Cacti don't like soil that stays wet so keep the pot small in order for it to dry out rapidly is one way to meet that requirement.

Some agaves are hardy to zone 6 and 7. I don't have any in the ground. To grow in a cold zone they must be situated for fast draining soil. A hill or berm is best I understand. Google Ruth Bancroft Garden in CA. She used a temporary rain block on her cacti and agaves so that they stayed in the ground but did not get wet in winter. I only get small agaves and variegated when I can find them. I lost some of my big ones years ago by letting them outside in winter. I could show many photos of agaves of ones I've had and ones I've seen in Mexico, California, Texas, and Florida. What gets me is the huge ones at the mini-golf places in Myrtle Beach. What do they do to keep them going.

I used to have a fair collection of bromeliads until I lost over half one winter at our last place. My greenhouse was overflowing so we put the bromeliads in our shed with a new kerosene heater. The dad gum heater fizzled out a few nights after having it lit and a decent flame going. GRRR! Now I have one variegated one, lots of earth stars (Cryptanthus), two Dyckia - wickedly sharp, a few air plants (Tillandsia), and play around with pineapple tops this summer (why? crazy probably).

Callaway Gardens had them growing in pockets of their slanted stacked stone wall.

OF COURSE you grow bromeliads!..would be surprised if you didn't..I'm such a slow gardener..my husband calls me turtle..once he said "don't help me..I don't have time"..isn't that funny?..so I resist buying plants because I worry that I couldn't handle them..those bromeliads are attractive..I like "architectural", modern, contemporary looking plants..I even like sansevierias..I saw a Gardener's Diary episode about Callaway Gardens..have you heard Erica Glasener speak? (did I ask that already?)..trying to get out of my chair and go outside..need to enjoy it while I can..

Bromeliads come in all types of sizes, shapes, and colors. Be careful of the ones with saw tooth edges. Not as bad as Dyckia but still can cut you like a small serrated knife.

How did this little toad get here without cutting itself to shreds? This was last winter in the basement.

I have many Sansevieria as well. They are very cool looking but grow and grow until they start breaking the pots they are in. Ah, the price of glory?

I used to watch Gardener's Diary every chance I got. My daughter didn't care for her voice at all - said it was grating to listen to. Hmmm?

Callaway Gardens was also the Victory Garden of the South so while most of the old VG programs were done in Boston, they did quite a few at Callaway as well. I wished HGTV and PBS would put those kinds of shows on again.

Just looking at the prickly edges on those bromeliads makes me cringe..thanks for the warning..now I want a bromeliad..why is it that some of us are addicted to plants?..I loved Gardener's Diary but I can understand what your daughter is saying..not the nicest voice I've heard..but I would be thrilled if HGTV would air it again..we were outside until it was dark..if you saw what a small area that I cleaned for the amount of time that I was out you would laugh..I can't help it..I don't like to rush..still have some nice fall color..a Kousa dogwood (2 years old) and my Judd viburnum (fragrant)

Erica is probably just more monotone than irritating when it comes to voice.

It was a nice day to be outside but I spent hours downstairs cleaning up and watering.

Get some close-ups of those shrubs! How is your Kousa for blooms? Mine has a nice shape and big green leaves but the blooms are almost non-existent. I think the neighbor's weed trees have blocked out too much sun in recent years. The two I bought my parents are sick looking on foliage but the blooms are very thick.

This was from last year. Good year for it but I don't remember the second one and how it did.

My youngest grandson in front of it

we have 4 Kousas..this one is the largest..all 4 of mine combined are not as large as yours..no blooms on any of them yet..not familiar with pecan trees but agree "ugh" to silver maples..love the magnolia..cute grandson..does he help with any of your gardening work?..funny story..my great niece - 5 at the time - was here helping me..I said "spread this compost around the plants..it's good for them" and she said "you mean it adds nutrients"..no need to simplify for her haha..I don't see your fence..old house or current one?..

Pecan trees are HUGE and messy. They drop a ton of blooms in spring, a ton of limbs through the year, and a ton of leaves in fall. Oh, and they are lucky to have a good harvest every seven years in middle TN. I told my parents to cut them down to let the JMs, daylilies, and peonies get some sun. They had four huge silver maples cut down years ago but let some grow from seed - crazy.

I'm lucky to get my grandson to go to the HOA pool when I keep him, let alone help in any gardening chores.

