I'm not sure why it is people resist telling us where they live. It's like pulling teeth sometimes. You're just prolonging the agony. If you live in Inyokern, that's what we need to know. Boron? Who knows? Trust me, we won't show up on your doorstep. In fact, with that area, it would help to know whether you are in the hills or on the flats. I would get a soil test if I lived north of Edwards. Boron is a necessary micronutrient, but you have it in abundance. Too much boron and your soil will become unproductive for most plant life. There is a reason why Boron is located where it is. And there is a reason only certain plants will grow (stunted) in the wild around there. Honestly, the best expert at growing grass in your area is the greenskeeper at Boron High School. Call him and ask what kind of grass he grows and how does he keep it green? How does he keep the high boron levels from killing it? Search Google Maps for Boron, CA and find the high school. It's not hard to find with the aerial view. It is the only green grass in the 100-mile region. Fescue still will not turn brown with your freezing weather. Annual weeds like crabgrass will die off completely in the winter. Grasses like bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, bermuda grass, and St Augustine will turn brown in the winter. Fescue only will go dormant under survival conditions. At this point I would stop dethatching, send in a soil sample to be tested (Logan Labs), and forget about seeding until you see the results of the soil test.

Yes the weather has been beautiful but I haven't accomplished much. I don't feel so well: My hands are shaking and my knees are weak, I can't seem to stand on my own two feet. For you kids out there those are lyrics from Elvis' song "All Shook Up." What I would "like" to do is cut down some existing trees and plant some of the ones I have grafted which are cutting-edge hybrid American seedless persimmons. I would also like to plant some nut trees like butternut, heartnut and english walnut. My garden also needs a lot of neatening up as my wife is complaining about the piles of junk I have. The front yard looks okay, it's the back that is a disgrace. I have been hauling in bags of leaves for the past two years and spreading them around in the back so at least I don't have to cut any grass back there and eventually it will break down into duff that will become humus-rich top soil. I can look at my 'Vulcan' magnolia and see there are no flower buds on it so there will be no looms next year even though it bloomed last year. My 'Stellar Pink' dogwood, which is a cross between cornus kousa and cornus florida, has been such a disappointment over the years that I cut it down and will plant something else in its place. The grandson is here today so I may not get a thing done again today in the garden but it is a worthwhile trade off.

Forget 'weather' and instead think 'climate'. All herbs originated from Somewhere, and once you know where Somewhere is, you can find out what the prevailing climate is Somewhere. Hence, you can find out just what conditions each herb prefers, and you can do your best to emulate those conditions. For example, from your list: Lemongrass is native mainly to South Asia. Climate in South Asia is tropical or nearly so. Tropical climate means hot and humid all year round, with frequent (often daily) heavy rain. Rain runs off quickly except in monsoonal seasons where flooding can occur. From that, you can deduce the following: lemongrass likes the heat - that means HEAT. It likes a lot of water, but prefers that water to drain away quickly. You can also deduce that: it doesn't take kindly to frost, and may not survive a severe winter. It may need to be brought indoors if you want to keep it alive, but it must have plenty of water. From the fact that it's called lemonGRASS, you can deduce that it likes plenty of sunlight, and that it can be cut down heavily and still grow. Cut, grow, cut, grow. You can research the rest of the herbs on your list in the same way to learn what is likely to do well where you live, and what won't without special care. Obviously, outside its preferred climate, a plant won't behave it quite the same way as 'at home'. It could grow more slowly; it might die extremes of weather (too hot or too cold); its growth might be stunted. Etc. Take a look, while you're researching, at the temperatures the plant prefers to germinate from seed. That will tell you a lot, too. If it lives at high altitudes, it's probably accustomed to cooler temps, and its seeds might like refrigerating or freezing (stratifying) before they'll germinate. So - botany and geography can't really be separated, when it comes to plants! I live in the subtropics, so most plant will grow here all year round, and do very well, But I can't grow things like French Tarragon or Meadowsweet, and coriander is a winter-only crop, because even in shade the temperatures here are just too hot for them. The link below is a good starting point for finding out the native habitat of a lot of herbs. The URL below is a good site for learning about the kinds of conditions herbs require (including in many cases, temperatures). http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html Here is a link that might be useful: herbs and spices

I love Matelasse, I have several coverlets and bedspreads in various colors and prints of Matelasse. I will add a light weight fleece blanket in the winter. I don't like a lot of covers, I generally am not under the covers much. I will have the cleaning lady take the blanket off this week. Might change to a new pretty summery print Matelasse I bought but have never used yet. I currently have my favorite one which is raspberry color on the bed. I find one of those with the sheets is just right, I prefer a very cool room. The ceiling fan is on high all year, plus I have a 10" fan that is aimed at my head on all the time, we have a good size metal antique style fan on a stand that I have on a fair amount of time. I must have lots of air movement on me, my Dad was the same way. I feel like I can't breathe if I don't. I really think that we could have gone with out the blanket this winter since it never got very cold.