Picked up a few pots of Asian jasmine at Lowe's the other day cause they looked like just the thing for under one of my trees where I want a low spreading ground cover. Since reading that it's invasive and a pain to get rid of, I'm having second thoughts about putting it in that location. I do, however have a long, narrow strip (now planted in grass) between the street and a cedar fence that might be a "safe" place to put it, providing: - it can't climb a 4-ft fence - won't send runners under the fence - doesn't produce seed that will be distributed by birds What do y'all think? Would it be better to just destroy it? Tia, Carol

I grow mine in pots as a temporary means until I am both satisfied with where I want them to live in the garden and also the soil where they will be planted is decent enough to not stall any progress they might be making. It sort of gives me a flexible buffer so I donâÂÂt feel pressured or rushed to get them in the ground. I also pot them up to allow me the opportunity to âÂÂbabyâ them, if need be. There is a down side to that though. Sometimes I fuss too much and I know if I just left them alone they would be fine. But, I am still so new to hostas that I feel like I would be a bad parent, throwing them straight out into the wild unknown that I call my front yard. I want to tame the jungle before I let the kids out to play. That sounds corny, but you get the point. :p I think the biggest perk though is when they are in pots I can take the whole plant and plunk it in the garden where I think I might like to place it permanently. Once I have a plant anchored I will then plan around it, and slowly the garden grows. I have tried to sit down and map out an entire bed, but I always end up more frustrated than satisfied. I need to SEE them and the other plants around it to know if itâÂÂs a good fit. Plus, I can leave them in the spot in the garden while still in the pot to test out sunlight and wind. If they end up blanching or breaking I know it might not be the best place for permanency. Ludi

Yup, old gunk of some sort that needs to be removed from the slate. Try getting it off by escalating through the various possibilities-- industrial strength wax stripper, ammonia, various organic solvents (with very good ventilation, denatured alcohol, acetone, Goof-Off etc) and then paint stripper starting with something like SafeStrip and moving to one with dichloromethane (again with very good ventilation) until you find something that takes it off. (I don't mean you should use all of them, just go from the gentlest to harshest until you find the one that is sufficient to the job). The good news is that its a rock and hard to hurt in any serious way. Once you get it to soften a scrub brush will get into the cracks. Wire brushes or abrasive pads can scratch the slate and should be avoided (white or gray Scotch-brite is OK, but doesn't do much. Red or green will probably scratch). Once it's clean apply a good quality sealer from a flooring supply place or as recommended by a stone yard-- it will look bad after it's been cleaned, but a coat of sealer will bring it back to like new.

I think it is more of the popularaity of the fast food places than it is working moms or kids vegging out in front of the TV. Kids today are involved in much more activities as compared to when I was a child. When parents have that much running around it is much easier to run through a drive thru or get pizza on the way home (stay at home or working mom) then it is to make a meal, get everyone to sit down, clean up and get out the door. I know because I have four kids and it's not that they are in too much by themselves but with 4 kids it makes for a busy week. I am a sahm but I still struggle with getting them from school, getting homework done, and getting them a nutritious dinner. When we get home in the evening that is when the dishes are cleaned off the table. It is so tempting to just run to McDonalds. Also, did you ever notice how many kids have lunchables packed in their lunches? Those things are packed with sodium, fat, calories, and tons of preservatives. Plus my kids' schools starting selling snacks (like nutty buddies and ho hos for lunch) I tell my kids "no you eat the snack that I pack and you are not getting a ho ho" But of course their friends get them (12 fat grams in the pack of 2) and share some of it with them from time to time. Can you imagine the amount of fat grams these kids are getting? Over 30 at lunch with their lunchable and their nutty buddies and then 30 more at dinner if they eat at a fast food place... not to mention any cookies they might snack on through the day? That amount of fat will make an adult gain weight. I hear that some schools actually have fast food like McDonalds available to them. So even if the kids were active in sports and activities they are getting too many fat grams to offset it :( Also I heard that kids today are getting too much juice. There are a lot of calories in juice and a lot of natural sugars. It is better for them to eat the fruit than it is to drink the fruit juice. I always have OJ but after 2 glasses of it they have to switch to water. My kids would drink a half gallon of OJ a day if I let them (each one of them) So kids are drinking a lot more calories than they use to as well.