Smart five year old spreading nutrients. Kids do say the darnedest things, don't they? I told my grandson that man has been on the moon after he was going on about Martians. He said "Do you expect me to believe that legend?" I think he was five or six at the time.

Ah, I'm sorry about that, those photos were from my parents' place last year (middle TN). They are on 1.2 acre lots and none of their immediate neighbors have fences.

These two silver maples served to stack firewood between them.

My wife against one of the big maples cut down by a tree service and my dad told them to let the rest to him (and us) to cut and move.

This is only one of four of the trees cut down

your parents have a nice parklike yard..I didn't remember your yard as having a large grassy area..it's more like ours - full of trees..those maples were enormous..your grandson's comment is funny..I loved to be outside when I was young but today's kids are different..the 13 yr old boy across the street (grandson of the owners - 4 when they moved in) played outside all day at first..now you never see him..I'm going to start checking the houseplants at WM and Lowe's..see what they sell and get a feel for what I like..how fun to have blooms at the end of November!..Indiana is starting to look drab..will most rexes and canes be fine in a small (4- 6") pot?..rexes and rhizomatous the smallest types?..some begonias remind me of African Violets which grow in small pots..plastic or clay?..any preference?..my tuberous is growing in a small white clay pot..have 2 more like it..had a Coleus and an impatiens in them last summer..now I want to fill them with begonias..

It would take two of me to have reached around either of the two biggest maples that were cut down. They were only 30 years old too. Guess my dad fertilized them too much.

Kids have too much entertainment these days to go outside to ride a bike, play some tag or ball games. With video on demand (thanks Netflix) and video games on tablets (thanks Minecraft and iPad/other tablet vendors), it is hard to pry young ones away from TV and games.

Yes, four to six inch pots are perfect for most rexes and canes. It doesn't matter what kind of material the pot is - clay if you are heavy into watering, plastic if you are light handed. Begonias, coleus, and impatiens often can be grown in the same pot. Just don't let one overtake the entire pot though.

This tiny Peperomia puteolata is making a peaceful existence with a much bigger begonia Valida in this lasagna pan.

so true that today's kids are addicted to technology..I like it myself!!..I'm STILL on my phone and it's nice outside!..I love a colorful collection of pots as in your last pic..plastic has some advantages (lighter, doesn't chip, cheaper, retains moisture) and as long as the plants do as well I'm fine with it..I like Valida..after almost 13 years in a woodland I'm used to plain green leaves haha..as big as the maples were have you been to Yosemite?..I have a pic of myself standing by a redwood..and although you know they're big when you see the pic it's mind boggling..just like your wife by the maple..it puts the size in perspective..our biggest tree is an ash - and yes we're treating for emerald ash borer..16 trees..$6,000 so far :-( forgot to say I like that "face" pot in an earlier pic..where did you get it?..I've never looked for one..

I've gone through stages of pots as well - plastic, clay, glazed, resin, and back to plastic. A small fortune in pots...

At least I got my glassware cleaned up and stored this summer.

I recycled five of the large yard bags of plastic pots this year. The first photo was just clearing out the pots in the dog pen (never used for dogs - GRRR) while the second photo is where all good pots go to rest (or die?)

Oh yeah, we were at Yosemite years ago. We saw the big Sequoias (General Grant and General Sherman come to mind) at Mariposa Grove in the high plateaus of Yosemite. We saw some redwoods at Big Sur - very tall but not as big around as the Sequoias in Mariposa Grove. What a shame when we visited that digital cameras were still a few years away... Probably have a few prints in a shoebox somewhere though. HA!

I would love to see the baobabs in Madagascar and Africa.

You spent $6k treating for the EAB? Is this an ongoing battle with no end in sight? I thought getting trees removed was expensive....

That is a large compost pile but it looks very nice compared to the piles I have on our property. I cannot remember which magazine I bought this year but it is a composting method they use in Europe that trench the ground, stack logs on top followed by branches, and eventually other organic debris. The heat given off by the logs is supposed to make this a very fertile growing pile. I kind of doubt I will do this but it looks like a good idea. We quit burning decades ago but most folks still burn leaves, limbs, logs.

How will you spray (is it spray you use?) the top of a tree for the EAB?

Oh yeah, I still use some of the glazed pots for begonias and the like.

I had pink muhly grass in this large pot but it died eventually and the pot cracked right down the middle. Lessons learned - do not use thin wall glazed pots for winter use.

