I read so much about Trader Joe's orchids. Alas, no TJs anywhere near me :(

Barrie Not necessarily a tough crowd. I for one, did enjoy the pictures (and I checked every single one) - it's just that a response usually means a speedy removal down the threads and I assume many of the pictures/links provided by yourself and many others are for illumination/education purposes rather than to illicit 'mutual admiration society' remarks. That being said, it would be nice to have the pictures captioned with plant names.

Well, there are stupid people everywhere, and people who manage to be stupid about everything! Mind you the PNW is guilty for creating some of its own myths. My parents had one close friend who was into gardening. I remember in the late 80s they took a big trip to the west coast after their son moved to San Francisco. I was just getting into gardening there and he said to me "David, you wouldn't believe the roses at Butchart Gardens. And do you know what, they told us they don't even have frosts in the winter." I was skeptical of that at the time, and consulted my trusty World Book encylopedia LOL. Anyhow I can imagine the PNW once seeming remote - that's the reason the likes of David Lynch set Twin Peaks there - but I don't think it seems that way as much anymore in these internet connected times. it is after all the secondary silicon valley. (OTOH my Mom jokes that my brother who lives in Seattle was trying to move as far away as possible LOL) I will say one thing that struck me driving south from Seattle to LA was that after the Willamette Valley, that highway _really_ clears out. In the middle of the day, headed south through southern Oregon, it was mostly logging trucks, some RV/campers, but really desolate. Very very little "just people in cars" traffic. In comparison the whole of the I95 corridor from Boston to Florida is busy all years, all days. Even in the less dense sections there are people on the move for whatever reason. In southern Virginia on 95 it's nothing at all to see New Jersey and NY license plates. I've been at a gas station near here and run into some kids from the Boston area driving to South Carolina to go to the beach. OTOH, it seems like for a Seattle area person to even drive to the Bay Area is rather rarer...and LA would be like driving to another country LOL. I don't think there's anything like the mass exodus to/from Florida which happens on the east coast. Just in my definitely middle-class neighborhood...in this county (most northeasterly in Maryland) but not even on the water...I know of a couple older families that winter in Florida.

Wow....what an amazing list of people.... too many of them no longer with us or active here. It is nice to remember some of their names and their struggles that we shared. Thanks for the memories.