I love angelica gigas for its architectural leaves and for the fabulous flowers - intriguing in bud and wonderfully scented in full bloom. The effect is a bit like castor bean (Ricinus communis) although it doesn't have the mysterious foliage color of the red castor bean varieties. It makes up for this with its flowers, which really look great for a very long period. It is usually teated as a biennial or short-lived perennial; in my garden, it reseeds at just about the perfect pace. I've read here that some people don't like the white form, angelica archangelica; I grow and love that one too because it blooms earlier, and it is quite a bit taller and even more architectural. I also love crambe cordifolia when it's in bloom - HUGH sprays of dainty white sweetly scented flowers with terrific branching patterns that make the stems as ornamental as the flowers. The serious down side of this plant is its foliage; it's a member of the cabbage family, and is a magnet for every plant-eating insect in the known world. Depending on the surrounding plants to hide the basal foliage (at about 2' tall and about 4' around) might be a problem. IN the right location, though, this plant is an absolute knock-out.

Greenhouser: I use my GH as much for fish as plants and as most of them require soft, slightly acidic water, what comes out of the tanks makes a perfect watering compound for my gardenia. Otherwise, my tap water is pretty neutral, although every drop that goes into a tank is treated, and mixed with remineralized RO water. Otherwise, I fertilize my gardenia with Miracid, along with the evergreens in the foundation plantings. If you have chemicals in your tap water that may negatively affect your plants and need more for your aquariums than you may capture from rainwater, which, sad to say, may contain airbourne poisons anyway, check out the water conditioners sold for ponds. Don't waste money on the stuff sold for aquariums. The exact same products are sold in concentrated form for ponds at a 10th of the cost. Meaning; what takes a tsp. per 10 gal. in the aquarium version, needs only a single drop in the concentrated form. I don't grow orchids, but think it would be safe to believe that water in which Amazon fish will not only thrive but breed, would also keep orchids fourishing. Amazon water is soft and acidic from the leaves that fall into the water, releasing tannins. I'm curious now: as they grow up in rain forest trees; what, if any effect does the tannin in tree bark have on the rain water that suppots orchids in the wild?

Annie, I just did a search on last year's swap, and you're right, Wendy did take over the hosting for me. Reading those threads brought back a lot of memories, so I'm gonna keep this short and go to work where I can get my mind on other things. Anyway, has anyone thought to ask Wendy if she's still up for hosting the December swap? Peace. -Dan

I fell in love with the #2 black curtain along with the SW Flower Pot color in your awesome kitchen. Today I picked up a paint sample of SW Flower Pot and it looks more like brown than a red tone for some reason. In the pictures online it definately looks red. If you are still here Jan can you tell me if it looks brownish on your walls? My cabinets in home are medium wood and I worry it will be too much brown. Countertops are cream though. I really want to add some red because couch in next room has red in it and I need to tie the rooms together. Our kitchen has 3 windows so the black fabric will really look great and stand out. SW Flower Pot really does look so beautiful with your white cabinets. :) It is the first kitchen that I have found that I actually liked since surfing the last few months! Most kitchens and decorating are very neutral. I need color!! (smile) Thanks!