Everything you ordered sounds purrrrfect (for cats!). The Aster carolinius grows like a house-a-fire! My neighbor bought his form Plant Delights in a tiny pot, and it reached the top of his fenceline by fall. It blooms in fall, too, and is just covered. Very nice vine. I just bought regular old liatris spicata purple flowering tubers at Wal-mart. I would love to have some of the other native species, but was afraid that they'd be grown in small pots and would take awhile to get going. Do you think that's true? I could get 25 tubers for $4 at Wal-mart, so thought I'd have a pretty nice stand of it. I also bought a couple of the Blue Stars (Amsonia) from them, and a couple from Woodlanders, too. I like to see the variation in what nursery's provide. I did a comparison between PD and Heronswood on my thalictrum flavum 'Illuminator', and the Heronswood plant was much nicer. I also bought a honeysuckle (L. sempervirens 'Leo') which has the red-orange blooms on it. I have a yellow-blooming one that is very old, and grows like a tree up a post in the front yard, that is connected to a V-shaped lath extending out from the porch. The trunk is a good 8" on it, and there are lots of tangled dead wood that the birds just love to nest and play around in. This is the plant that I get the hummingbird clearwing cats from. But, I'm also trying to attract hummingbirds, too, so I thought maybe the brighter color would help. I'm going to grow it in partial shade, but from what I've read, it should do fine there. Also got an anise shrub, too, but not the yellow and purchased the bottlebrush buckeye as well. Had to replace the spicebushes I got last year because they apparently have died. I broke off part of the limbs on them and the cambium layer was deader than a doornail. I just couldn't keep them watered enough last year in our 100+ temps we had for 2 months. So, I am going to grow them in pots this year in front. I pay more attention to them that way. I also got the Sweetbay Magnolia, too. I hope we have good luck with our plants. In Alabama, you are probably in zone 7b, aren't you? I'm in 7a in OKC. Happy planting and glad you're getting settled in now. Susan

Vicki, Just saw your Episcia~pink Brocade on the gallery. It is a fine looking plant. Congrats. Larry

Hello Hwy66Jan - Welcome to our world! Sounds as if you have a great garden to which you can add many of your own plantings. You are lucky to take over a house and yard that obviously had been owned by other plant lovers! When I moved into my house, all I had were some sickly shrubs, a tree or two (including 4 blue spruces that a previous owner had planted right under the power lines!!) and lots of grass. When I asked the people from whom I puchased the house/yard if they had added any sort of soil ammendments, that said - "Oh yes - RoundUp!!" Wow! The downy grey-green plant you describe sure sounds like mullein to me, too, though I am surprised you found no signs of (now dead) plants with the long flower stalks they get. I have lots of them in the back of my yard. I have some (all of them were volunteers!) that grow up amongst hollyhocks (also volunteers) every year. Mullein can get invasive, but the seedlings are easily pulled up if they grow where you don't want them. A totally care-free, and, in my opinion, worthwhile plant to grow here in Colorado, even if it is a transplant, like most of us. Bees and butterflies also like the flowers, which is another plus for me. If you find out it is some other plant, I would be more than happy to obtain some from you! I live in Westminster; you are welcome to visit my humble garden if you wish to get some ideas of what to do - and what not to do - in the attempt to have a garden sanctuary in Colorado. Holly Here is a link that might be useful: Common mullein

I have a 1945 house with all original wooden windows which are in good shape. I noticed that the front and right side windows are in better condition since they are covered by porch. But the back and left side ones are not so great in the trim and sill areas since they are very exposed to the weather (sun, snow, wind, and rain). Half trims and sills have been replaced (not the panes parts-in good condition whew), didn't cost much since they were plain. We will have the rest replaced later. We do have storms windows, but all back and left side old storm windows are being replaced with new ones. Why I am doinf this? More protection from exposure in the back. If I were in your shoes, I would not know exactly what I would do. I guess I would find out how much it would cost to fix like Spewey suggested. One poster admitted that she had all back windows replaced so she could use some good ones to replace the ones in the front that cannot be saved at all.