Hi Elaine, I don't have a big slew of Lady's Mantle, so I'm not sure if I can scrape together several, but probably a couple! Plus I will bring you some of the limnanthes. I am already brining you Pink forget-me-nots to the Bonneylake trade and I have you down as bringing me Iris pseudocorus, purple siberian iris. I would love the Oregon grape as well. Are you going to the Shoreline trade as well? Susan (Nightnurse1968)

The nuts from my red buckeye tree fell and are sending down little tap roots. Should I pot them up or leave them in situ over the fall and winter? I eventually wish to spread the new seedling trees around in our woodland copse area. Red Buckeye blossoms are pollenated exclusively by hummingbirds.

Sassafrax albidum (not sure on this one for two reasons -- I read they are affected by japanese beetle? we have a problem with that where I am. Also I heard they are like black walnut, can't grow anything under it? I will only have one so not likely any fruit so does it matter?) I've seen sassafras in mixed woods around here with other things growing around and under them. I'm not sure if sassafras is all that allelopathic. Lindera benzoin, spicebush, is a beautiful native bush. If you want the red berries, which are striking, you will need both male and female plants. I have seen it grow in full shade and full sun. It's quite adaptable. I got unsexed plants and have 4 of them. I'm hoping for at least one male and one female. I've planted Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, bearberry. I have the 'Vancouver Jade' variety and it seems quite resilient and quite pretty. I've only seen wintergreen thrive under mature hardwoods, especially oak but maybe others have had different experiences. Cornus florida, pretty trees. I wish I had a couple of those. We have tons of Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood) here. If you want a real small shrub that makes a dense thicket, the gray dogwood would be a good choice. Birds like it for roosting. I hear pawpaws are fussy about their roots and resent transplanting. With their large leaves they are rather tropical looking. If you'd like to get some fruit as well, there are different cultivars for fruit production. Nobody says you can't harvest from your natives as well! Raintree Nursery has a number of different pawpaw varieties. FataMorgana

Sorry the deadnettle was such a disaster for botann and corrine! I guess it grows better(?) where you live. Where I have it hasn't overtaken the dwarf bamboo nor attacked nearby plants. But it's also pretty dry under the giant old firs. I'm surprised the bamboo is happy, but it does get a drip line, unlike all that lamium. As somebody who dug out mint roots for an hour yesterday I know where you're coming from. I followed conventional wisdom and planted it in a sunken pot, but the roots ran out the holes. Oops. Over the years I've learned many things the hard way, so perhaps I should stop giving anybody advice ;-P. I've never been very active on forums and now I'm scared to open my big mouth... I guess I must have a different Rubes - I looked it up and the picture looked right, but I picked it up at a garden club sale and am really not sure what it is. It doesn't hurt us, though. Now the pampas grass is another story. I love the way it looks but it'll tear you to ribbons :-O. One thing I have learned - garden club sales are dangerous as far as invasive plants! What somebody has a lot of is usually what they sell (or give away). I got something called poor man's orchids, and although they are pretty, they are everywhere. It's not the schizanthus - I think it's impatiens glandulifera. Same with forget-me-knots and nigella. I can't say they aren't pretty, but this time of year I'm yanking out oodles of forget-me-knots and tossing them in the compost, hopefully before they seed. In my climate they start getting powdery mildew around now anyway.