You can barely see the cobalt blue pot housing several rexes. I lost all these rexes in no time as I was just getting into begonias 15 years ago. Each begonia was in a 4 inch nursery pot and I used Styrofoam blocks on the bottom of the big pot to put the smaller pots on the same level as the edge of the big pot.

The baobab trees are some of the coolest looking trees. The buttress tree and banyan trees are kind of cool too. Here is a buttress tree in West Palm Beach(think Jurassic Park tree).

Or the Ceiba tree in Guatemala - this is around Valentine Day so the tree is kind of bare except for the air plants growing on it.

I think I've seen some bonsai baobabs but wonder how much work is involved.

Speaking of rainwater (as you two were a few posts back) I was recently surprised to read in a book about growing orchids, that rain water has little benefit for plants unless it is that it may carry a bit of calcium, there are no other nutrients there at all. Really surprised me as I have been saving rain water for plants for many years, it is faster than having to stand around and wait for containers to fill up with our hard water. I would imagine if you live in an industrial area rain water may carry unappetizing things. I used to try and use river water as well, but it is too difficult to access and carry and after the work it is always so cold it takes a long time to warm. Let's face it, our plants take a lot of work and you have to learn from experience.

And speaking of Rexes, Antonelli's used to sell just one Rex, leaves were all just green and white. I selfed its seeds trying to see if any color would show,I just recently tried them ( and yes,they are pretty old), had good germination but all seedlings show just white and different shades of green. So I will likely select just one and toss the rest.

Excellent remarks about rain water and water in general. My mentor lets her tap water sit for 24 hours before she uses it. I like that idea but if I am out of day old water, I will use whatever water comes out of the tap. After all I drink it and so far (knock on wood) I am still alive and kicking. HA! Makes sense that pure rain water would not have any nutrients in it. If was allowed to run across nutrient rich earth, then it seems plausible that some nutrients would be included?

Show some photos of that rex, Woe! I am on the fence on whether to pursue getting the original Rex or not.

I love my Silver Queen though.

hc..I've heard of hugelkultur but haven't tried it..if I want to I've got the logs!..the EAB treatment that we use is an injection method..I dislike drilling into the trees but that's how it's done..you insert a plug..inject the chemical or you can do a more passive method with IV bottles and let the tree draw it up..we had bottles on the first 2 treatments and a pump on the 3rd one..the plugs loosen and fall out..I've found them on the ground but now Don will test them and if loose he pulls them out..I've had issues with glazed pots..even though I never left them out (emptied-put in the shed)..maybe since begonias need to come into the house they wouldn't crack..great idea to use them as a cachepot..awesome tree pics..we've been west to Hawaii and east to Jamaica but only a cruise ship stop to Cozumel..never beyond Mexico..I loved the tropical plants in those places but wasn't aware of the native trees..they weren't rainbow but there were eucalyptus trees along the El Camino in Burlingame CA that I've seen lots of times (lived in San Mateo)..beautiful but very messy..Silver Queen is pretty..I tell myself to "simplify" and yet I have more plants than ever..and planning to buy begonias and bromeliads..

Woebegonia..it didn't occurr to me that rain water could be anything but perfect..I do pour carefully and avoid wetting the foliage..like hc I've filled cans and let them sit before using but you just can't do that every time with every plant..I second hc's request to show photos of your white and green begonias..

I forgot to mention hugekultur that I saw in the magazine. Old age is frustrating...

Ah, injecting your trees with good old insecticide of some type. We had termites at this house and our termite service company drilled holes every 12 inches along the perimeter of the basement floor, the garage floor and our front porch to pour termiticide in and then grouted all the holes. This was just the side of the house facing the street since this is where we found evidence of them.

Some glazed pots are made out of steel (or seems like it). The cheaper ones (thin walls) probably are more for decoration than actual use as a garden pot. The Vietnamese pots and the Norcal pots (Lowe's) are thick, thick, thick and weigh a ton. To break these, you would probably have to drop a 20 pound weight from six feet to make a dent.

I love the tropical trees. A huge one in Belize is the Guanacaste tree - not its botanical name but one I got from our tour guides. The Buddha sacred tree is full of controversy. When I was taking pictures of its blooms in Thailand there were many Asian (probably Japanese) tourists marveling over it. A young lady explained why it was so marveled over being the Buddha tree. Hmmm. Apparently the cannonball tree has similar blooms to this Buddha tree (some kind of Ficus). How fascinating. The flamboyant tree (Delonix Regia) has a big festival when it blooms in Puerto Rico. Very vibrant and "Flamboyant". It also goes by Poinciana tree.

