (that's quick!) Get up (with effort) Observe self.....sigh. This is an adjustment.

Marie, I am sorry that DH is uncomfortable! My mom went through the "waiting for a heart fix so we can do a joint fix", but hers was a broken arm near her elbow, and by the time she had the heart fix, they told her she was too old (85 at the time) to fix the arm! At least her heart is doing well now. Everyone I know who has had a hip done has been quite happy with the increase in mobility and reduced pain, so your DH may well be able to be more energetic in the garden in the future.

I usually put in a few bulbs (long gone are the days I ordered 200-300 bulbs . . .) but I didn't get any this year, on purpose, since I know I've started slowing down, and I vowed not to order any more material to plant until everything I already had waiting was in the ground. I did get two more shrubs, but both were ones that I had been wanting for some time, a male to go with my Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' since our local male winterberries seem to bloom at the wrong time, and a Hydrangea paniculata 'White Diamond' that I've just coveted. It has the lacier bloom heads that I like more than the dense, heavy ones like 'Strawberry Vanilla'.

I also have so many voles right now that if it isn't vole-proof, I can't plant it without a cage. I still have about a dozen plants that need to go in, so every semi-nice day I am out in the garden for a few hours, looking for spots where I can shoehorn in another plant. I have decided that though I have plenty of room on the property, I won't add any more garden beds since I've pretty much hit the limit on what I can do a good job of maintaining.

I finally went to PT this spring for an old knee injury that had flared up again, and so I am finding that I can get up and down much better in the garden. I think this coming year's plant orders (my downfall in the depths of winter) will be limited to replacing vole killed plants that have been wonderful performers. I lost 3 Delphinium 'Blue Butterfly' which spend months covered in bright blue flowers, and my wonderful Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice', one of my favorite plants. I realized that it had never recovered from what I thought was winter damage, but when I went to check twigs, the entire bush fell over - no roots left at all. The Delphiniums turned tan while we were on vacation for two weeks - not a thing left below the soil line. It's discouraging!

Had a tree crew here for most of the day yesterday. Will write a separate post because this thread hasn't had traffic recently. Thanks, NHB, for your encouragement. Only 200 daffs to go!

My disappointment this fall was realizing my Sheffield mums got discarded in the "big transplant" when the patio was put in. I usually have them at Thanksgiving. I will definitely replace them next year. I see them around town; maybe I could go out after dark and get a division from someone.

I caved at end of season bulb sales so I now have about 250 mostly small bulbs to plant . . . so much for good resolutions. At least it's a nice day to be outdoors today!

Nice to see the news of what everyone's been up to. I've been doing much less gardening this year, so I haven't been here in awhile. Seems to be a whole lot less activity here and on some other forums. I checked out the Perennials forum and looked back at posts into July and seems to be a very small amount of activity there too. Glad to see familiar faces still here.

I did do some gardening this year. My first year with an extension on the front perennial bed. I grew a couple of tomatoes there this year and we had tomatoes coming out our ears. I guess there really isn't enough sun in the back now, for good production on the tomatoes. I also grew some Sunflowers in different colors, that was so much fun I hope to do more next year.

That's about it. Nothing exciting at all. [g] Hope to get back into the garden in the spring.

We seem to be establishing a rhythm partly based on sunset. We dig up a plant one day and plant it the next (day or two). So far transplanted Fringe Tree & Kousa Dogwood. Sitting on the ground are Hydrangea p. Pinky Winky and Twist and Shout, which are exchanging locations.

Hi PM! Wonderful to see you post here. Does cooler weather improve how you feel day to day?

Hi Marie, we did a little bit of moving around back in September. Three Ilex 'Sky Pencils' needed to be relocated and are doing well. We also moved a lot of epimedium and ferns. I was eyeing a large Viburnum 'Red Wings' which just shot up to larger than I expected and it needs a new location. Never have seen another shrub grow faster than that one. Decided to leave it for the spring.

I used to really look forward to cooler weather, because I don't tolerate heat well at all, but now I find as I get older, I'm not tolerating the cold so much either. My husband teases me that my comfort zone is 70 - 72 degrees. [g] I like fall weather, but when winter temps arrive, I find I'm not wandering around the yard for long. How about you, do you like the cooler temperatures?

PM2, I'm with you on the temperatures. While I love the seasons and the variation in weather in general, I find I don't have a lot of tolerance for heat, and my stock of thermal underclothes has grown as I have gotten older and they get used a lot. In my house we joke that when we are 80, I'll be wearing 5 layers and have the thermostat set at 80 while DH sits across the room in a T-shirt and shorts.

That sounds about right, Babs. lol I used to enjoy the cold, when I was bundled up. Loved to shovel. Now if I get cold outdoors, it takes forever for me to warm up when I get back in the house. And I use hot socks and tea to speed things up. [g] I haven't resorted to thermals yet, but that's a great idea. I bet that would make a big difference.

