I can't afford new plants every year either... and thanks to a bathroom remodel 'gone wrong' over the winter, I'll be lucky to squeeze out enough for seeds and maybe a small potato order this spring. I'm seriously thinking about trying to do the same thing with some of my perennials. Last years gardening adventures were mostly consumed by hardscaping... extented some retaining walls, carved out some new paths, and created some new planting spaces out of what was formerly lawn...the down side of having some extra space to work with, is that it looks extra barren to me now. On the bright side, I've been making my own compost, for free...and should have plenty of it to work with this season. But to fill everything in the way *I'd like* it to be will take me much longer than one season to accomplish. And I'm not quite accomplished enough with gardening in general let...sometimes my transplants don't take, or seedlings don't live. I moved to a much higher altitude about 5 years ago... its so different from what I'm used to; about half of whatever I try seems to get messed up. lol...what can I say. ;) Another thing I might try this year, is planting some cover crops or green manure in the areas that I'm still not sure what to do with. Maybe even some colorful annuals that will be 'easier'...just to have something in the ground while I ponder on how to establish the 'trickier' plants, that I can't afford to...possibly sabotage? I'm thinking... if I start with one or two perennial plants that are 'new' to me, and if I can manage to keep them alive for the whole season? They won't be new to me next year...I can worry about learning a few more varieties then. In theory... But for now, the bare spots bother me too... I have some nice woolly thyme that I'd like to establish on the new rock walls. A few iris that could stand to be split up, and maybe some definable. I'm even thinking about trying to root some cuttings off my lilacs...when I know very little about how that works. I've tried to take cuttings off my basil in the kitchen before, and even those never live. lol...it hasn't stopped me from trying though... I've got Columbine and Cone flowers stratifying in the fridge downstairs...do I think. I've never got them to germinate before, but one of these times, I'm bound to get lucky... in theory? Another thing I'm pondering... Of the seeds I might try, getting them locally can save some money on shipping. That's a catch 22, because some of the things I've got my heart set on...I can't find atone here. Red carrots. Alpine strawberries. Birdhouse gourds. White pumpkins. Chocolate mint... that I'm not even sure can be purchased as seed. I like to try things that are unavailabe, or too expensive to buy at the store. The seed potato I do plan to order though... I had some scab last year, and it won't be the same around here without at least a few purple potatoes, though...I need to find a new place to put those. Leslie in CO

I've the exact problem. Can Confirm, as secretmail021 has identified, it is a very very very small insect. White-green color, approximately as wide as 1-2 human hairs, about 1.5 mm in length... you won't see them on the leaf, Instead, pick a leaf and shake/tap it over a well-lit preferably dark surface.... if they fall off, you can see them crawl. Happened with indoor potted plant that was otherwise healthy for the last month. No idea for the solution, but act fast, because it spread from a few just a few leaves to a few plants over the course of half a week. RIP basil.

We really don't know. My husband said it's like it's been poisoned or something. It's been growing well and absolutely fine up until now. I guess we'll see if it comes back next year, and if not, replace it. I kind of wanted a gingko there, just like them, and I read they make good street trees because they're pretty hardy, but he wanted something native, and I do like the bright orange color of the leaves in the fall. I did notice that a lot of the other trees on the street look like they are planted on a bit of a mound, and ours is not. I am pretty sure he planted it correctly, he's kind of a stickler for that with all the plantings around the house, I'm the one that doesn't follow the rules. BTW, all the leaves are completely dead and brown, now.

It's not good using any groundwater to water carnivorous plants. Your best bet would be to use distilled or rainwater. Groundwater, such as that from a natural spring, contains dissolved minerals within it. As for the damaged pitchers, as long as they're not completely brown, then I would just leave them for the time being. They will still continue to photosynthesize (which is still a carnivorous plant's primary source of energy), and help it grow newer pitchers to replace them with. Just as you said, there is already a new pitcher growing. Which is always a good sign. Your plant will recover, just give it some time, and plenty of sunshine.