The trees I remember blooming in San Francisco is the blue Jacaranda - wished it was hardy to grow here. Just have to settle for what we can grow.

Poinciana in Aruba

before I get started ran out for some close ups..

That is some nice fall foliage you have there. I like the red hellebore - is this year round or due to cold weather? I need to get out there and take some pictures of JMs and my oakleaf hydrangeas before the foliage all falls off.

My 'Stars and Stripes' Dipladenia is now blooming - indoors! I guess after I hacked it way back in spring that it took all summer to put on a new coat of leaves and vines - no time for blooms.

I put a leaf of Shaun's Dream in this pan of jewel orchids last year and it rooted and made a nice little plant.

glad you suggested the close ups..can fully appreciate the colors..my hellebores have NEVER had leaves this color..they've always been just green..I've been googling and couldn't find one like mine..that agave is dangerous!..needs to be in a cage lol..must be fun to go to the basement and see what's happened!..new blooms..new leaves..I'm sure both of us have missed things..hard to keep an eye on everything and take care of it all..are those 2 new blooms fragrant?..not familiar with either one..the orchid leaves are fun..the cut leaved rhubarb IS cool..in a week our temperatures will drop to high 20's..ugh

Here's hoping your red leaf hellebore stays year round and produces lots of new red leaves. You may become the proud parent of something new.

Oh yeah, those agaves can be very dangerous but they are very cool plants. Our tour bus to Chichen Itza (about a 3 hour bus ride from Cancun) went by a field of blue agaves (for tequila) so the workers have special cutting tools to work around those sharp spines. Anyway I've seen some stories where people put corks on the end spine or cut them off.

The blooms are not fragrant and I doubt I have any fragrant houseplants. A couple of begonias might have a very weak fragrance. The Peperomias exude a strange odor in bloom. Some stronger than others. It reminds me of a strong locker room smell - UGH! But then I had a voodoo lily bloom in the garage (bare bulb) that is quite disgusting so had to put it outside even though we were still having some sub-freezing nights.

The high-20's is your high or your low? We've had a few nights so far that we've been below freezing. I think the coldest I've seen so far is 28 but now it is so warm I was wearing gym shorts and t-shirt in the house. I even turned the AC to 74 in the basement while I was down there watering, pruning, sweeping floors. Crazy weather.

The ABG put in a new C&S garden this year. I will be very interested to see what they do with it this winter.

I want to see how this Manfreda does as well - I think it may be hardy.

I would love the burgundy hellebore to keep that color..but I have a feeling it's a fluke and just temporary..the forecast for next Thur is high 33 and low 25..I won't like it but can't change it..the agaves have beautiful color..but those sharp edges are so much trouble..I'm not attracted to the desert as much as other places..went to Wickenburg AZ for a week once for a business trip with Don..everything was so dry and dusty..hot during the day..cold at night..I think I would rather have heat and humidity and green and leafy..would rather have tropicals than cacti if I was forced to choose one..but cacti are sculptural and interesting..I love the houses in Palm Springs..clean lines, one level..sounds so comfortable..

Whenever we can start to control the weather, things will really get messed up - bigger than what we have today.

33 for a high doesn't sound like a lot of fun. We don't have many days where we stay in the 30's but we can expect a few in each winter.

Love Arizona for all their canyons and desert plants. The first time we went to Grand Canyon we didn't see any Saguaro so thought we missed something. The second time we left Phoenix for Grand Canyon and saw many on the drive north. I guess there is a latitude or altitude where they just don't grow?

If you do live in an arid area, you better get used to growing what will grow there. C&S just seem a natural for those areas? I am growing some Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherimma) from seed I collected in Florida and now the Mexican bird of paradise (same family - C. mexicana) from seed I collected in San Antonio. Now if they would just bloom!

Pride of Barbados at a Cracker Barrel in Phoenix (if my memory serves me correctly).

The plant I collected seed from at Aquatica.