I hope we don't end up with a winter like last year! Did anyone else have trouble with ice dams?

You folks are making me nervous! I'm only 36 and hate this cold (although I LOVE the hot weather)! I will need to move before too long.

We had ice dam issues last winter. Had 30K worth of construction over the summer and that didn't include what we still need to get done to prevent them this year! We are ripping off all of our gutters, since those are the only spots we had water damage. Eventually we intend to replace our conventional roof with a metal one which should further prevent the problem in the first place.

Hi Suzabanana - A new face. :-) I've lived in NE all my life, but once when I was in my 20s, my family decided to try moving to a warmer climate and tried renting in Florida to try it out. That lasted about 9 months and we couldn't take it, had to move back. lol We had moved there in the spring and knew it would be really hot in the summer, but it actually was hot from the time we moved there until we left. Not a day that we didn't have the a/c cranking.

Wow about your ice dams. We are trying to figure out how we are going to prevent them again too. I understand insulation is a big part of what needs to happen too. We have a Cape with a dormer and I think it is pretty difficult to prevent unless you use spray foam which I don't want to use.

We've been thinking about the roof too. I have talked to someone with a metal roof that said he still had issues, so I keep asking around to see if I can get a better idea of what is the best solution.

I hope we have a different winter this year and fewer potential ice dams!

I don't like winter. I hate shoveling, heating bills and short days. I hate seeing all my plants die off, drop leaves and looking sad. I see no point to winter any more. When I was a kid, sure we loved to play in the snow, but that was many decades ago. Ans certainly the "Currier and Ives" scenes of everything draped in fresh white snow can be beautiful. But a day later, when the streets are skirted with chunks of sooty ice and the walkways are treacherous, it's a different story! I would love to live in a warmer climate where I could garden all year. I would love to grow palms, citrus, bougainvillea, jasmine, oleander, bird of paradise, bauhinia (orchid tree), brugmansia (angel trumpet) and much more. I know I could design a gorgeous little courtyard, just enough to enjoy and putter around it. Ann, I wouldn't move to Florida either. Although there are some beautiful places, I don't like the wet climate, damp in winter and muggy in summer. I prefer a Mediterranean climate such as one finds in California, or better yet, my favorite place by far, Italy. At my age moving away seems ridiculous now, only a dream of what might have been. But if my health allows, I would like to plan another trip next spring. However, based on last year, I'm not sure when spring will happen!

Hi Bill :-) I see, you don't enjoy the humidity that they have in Florida either. Well, California may have a drier but still warmer climate, but…a little too dry. Drought and wildfires, mudslides and earthquake potential…not my idea of a good trade off. Apparently the whole West Coast seems to be struggling for enough water. And now with all the turmoil in Europe and the people fleeing the MidEast, that doesn't seem to be a good bet either. So, you might just be stuck here with all of us, Bill. ;-)

I really do enjoy every season and the constant changes and yes, getting dark early is something I don't enjoy, but believe it or not, my husband actually looks forward to it. lol He describes his affection for it as 'feeling cozy'. :-)

Actually, we do have April through November that are comfortable temperatures. Not hot, no, but a sweater or light jacket seems to be enough in two months of that span. That's a full 8 months. And sometimes I can start gardening in March and in a mild fall like this year, I can garden right through to the end of this month, probably. Then Thanksgiving, Christmas - very busy. Houseplants can be a real project through the winter and important for indoor air quality. And I'm ready for a break from gardening for a couple of months and turn my attention to other things, so that by April, I'm itching to get back in the garden again. All very rhythmic and cyclical.

We all are different, just as the planet has different eco systems. I wonder if you are originally from a hot climate? Are you Italian, Bill? My roots are in Scotland/Ireland, so even beyond being a native New Englander, I seem to have never had a connection to tropical climes.

This has turned into an interesting discussion. Actually, it's the same one that my dh and I had been having for a while now... where should we go when our house and yard becomes too much for us to handle? And, more importantly... as Bill said... do we really want to pick up and move far from what we've known all our lives at this point in time? We're both retired: does it make financial sense to move and start over someplace else?

We've discussed and ticked off so many other places where we could live:

Florida, while beautiful, is absolutely out. We couldn't stand the year-round sameness of that climate, the intolerable heat when gardening "outside" becomes impossible, and the bugs that require year-round spraying in most places. Plus, we aren't sun lovers or beach lovers (those days are gone)..

California and the west coast are lovely, but certainly global warming has made those volatile places for all the reasons that PM2 mentioned.

Arizona, Texas and New Mexico? Not for us.

The Carolinas or other mid-coast states? They're closer, so why move there when we could easily visit?

