Oilpainter - Thank you for the tips. Sounds like I was on track. I feel better knowing I can tuck my babies in safely! Shelley - Your hostas look gorgeous! Now I'd love to pick your brain and find out exactly what you did. I really want to start hostas and have it work this coming winter. Sounds like you WinterSowed them? I did that for a few things. I learned about it around January, which made it a little late to start. The plants I WS'ed did very well, though. I'd love to hear what you did - medium, containers, etc. Did you post details as you did it? I could search back if so. Oilpainter did a good job covering the basics of lasagna/no-till bed preparation. Since I've finally gotten going with starting from seed, I can afford to expand to the gardens I've always wanted. I've never done the no-till thing before, but it's going well. A local appliance store will give me as much cardboard as will fit in my station wagon, leaves & grass can be had at the dump, and a local horse owner bags manure & leaves it out for the taking. Makes the whole thing pretty easy. I was already pretty into composting, so it seems natural. (My DH & kids built me a 3-bin set up for Mother's Day - they knew what I really wanted.) My question for Oilpainter about over-wintering my perennials in a different place was because the process of composting generates heat. The way it happens in no-till gardening isn't as hot as I get in my bins (which get up to 150 degrees), but I'm guessing it's still too much warmth for perennials which should be going dormant for the winter.

Thanks, Ken. I was stalling on taking them out of the bags until I KNEW I could plant them. I unpacked the lilies I bought at the same time, and didnâÂÂt get to them; now they are shriveling. I am actually favorably impressed. They are not dried out. They are obviously alive and healthy. The PaulâÂÂs Glory (at left in the photo) in particular are larger than expected. I have no frame of reference, having never bought hosta bare root before. For all I know these may only make 2 leaves all summer. I think potting them up is a wise choice. That way I donâÂÂt waste prime real estate and planting time. I bought some gallon hosta at a local $$$ nursery last fall at 80% off. I got literally a trunkload for $20. I can see which ones of those made it first (itâÂÂs looking good so far, though itâÂÂs hard to tell in between the daffodil foliage in that area, and I know they donâÂÂt all pop up at the same time). Then I can plug in the survivors from the box into the gaps later. I will go soak them for an hour and pot them up.

It is brutal, Coll! Our property is a lot sunnier than it was before we cut down five 100' tall pines a few years ago. I've tried every trick of the trade to create shade where there was none, including using big umbrellas, tall tropical plants in pots arranged like a screen, whatever. Because I like the challenge of growing hosta on the southern frontier. I've enjoyed leaves more than flowers in my garden, although a few special flowers are great to have. When I discovered the variety of leaf shapes/patterns/colors/textures, it took me by surprise. For the first time in my life, I am going all out for the joy of gardening with hosta. What I like the best, is how my DH is helping me with the heavy stuff, and letting me have the pleasure of selecting and situating the hosta. Now that he is home all the time, I have someone here to appreciate them too. He likes to say he bought 20 hosta 40 years ago and split them over the years to fill gardens all over his New England town. And we brought one of those, the Undulata Albomarginata, south with us, to continue the tradition. Not many plants endure and prevail that long a time, another reason to love it. Another thing I love about hosta, it is always possible that even an amateur can have growing off his hosta, a sport that sets the heart to beating faster....maybe not a fortune maker, but a lovely creation from your own plant. It can be exciting.

First, I wanted to thank everyone for their support. Its been a rough week, not only emotionally but also physically because I caught a nasty virus. While I am still (understandably) nervous and will remain that way until everything is in writing, my parents have said we are going with the original plan with only a small change. The deed restrictions state that each property can only be a single family residence and if we build a separate building, aka the mother in laws quarters, we could potentially be violating these restrictions and anyone who lives in our area could potentially sue. To avoid this, the plan has changed and the mother in laws quarters will actually be attached to the main house. I/we didn't actually want to be this close but if it allows us to accomplish our goals then it is a small price to pay. My parents also spoke with my brother and told him that my husband and I were just going to buy a new house and, according to them, he teared up and said he didn't want that. I'm not sure if he didn't want it because it meant he might have to help take care of them when they are older (something he has flat out said he won't do) or because he actually realized he was being a selfish pr*ck and his actions were going to cause a lot of grief for everyone else. Regardless, he has told my parents that he also doesn't like their hair-brained idea of taking on a new mortgage in retirement. So that's where I sit right now. Not much progress on the house but we did get the final coat of paint on the exterior and get tile laid in the breezeway. To answer Christine's question of why we do what we do, my response would be because I inherently do not trust others. I told my husband years ago, when we were poor college kids, that even if I won the lottery and could afford to pay someone else to do all the work, I would STILL want to do it myself. This way, I know it is done right and if it isn't, I only have myself to blame. I will also admit to being raised by my dad, the classic handyman, that if you don't know how to do something, you practice until you get it right. To pay others to do it is a "waste of money". In hindsight, my parents lived practically paycheck to paycheck and doing everything yourself was a necessity but still, its my inherent nature. If I don't know how to fix my car, drain, electrical, etc. I don't hire a pro, I research and fix it (or build it) myself. So that's why I do what I do. I'm a perfectionist control freak.