Mexican BOP

I'm not sure that I could live in a desert..too much sun..agree that you could have a beautiful garden using desert plants..each place has it's own beauty doesn't it?..too bad that everyone can't grow everything lol..I like the ferny foliage of the Mexican BOP..beautiful blooms too..I had a fast food cup of odd bulbs..I didn't plant them..they were here and I didn't like where they were..dug them up months ago..they might not be good (seemed ok) but I planted them today..the soil was chilly..was wearing latex gloves (I have several types..use latex when I plant)..my hands were cold..no more planting until spring..I've heard bulbs don't do well in the South..do you have any?..I don't plant tulips but I have crocuses and daffodils..so cheerful in the spring and after the initial planting effortless..a better pic of my funny hellebore..

I think I prefer tropical to frozen tundra and jungles to deserts.

Bulbs do very good here. Tulips are treated more as an annual though. Daffodils and crocuses are wonderful. I think Gibbs Garden boasts they are the largest private garden of daffodils in the states. I hope to see them this spring.

http://daffodilfestivals.com/georgia/gibbs-gardens-daffodil-gardens

https://www.gibbsgardens.com/blog/daffodils-for-every-garden/

according to this site, they say 20 million blooms

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/02/prweb11593512.htm

I really have heard that bulbs, hostas, peonies and lilacs do better up north..not true apparently..I don't think tulips are worth planting every year..I took a quick look at the links..will take a better look later..I would love to go to Gibbs Gardens..when is the garden at it's peak?..the spring display is great but would late May early June be the best?..agree with you that tropical beats desert..how many times have you been to Gibbs?..

I heard that hostas typically grow larger in Ohio, Michigan, etc. Lilacs certainly become small trees in Bismarck, ND but we don't grow them here - too much mildew. I can do without lilacs though.

I just joined Gibbs earlier this year so I don't know prime times for daffodils. I would use their website to go by. We joined in early summer - getting pretty warm then and a few weeks ago for the JM fall colors. Now we will just wait until March/April for the daffodils. I doubt we will renew though - a good 1.5 hour drive for us. The ABG is a lot closer and a lot more to see despite a much smaller property (35 acres versus 292 at Gibbs).

The other garden is further away at Pine Mountain near Columbus, GA. That is Callaway Gardens (Victory Garden of the south). A much further drive but the native azaleas are worth the trip. Also go to Animal Safari - what a laugh-fest it was when we visited with zebras, giraffes, bison, big cattle drooling inside the window (if you didn't keep your window up).

hostas are large here..lilacs have mildew here too..I have a lilac that is about 2 ft..has never bloomed..paid $1 for it..in a back corner..knowing they can be large I put it there for screening..my parents had a white one years ago..was huge..like 12 x 12..it split in a storm and they removed it..my mother would cut blooms and bring in..nice fragrance..I wish we were driving distance to so many nice gardens..I saw this giraffe pic once!..so funny :-) would like to see a giraffe up close like that..when I see azaleas I think of the Masters in Augusta..

Not being a golfer, I have had no desire to see the Masters a mere two hours away. One of my co-workers who was a big golfer would try to get tickets to the Masters even if it was the elimination round (guess that is what they call it).

I remember seeing the small trees around the border of my sister's house in Bismarck and was floored to learn they were lilacs. They also have the biggest white birches there but no thanks on living there. BRRRR!

Hostas do well here but again I heard they grow bigger the further north you go. Does that mean they do even better in north AK? I wonder how hardy they are.

My two Empress Wu hostas are living up to their reputation.

I don't particularly like "green" hostas but when it comes to big I will swallow my distaste - HA!

About five years old and the smaller (yet large) Earth Angel maybe 3 years old. Rainbow's End is next to the Earth Angel. I have 3 EA with an accompanying RE around EW.

I have 3 Fire & Ice around the first EW but are lost until you shoot low.

The Pygmy JM is dwarfed by Climax.

I was a golf widow when I was young..but now Don is more interested in watching than playing..the guys he played with have moved..one has passed away..he still has clubs in case he gets in the mood someday..just repeating what I've heard about bigger hostas up north but who knows if that's true..your hostas look great..your Empress Wu looks better than mine..in my defense mine just passed the first summer..top to bottom..Elegans..Empress Wu..Krossa Regal (a favorite)..Jack in the Pulpit - didn't plant these..a few here and there..see how much shade I have in some spots..I scattered Elegans seeds in the fall 2016..found these seedlings this summer..used my reading glasses for scale..can't wait for them to grow..