Winter doesn't bother either of us. Darkness earlier in the day is a downer, but we've learned to adjust. We're retired, as I've said, so we don't have to go out in the cold if we don't want to. I actually love shoveling snow while my dh uses the snow blower, and we love walks in the winter... crazy, huh? Putting the gardens to bed for a few months gives us a break, especially as the busy holidays arrive and all our kids/grandkids are here.

And that's basically what we've been doing lately... putting the gardens to bed and getting ready for winter and the holidays. After the holidays... Jan-Feb... is my favorite time to make garden plans for the new season.

What magnificent photos of Italy, Bill! It's no wonder you plan to return.

Yes, you're right.... healthcare is very important as one gets older. That's one of our biggest concerns. Funny that you mentioned healthcare comparisons....I have a daughter who lives in France; she and her husband are raising two children. The French healthcare system is absolutely amazing. And that is, sadly, one of the reasons why they'd never return to the U.S.

We would move tomorrow for the right job opportunity and location! I would love for my kids to experience other cultures. My mother emigrated from Croatia in the 50s, but still has citizenship and all of her family is there. We try to visit every other year, but I spent every summer there with my mom. It's very much like northern and coastal Italy in terms of food, culture and climate...but far cheaper ;) In fact, the province we visit the most is Istria - the truffle capital of the world and legally bilingual (Italian and Croatian). I'd move there in a second and be able to grow practically anything I wanted. Fig trees grow through the cracks in the sidewalk!

Anyway, my other most-wanted place to move is New Zealand. I've been lucky enough to visit twice and I was sold the on the first visit! It would really be a dream come true for us to be able to move there. I'm sure my parents would be heartbroken, but I'd love to try to convince them to join us. My husband and I are both only children, so we would happily move our parents with us if they were amenable.

Regarding ice dams - we have had our insulation checked a dozen times in the past year since we filed a claim with insurance. Because our home is only 25 years old, it's actually extremely well insulated and pretty young as far as our area. It's really our gutters that have been the major problem for our home. We only have them on 2 stretch of roof and that's the only place we had problems. So, off they go!

Suz, I've never been to Croatia, but I've seen several videos about it, and it is a gorgeous area! Not far from other great places in Europe, too. I have always thought that New Zealand looked beautiful, but I've never been. But the more I looked into it, watching as many videos, travel documentaries etc. as I could, I started to see some not-so-great areas. But I am sure there is much to love there, and since you have been there, I'm sure you would love it. Just the earthquake issues, especially in Christchurch, that I would worry about a bit.

Interesting perspectives on climate. While all those photos and places are lovely, I can't imagine living somewhere without 4 distinct seasons, including a winter with snow. I actually prefer the NH winter to the one of my childhood in zone 6 Cleveland, where the snow was more often slushy and being a city area turned icky quite quickly as Bill mentioned.

Like Molie, I enjoy getting out into the snow, though for me it's low-key XC skiing and snowshoeing in our woods. I'm not fond of the early dark in late fall/early winter, but the trade-off is the NH autumn which is spectacular, and late winter is less cold as well as crisp and beautiful outdoors. Though spring here is far less pleasant than in OH since here we have more mud, bugs, and fewer flowers, we don't have nearly as hot muggy weather in summer.

When my SIL lived in FL, she had to play tennis at first light in the summer. The entire rest of the day had to be spent indoors to avoid the heat, humidity, and UV. I didn't like it even in winter particularly.

I guess anywhere is a trade-off. I think if I were going to live somewhere other than northern OH or New England, I would seriously consider the mountain southwest, which is spectacular.

Amazing how different everyone is really. I can't imagine living somewhere far from an ocean or sea (must be salt water). I need to be able to be close to it everyday. Mountains and snow do nothing for me unless I am skiing and I'd prefer to take a ski vacation than live with so much snow. I could exist happily if the temps never dipped below 40F.

The saving grace for me in New England is at least when it's cold, it's often sunny. That helps tremendously! In addition to 43 solar panels on our home, we also have a southeast exposure and LOTS of huge windows therefore getting loads of solar heat whenever the sun may shine. My solarium is my survival room :)

Bill, that explains why you are so much more comfortable in a mediteranean climate. Isn’t that interesting. Maybe our climate preferences are actually part of our genes.

Great photos of Italy and all the poppies!

Suzabanana - I’ve always had an interest in New Zealand. I’d like to visit some day. And can’t imagine not living near an ocean either.

Ice dams - our house is 60+ years old and we could use an update on insulation. We probably need our gutters redone too.

No one else had a problem with ice dams last year? I'm impressed.

Babs, I would tire of a climate that didn’t have snow, too. Of course, 100+ inches, like we had last year, well…I could do with very few of those. [g] I hear they are predicting half of that this year.

That was the surprise I had when we lived in Florida. I could not take any outdoor activity in that heat, unless it was by the pool and we were just stuck indoors in a/c all the time.

