Gorgeous Strelitzia! Yes, I'm afraid the politics in this state have become decidedly moronic. That is, the more idiotic the proposal, the greater likelihood it will not only be passed into law, it will be "fast-tracked" through so as to give folks the barest of bare minimum of time to react and provide input. These guys and gals are not into that citizen input thing. Oh, except billionaire citizens of primarily other states, with very deep pockets for "their kind of people". +om

Oh yay, new pictures! Thanks to all the contributors. north53, I have tons of driftwood that I have collected that I want to incorporate into a garden but haven't yet. Yours looks so natural there. Beautiful garden! sandyslopes, love all the guest appearances in your pictures. What a refuge you have there for critters! catkin, thanks for the information on the Trifoilium rubens. It seems like it would fill in nicely between more upright plants. I've added it to my list. Isn't wintersowing a blast? I just love it. If you want some coneflower seed this fall, I'd be happy to send you some. I mentioned elsewhere that my 'Pow Wow White' and 'Magnus' both grew identical to the parent plants. Can't guarantee they will do it again but might be worth a try?

I'm enjoying all these wonderful pictures! Thanks so much for sharing. Jim, what's a lech well? Your mom looks like a fun person. Murraysmom, cute kids! Were you the only girl? I was an only child. Always wished for siblings. Still do! Jem, it's great that you know so much about your family history. That's a rare photo to have. I'm so spoiled when it comes to old photographs. Two of my grandparents were opera singers, so I have their publicity stills from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Plus my dad (their son) was an avid amateur photographer who loved to photograph people. Many of my friends and relatives appreciate to this day the pictures he took back at a time when not many people had cameras, at least not good ones. My mom was his favorite model, but he also documented every bit of my childhood. I have thousands of prints, slides, and negatives. Here I am on vacation in Quebec. The little boy spoke only French, and wouldn't share his crayons unless I asked for each color in French. I learned quickly. ;-) In the "play date" thread I talked about growing up in an apartment building with my two best friends, Pat and Carolyn. Here they are. Here's one of my mom before she and my dad were married. And after. One of my mom's sisters And my grandmother on stage (in a dark wig).

I don't resize either. Maybe I should but that would involve me learning how on my very limited editing program (if I even have that feature?) and I'm not up to it.........My favorites are Kitty Bannerman, Lucky Streak and Acquire the Fire. Interestingly enough, that deep red you get on Acquire the Fire is the same here in our climate (heat index = 110 F Tuesday, actual temperature 104 F) - with exceptional colorfast/sunfast qualities for such a dark color. That makes it one remarkable daylily in my book.................Maryl