My BIL used to be an avid golfer until he became avid fisherman/hunter. I don't know if he still golfs or not. When he was younger it was football/basketball/tennis/swimming/etc. When he was in the Air Force and stationed in Turkey, he traveled all over Europe with lots of the Air Force sports teams so my sister was stuck in Turkey with a toddler and another one on the way. I was just stuck on a Navy ship traveling to the Caribbean for weeks at a time and the Med for six months. Luckily no kids while I was in the Navy.

Oh yeah, I have Elegans, Blue Angel, Krossa Regal, Humpback Whale (looked like SS Minnow when I got it), Blue Cadet, Halcyon, and a few other blues (Blue Umbrella, Blue Mammoth). I have Regal Splendor that is supposed to be a variegated sport of Krossa Regal (I think I read that somewhere). I've got Jack-in-the-pulpits too from seeds I collected in the forests.

One of my Blue Angels

Cherry pits on left did not grow but the Jack-in-the-pulpits all germinated.

https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/arisaema-arisaema-arisaema

https://www.plantdelights.com/products/podophyllum-delavayi

http://www.pacifichorticulture.org/articles/podophyllums-the-mayapples-of-asia-and-america-2/

I have all of the hostas you mentioned except Blue Mammoth and Humpback Whale..also have Blue Mouse Ears and Bressingham Blue..blues are my favorites..heard of W. George Schmid?..hosta expert that lives in Georgia..I think from Germany?..he was on an episode of Gardener's Diary..has mayapples..when did you get your hostas?..before the begonias and cacti?..thought maybe you started with hostas then moved on to more exotic plants..a nice day but I wasn't home..my nephew and his wife are expecting their first child..today they had a gender reveal party..there was a pinata like box..they pulled a ribbon and pink circles came flying out..it's a girl..I never thought of collecting seed from my Jack in the Pulpit..hmmm..should read up on it..

I don't know how may Mouse Ears I've gone through. Tried them in the ground and in a pot and still lose them - either too dry or maybe voles? I forgot about Bressingham Blue and do have it as well. Never heard of George Schmid. Is he owner of Catalina Gardens? I went there one time but never got the owner's name - raises about 7,000 hostas a year from plugs. Prices are too high though to compete with Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, and our local chain nursery though.

I brought four hostas I dug up from our last house but they were gone after two short years of the deer eating all the leaves. GRRR! The hostas I have now are more recent - anywhere from 2 to 8 years old.

I was into flowers to begin with - irises specifically - about 120 different ones but after a few years of a 2 to 4 week bloom period I became jaded at looking at ratty looking foliage the rest of the year. So I quit the veggie gardening and went for shrubs/ornamental trees. The shade from these killed most of the irises. Then tropicals since they are 12 month interest instead of the growing season - hence begonias, coleus, Alocasia/Colocasia, C&S, philodendrons, etc, etc.

Ah, those gender reveal parties have become a thing recently? I saw one on TV, maybe it was FB where a couple pulls out a pink sleeper and then a blue sleeper - I guess that meant twins? I didn't watch the entire thing as my attention span can be short on some things (such as this).

You should try collecting your seeds - I don't do this with the ones I started but I think the more care you put into raising them the better success you will have.

I had a Blue Mouse Ears that uprooted..when I took it out of the ground it separated into 3 tiny pieces..replanted them and so far it's okay..I've seen lots of posts on GW where people grow BME in pots to prevent heaving..I have a dozen or so..all outside but 3 new ones in pots that are in my shed waiting for spring..don't know if George Schmid owns a nursery..he's written books..on the Gardener's Diary episode he had a shade garden..lots of hostas with a Japanese influence..a foliage garden..uses lots of stones..I liked it..Google him..I've never had irises..have had daylillies..but as you tired of irises I tired of daylillies..have been removing them..I've had the red seedheads and just let them be..will take a look today to see if I have any..yeah I wanted to support my nephew and his wife by going but would've been happy to just let them tell us it's a girl..

I had at least 2, probably 3 Blue Mouse Ears, Frosted Mouse Ears, and Country Mouse Ears (I could be wrong on this last name). I think I must have to coddle these if I try them again. Same with Pandora's Box and Cherry Berry. The dwarves must need extra special care (at least in my yard).

I will pass on searching for George. If you want to post some links that is fine.

I never bought name brand daylilies but had many of those as well. Always good bloomers along with peonies.

This is the only photo I named so an easy search at our last house. The entire driveway was daylilies and 7 peonies further up the driveway (sorry it isn't in this one photo). Then we had a few clumps here and there in the front and backyard.

