Goodmorning Everybody ! :) I heard from my swappers last night...:))) Mariann I have a couple of surprizes for you...We love putting surprizes in our boxes Regina started it.. Chell you are so creative and your writing is so much fun to read... I bet the boys loved playing pirate.. I can see their smiling faces now...What a great idea to make a hideout.. They will always remeber their hideout mom made for them... Norma I havent traded with you but I am sure you went way above in sending her nice cuttings..I seen pics of what you send...They are awesome boxes..:)) Please dont be sad..:)) Regina howdy :) I am so sorry about Mark having to have surgery and the heart condition would just send me into heaven.. Wow I am so glad to read it all went well...Shooo My heart sank for a minute...He will be all healed for college this fall..:)) You empty nester dont go through what I went through...Stay busy and call them alot... I miss my kids so much it hurts sometimes... Dogs are okay but they cant replace our true babies...I love reading about chell and her boys... It makes me smile so much... Frances lol You poor gardener..ahhah You need a break from mother nature..Really..:)) Oh big snakes yucky... I would be screaming... I love chippies...They are so cute...Havent had many around with a cat now...Kiki has brought home two gardener snakes...He was very proud of himself... Yesterday I was getting ready to go out and play in the dirt...The crows or blackbirds were screaming...It just like a scene in the movie the "birds"... It creeped me out really bad...I couldnt see what they were yelling at.. I watched tv...Than got bored and went coleus shopping..lol The master gardener sale for the next county over is tommorow... I cant wait to see what they are going to be offering..I have never been to this one...Oh I almost forgot..I heard from the master gardener I met...Looks like we are building another gh..lol She wants to do it closer to fall since everyone is busy with their gardens...I am glad we could help her..They are a pain to build.. well I gabbed enough lol must be the strong coffee and I got a lot of sleep...:)) Have a good day everybody..Barb

JESS: Thank you for the pics. & neat info. about Badger .. I really enjoy learning about the animals in South Africa. One cup of chicken manure per bush is TOO MUCH. In a British rose forum, a lady burnt her roses by using chicken manure once a month. In my cold zone, I use chicken manure VERY SMALL amount when the temp is cool & rainy. Folks use Rose-Tone (has chicken manure) once a month for roses in pots. But that has only 1/6 chicken manure. I would use only 1/2 cup, 1 cup would be too salty. I killed a rose by mixing 1/2 cup of chicken manure in the planting hole. When chicken manure touches the root, it kills the root, best to dilute ONLY 1/2 cup with soil before spreading around the bush. I started a new thread, "10/30/15: Bad habits, good habits, rose & health tips, recipes." http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3473294/m=3/10-30-15-bad-habits-good-habits-rose-and-health-tips-recipes

I bought a house with a backyard that is a former 60 years old citrus grove, one of the reasons I bought this specific house. The north part of the grove was Washington Navels and the south part was Valencia. The original home owners planted Minneola Tangelo and a Pink Blush Grapefruit, now 40 years old. Originally I was working on restoring it to look like the grove it once was but now I"m adding enough that it will look different as I have too many trees to fit. It originally had about 18 full size 20' diameter trees but I'm adding a few different varieties and have 58 original trees plus trees planted plus trees in pots to plant. WAY too many so one 100' side is now going to be Espaliered citrus along the wall. Still have 6-7 in pots in the front walk. Another 5 different Avocados. Just grapefruit: Pink Blush, Duncan, Oro Blanco, Melogold, Rio Red, Valentine, Cocktail, Chandler Pomello. Of course, this many trees in drought stricken SoCal is a problem so I now am working on 1920 gallon rain water recovery and grey water recovery system. In the meantime, I have 8 42 gallon trash cans in the inside roof corners that get filled each rainstorm so I water with almost all rainwater recovery. I'm not addicted, really!

My two different pink varieties looking good on the third yrs I planted. Look like I will have a lot of fruits this yri guess some beetles or bugs helped cross pollination...over 100 pink dragon fruits from 4 poles. My family and friends will be very happy :) latest update on shiranui I pruned back small branches