Thankyou everyone for your input, I had wondered if especially the morning glories (the Japanese would follow with the same requirements) would be a tender item to deal with, since they grow very well on the coast with their humidity as well. So I won't be disappointed if they don't get very high. I will start them in the house, then transplant them to a container outside. So pleased to hear the gazania can do very well if set in the right place. March 15 will be a good time, I should receive them by that time. And Crazy Gardener I will keep that name in mind as type to plant. Thankyou for mentioning it. This has really helped me tremendously Thankyou so much. Diana

Andrea, I have quietly been working on the root knot nematode problem for about 10 years. Hopefully you will be willing to spend a few dollars and experiment with the following ideas. You will need to set up three different plot areas within your garden for these trials. Plot #1 - Toss granulated sugar heavily over that section and water in. As you dig in each plant put a generous handful of sugar in the planting hole around the roots. Finish planting and water in each plant. Once a month top dress and scratch in several handsful of sugar around each plant. Plot #2 - At planting time place 4 tablespoons of powdered mustard in the plant hole around the roots. Water and then fill in the planting hole with soil. Top dress with mustard, scratching in around each plant once a month. Powdered mustard can be purchased by the pound from on-line spice stores such as Penzey's for a reasonable price. Plot #3 - Fill a watering can with water and add 3 tablespoons of castor oil. Stir with a stick. As you plant, water each hole with this soaking the plant roots and then finish planting. . Water the test plants with this castor oil mixture every two weeks for the entire growing season. Castor oil is expensive. Drug stores will order a quart for you. Despite the expense I would urge you to trial this method. These ideas have been tested and retested. I would be interested in your observations as to which one(s) shows promise.

You said your daughter has had 'all the tests and nothing unusual has come up.' Do you know if blood work was done as well? My 24 year old niece has had several seizures, and after ruling out Epilepsy or a brain tumor, they discovered she sometimes has extremely low blood sugar. She now eats little bits throughout the day, rather than 3 main meals and has not had a seizure in about 5 years. Hopefully they will solve your DD's episodes and I wish her well.

We've been running about 70% of our average monthly rainfall (average since we started keeping rain records for the garden in 2004). One benefit of keeping the rain records is putting it all in perspective - e.g. rainfall is very variable from year to year here - for instance we had 82mm. in June, compared to 119mm last year and 89mm for the 2004-2020 average. But the lowest rain amount we had in June was 43mm in 2016! We water new plantings and things in pots, but other than that, things are expected to survive on their own with natural rainfall! We did use soaker hoses in the first few years when we started the garden but, by 2004 when we started keeping the rain records, we had largely stopped using them and they have long since been removed or abandoned. It's tough coping with dry periods and we do sometimes water (by 'flooding' a dry area with the hose running gently in the bed) if somewhere is looking very stressed. Plants are generally tougher than we feared!