Hey Farmer Dill, Thanks for chiming in on this conversation. I was wondering what you would think about 'best zucchini varieties' being that you're not too far from my area. Oh, and don't get me started on those pickle worms-terrible they are! For some reason, they didn't bother my zucchini or watermelon this last summer, but I didn't get one cantaloupe b/c of them. It was hard seeing each baby fruit start to form and get big only to then see that gunk the pickle worm produces after boring into a fruit dripping from them in the morning when I woke up. Ugh... Oh, and I noticed a zucchini called 'grey' on the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange's website. I'll have to look at that again... Thanks Again, Farmer Dill, Stellabee p.s. To Dave...True;-)

Auteck, I've been warned against afternoon "watering" as opposed to light "misting". Which one are you doing? I will try to get some updated pictures for you. heelsfan, I just came back from columbia, SC which is only 4 hours drive from here and what a difference in climate. It has rained here twice in the last 2 months yet yesterday in SC I got thunderstormed on 8 times in one day. It was like a rain forest. That is the kind of humid coastal plain weather that puts that tropical swamp grasses into high gear and we haven't had that here and we don't normally even get that kind of weather until August. If you're having or have had that kind of hot humid weather with temps in the mid 90's and above then that really isn't what I'm having to contend with. I did see some tall fescue that actually looked like it was in excellent shape though.

Okay Lucy, I'll bring you a pink and a purple hydrangea for a bluish green/yellow hosta. I have just begun to appreciate the blue leaf varieties. My property used to be a pig farm and my hydrangea colors are very often different than they are supposed to be. My 'Forever Pink' is a deep, clear rose when fresh and turns red-purple as it ages. And my purples are deep purple. I can't say the strong colors will last more than a year or two in another soil. Farmerpickle, I have several iris--'Beverly Sills', 'Harvest of Memories', 'Spiced Custard' 'Swingtown' an unnamed very deep purple, and a very tall white, unnamed also. Are you listing three separate iris or one that is lavender, burgundy and yellow? E-mail me to finalize this trade. Everybody---I need a few folding tables. Please e-mail me if you can bring one. Linda

Well, What happened to your avocado trees? I'm curious to know how it turned out with the ones left outside. I have several avocados, one is over 3 years old, potted and winter is coming and they are taking over. Many are over a foot tall just from this summer. I am considering whether they might be able to survive a winter in North Georgia. What does it mean "the upper branches can be top worked." ? and when you bonsai them, do you just nip the new leaves that come off the top? My plants are getting to be quite tall but still lanky. I have them wired so the lanky trunks don't suffer from the blasts of wind that sometimes happen. It's worked well for shaping my older plant until the trunk stiffened up and turned dark and tough. I bought one of those 4 tier lightweight green houses with clear plastic cover from Lowes, I considered using it, but I think my trees may be too tall and bushy. I can't plant them in the ground ( apartment) and if I put them on the back wall they would have direct sun from 10am to around 4-6pm and shade before and after. They are usually in shade/indirect sun all year, but the front where they usually are stays in cold shade all winter. I might have to set up my table indoors but I want to know how others have wintered their avocado outdoors. Please come back and tell how it worked out.