For those of you with ice dam issues, in addition to having excellent insulation and good air flow in an uninsulated space above the heated envelope (a combo of soffit vents, gable end vents and roof peak vents), DH ( a former builder/contractor) swears by adhesive-backed underlayment membranes (Bituthane is one brand). They go on at ambient temperature and stick (really stick!) to the roof base (plywood or whatever) and then the shingles go on over it - the stuff seals around the roofing nails. Even when we get ice issues over the ell (impossible to insulate it properly - it's 200 year-old construction) we haven't had a leak, and DH used it to solve numerous client's issues with leaks due to ice dams.

I have also heard from a friend with a metal roof that they have had some issues, but it was a while ago and I don't know how they solved them. You might want to ask around on the home forums for folks' experience on retrofitting a house with a metal roof.

I love water, but for me it doesn't matter if it's a river, a large lake (10 acres to Lake Superior) or the ocean - each has its charm.

Bill, I think you need an Isabella Stewart Gardner type of roofed courtyard, but one with a lower roof on the south side for more sun, a larger space than your sun porch. Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind having one of those either, a spot to putter in the winter. I need to check out Defrost's unheated greenhouse.

I see all the different things that some of us prefer. I would say that for me, Lake Garda in Italy would be ideal, and regarding some other things that some of you have mentioned, it is northern Italy tucked into the foothills of the Alps, but being on the south side of the mountains it has a very mild climate where one can see bougainvillea, strelitzia, camellia, oleander, lemons, palms and wonderful cacti and succulent gardens. Although it is a fresh water lake, the view is magnificent, surrounded by lesser peaks, but with the snow-capped Alps visible just beyond, for those who crave that snow and less than an hour's drive away. For the ocean lovers (myself included) not only is the Adriatic Sea about an hour away, but Verona (Romeo & Juliet) is about thirty minutes away, and Venice about an hour. So I guess I see it as kind of having it all, at least for me.

Suz, I also like the spectacular mountain southwest of the USA, and Babs, I dare not ask your age, but that love of snow may fade as time passes, and you simply cannot physically shovel etc.

I hope we all have or will have whatever makes us happy. Not only dealing with my health issues for three years, but look at what's happening in the world! So for now, I'm grateful just to be alive.

Lago di Garda is lovely. I have an English friend who spent his childhood there. My husband and I spent a week touring Lago di Como, d'Iseo and Garda in 2006. Absolutely lovely, for sure. My husband worked in Milan for a few months in 2003 and learned to ski in the Valle D'Aosta near Mont Blanc (for which I am jealous!). he fell in love with Lago di Como while working in Milan, so we made sure to come back for vacation. It was lovely, but I missed the sea and was happy to get to Croatia and smell the salty air. Oddly enough, with all the time I've spent in Italy I've never been south of Venice/Milan! For most tourists to Italy, the opposite is true :)

Suz, I've been to Italy four times, and covered most of the country, including Sicily. I love Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, but also Tuscany and Umbria, and there is always a yearning for Rome. If we go back next year I am hoping to visit the small town where my families came from. It's about halfway between Rome and Naples. I am just now thinking about planning a trip, but I have to see my doctor once more before I can do anything definite.

I really need to spend some more time there. When my mother left Croatia as a child she spent 3 years in Naples before coming through Ellis Island in NYC. She speaks Italian and has been back more times than I can count. She and my dad spent a trip in Capri in the 60s as college students, so there is some nostalgia there that I'd love to tap into.

As for gardening, I have planted another 50 bulbs today and my husband took an ax to an overgrown evergreen bush that was damaging the side of the house. We are both exhausted, but the kids are antsy from being stuck home all day so he's taken them to the playground to ride bikes before it gets dark.

I wanted to plant a lot more crocuses this fall, but my back made other plans! I did plant two hellebores about a month ago. I've never grown them before so I'm excited to see how they'll do. Also planted two Japanese anemones, first time for those too, and two new heucheras with bronzy-orange foliage. I'm already looking forward to spring so winter will be a real drag I guess. Maybe a Caribbean cruise might make it tolerable.............

Squirrels, bunnies and groundhogs ate all (50!) crocus bulbs I planted last year, so this year I went for things no one will touch. I also planted my first hellebores this year - hoping we both reap the rewards come spring!

You should definitely book that cruise! Give yourself something to look forward to! We try to do a warm-weather trip every March just to break up all the cold. I've never done a cruise, but my dad cruises at least 3 times per year. We are doing Disney this year for the first time as a family...but I don't really view that as vacation. I'm hoping to take advantage of the Norwegian Air flights to Guadeloupe and Martinique (French Caribbean) in March if my husband and get the time off work. Fingers crossed!

Suz I concur, schlepping the kids around a theme park is not what one thinks of as an idyllic and relaxing escape! I hope you can get away in March. I might look into a 3 or 4 night Bahamas cruise, just to see how I like it.