Don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a pertinent questions. I have three potted figs that are in the same boat. either dried out or tops died from being too cold(unheated detached garage in zone 4b/5a). If the tops are brittle and snap off like devilpup's is it best to prune the tree down to where it's flexible and green wood or just leave it until it (hopefully) breaks dormancy? Thanks -Luke

What your MIL says is very true. Another thing I read somewhere is that MOM must carve out some time just for Mom, because babies will demand all your time not knowing you need some for yourself. And this is the hardest part, MAKING some time for yourself, a 30 minute walk by yourself twice a week, or one afternoon/month that is yours - not to get groceries by yourself! - but to get that hair trim, shop for that elusive new bra or new denims. Even to take a bath while hubby keeps the kids from clawing at the bathroom door to get in with you (because a bath isn't relaxing while THAT is going on!). I myself am guilty for concentrating on the things I thought mattered most (home cooked meals from scratch that took time), laundry kept up, house vacuumed and dusted, then one day I looked down at my 18 month old who was pestering me to play with him while i was performing one of these 'important' aspects to being a stay at home mom, and the thought occurred to me that he'd be happier if I'd gone back to work, because his day's would be filled with playtime with other kids, instead of following a working house mom around the house and being put off all the time, and I figured since I quit the job to benefit HIM, then I had better start making this stay-at-home thing about HIM, and not about how clean and organized I could keep the home. We didn't live in a pigsty, but it felt like I was always behind on something, if the place was vacuumed, then the bathrooms needed attention, then when I got to the bathrooms, now the laundry needed to be done etc etc (the late Richard Carlson wrote about that in one of his 'don't sweat the small stuff' books), remarkably, we could use the 'messy' bathroom safely, had enough clothes that laundry could pile up, and no asthmatic sufferers in the house so a bit of dust wasn't a health problem. But my 18 month old would only be that age for such a short time, I had to grab what I could while he was there. I have done that, and never regretted it, and look at all the extra housework I got out of doing! Keep smiling Stacie, you've got a good handle on what's important, stick with what your gut is telling you. kioni

I'd just say beautiful!! Great job!! Your kitchen reminds me of my new master bath I'm putting together. Long time ago I saw some gorgeous light fixtures I had to have and they are over the top beautiful crystal and nickle and modern. I spent so much on lighting fixtures that wnen it came time for the cabinets/vanities I tried to find a way to save money. So I opted for some inexpensive, yet very nice vanities that are more of an antique style. Then we come to the flooring and shower. Well, the shower is now going to be glass block, which I believe is pretty generic when it comes to style, and the flooring is porcelain tile in a beige stone look. The walls are a gray/green/blue. So I'm holding my breath waiting to see what all these different elements look like when they are all in place in the same room. If nothing else, I'll just tell people it's shabby/chic!! My poor DH who doesn't know that much about interior design keeps reassuring me it will all look beautiful. I do so want to believe him!! That's what I'm going on right now and hoping for the best. Your kitchen is fabulous!!

beng - yeah, I TOTALLY do not consider the Larix 100% reliable trees. In fact one I planted in a spot that gets the water from a gutter drain thinking, "surely this will be a goner, but this thing was cheap and I'm just experimenting". Well, it is now > 25' tall and I think if it can survive this hellish summer it can survive anything. That area cycled back and forth from bone dry to swamped with water. I can't remember where I got them that was a cheap source...oh wait I do...I think maybe the Dunkelds came from Musser Forest and the supposed pure kaempferis from the VA state tree nursery. Well, there must have been 5 of the latter and 8 of the former...and here I am left with 2. All the Dunkelds died w/in 3 years...they were absolutely crazy, a couple grew from 1' to 6' in a season! But then they could died of root rot practically overnight. So maybe I really have selected ones with better rot resistance. Hopefully. But I'm planning for the worse. The other, scarecrow one, for example, is shading some prized rhododendrons like 'Sky King', but I'm going to plant a 'back up' of a Taxodium ascendens nearby. NO worry about that dying of root rot! Besides deciduous conifers just make great garden trees, period, I've decided. Because the needles are such a non-event when they fall and they are clearly so storm resistant. BTW this scene of your garden is idyllic. The longleaf pine is far from home in the mountains of MD, but looks happy enough! Gardengal...not a huge fan of pink, myself, since it is kind of the 'lowest state of entropy' in flowering plants...BUT...there just aren't many plants that bloom the way Nerine/Amarines do, right up to the first freezes. It really gives a nice effect when the only other thing seen in 'regular gardens' are mums. Here at least, any Lycoris or Rhodophiala I've tried is much earlier. In the PNW, I would definitely try to get my hands on an 'Afterglow', which is a clear red N. bowdenii X sarniensis hybrid. Alas I 1) don't believe it would be hardy here, and 2) the one time I tried to order this from Cistus, it was the wrong color! It was a smoky pink, making me think it was another cross from that grex along the lines of 'Oberon'. Sean admitted to me there could have been a mix-up of some kind. In any case it tried to grow too much in the winter and died in the PVs. Which my plain bowdeniis survived only to be taken out by the slightly less cold but lacking snow cover PV3. (as I mentioned there was also the extenuating circumstances of have disturbed a plant known not to like disturbance LOL) I have a pure sarniensis that should be red, but it's proving incredibly hard to get it to bloom in a pot around here, which is not entirely unexpected. Summers probably too wet or something. I'm going to repot it in grit this year (possibly today) to try to 'reset' it. I bought it of course to try my hand at recreating the hybrids of Peter Smithers and Terry Jones, it would never be hardy here and is a challenge even in the PNW. Apparently a small # of such offspring inherit the ability to grow in summer from bowdenii, and thus have a chance of hardiness in ideal circumstances. Because they were bred for the cut flower market, I will say that these hybrid Amarines are lasting longer in the garden than Amaryllis belladonna or Nerine bowdenii. The petals just sit there for days and days, seemingly waiting for something LOL. (and btw, they do grow in summer here; my hardiest Amaryllis of all is 'willing' to stay green until well INTO summer, which is probably a reason it is still alive after almost 10 years. That might be the trait I actually selected for. Where winters are a little too cold for these South Africans, they need to store carbohydrates in the summer instead. That was the tragedy of the Brunsvigia grandiflora I tried to grow. When I dug it up after 5 years in a pot and almost 10 in the garden...I was expecting a huge bulb. Nope. It was barely the size of a large gum ball! I realized it could simply never get to flowering size around here and tossed it! No point being sentimental. Now I am trying 10 seedlings to screen for strong summer growing...but it's not looking good. They might have all been collected in a very mild area. I often think, around the world, a lot of people doing seed collection DO NOT want to climb into the coldest mountain areas LOL) Oh well gotta get going...already moved the most tender stuff into my garage, today's the day to do about 1/3 more of it...I'll let hardier stuff ride out one more mild spell we are supposed to have and then do the rest of the around Thanksgiving. On top of my ca. 250 potted plants, had to place an emergency "last call" order from Joy Creek, of course!