I like our Callas - nice foliage even not in bloom

The ones at the bottom of the hill are bigger and fuller - guess more water.

Shasta daisy gets bigger each year too.

You've had more hostas than I thought..I have them because they survive!..wouldn't mind more of other things if they would grow here..beautiful callas..much rather have them than daylillies or iris..I cleaned up in the front and spread some compost around..looks nice..I went to the bottom of the bin to get to the broken down stuff..forgot to check my Jack in the Pulpit..

DARN IT! I had a long post all typed out and ready to submit when I added one more photo and tried to go to bold, italic font before typing in the name of the begonias and GW hung. All was lost. So gripe-some!

Anyhoo I said that it is a balancing act between outdoor and indoor plants. That it is good to have lots of landscape plants to break up the boredom of monoculture grass. We have some homes in our area (and TN and probably all over) that have acres of GRASS! Why? It isn't even level for a ball field of any type.

Callas are hardy here but I did lose my darkest colored one. It was nearly black. Oh well the 3 I have come back year after year and set many seeds and babies afterwards. I believe they are in the same family as Jack-in-the-pulpit.

Some plants in the basement this past week.

Dimitri is a lovely new cane

'Pagoda' by Freda Holley. A big leaf, big stem begonia.

Yay, my Hot Tamale finally blooms! Big blooms on a smallish cane.

Benitochiba is a beauty and easy to grow if you don't overwater it. It does go semi-dormant at times which can be frustrating until you see it happen many times over the years. Relax, just cut back on watering until it leafs out again.

what a drag!..took the time to think, type, add photos and then have to start over :-( ..it's happened to me..you have so many varieties..some don't even look like begonias (B. kingiana)..Hugh McLaughlin sounds good (no mildew or semi-dormancy) and I think it's gorgeous..so when you say don't over water how often should you water?..weekly?..do you let the top of the soil dry out before watering or do you keep it moist?..I've seen lots of annual wax begonias in stores that were rotting..overwatering right?..I like the wavy apple green with dark burgundy edged leaves at the bottom of the last pic..

Water as needed. It all depends (don't you love that disqualifier?) on so many things - how hot or cold is it, how big is the pot to the plant, is it clay or plastic or something else, and what type of begonia is it. Anyway you can't give a blanket statement like water once a week and expect fabulous results - people might do that and cuss me out once their plant dies in a week or two.

Here's the thing about stereotyping every begonia into one size fits all. You might have a succulent type begonia that really (really, really) likes it on the dry side while others like to keep their toes moist all the time. I've learned from observation what is what and how to water and how often. Some do better with bottom watering like my brevirimosa and angularis but most I just top water. I check most days for wilt and will water those if they are wilting from dry soil. Any that wilt from wet soil are headed to major problems and you can 1) let it alone and hope it recovers by itself or 2) be proactive and take cuttings or repot or yank the thing out of a plastic pot and put the root ball on newspaper to wick away excess moisture (hopefully you will never have to do this if you water carefully).

That last photo you mentioned is simply named a Tim Anderson hybrid when I picked it up at Harmony a few years ago. Very finicky on water and thought I would lose it a few times over the years. I wonder why I keep it but it is a beautiful begonia when growing well. I think the name may be St. Patrick's Beard but what the heck do I know.

This is what it looked like the end of August this year.

your watering advice is like the fine print on a document haha..not a simple yes or no..I understand it's a combination of factors..so a matter of constant monitoring..I wouldn't have guessed that the leaves would get so large on the St Patrick's Beard..I like the color..

I ran into a huge problem typing this out twice now so this time I am just posting a screen shot of what I typed in.

to me - the U578 doesn't resemble mine much but is the same type?..mine has a couple of new leaves while at the same time quite a few leaves are drying up and falling off..the stems are getting bare..scares me when you say "I don't have a lot of luck with these types of begonias"..just have to play it by ear..

They can look dull at times (running low on water and wilting) but the above is natural - not water on the leaves. It could be humidity that day.

Here is one from last year (not fuzzy).

in the second pic the leaves remind me of a heuchera..and I would compare the leaves on mine to an African Violet..

What a shame such beautiful maples were cut down. Why were they destroyed?

Nonya..I was surprised to see my old post!..

I agree it's sad when old huge trees are removed..the maples weren't mine..I didn't reread the post..don't remember the reason..

but sometimes it's necessary..