I had a good laugh cuz I coveted someones plants once myself many years ago in my old neighborhorhood. In answer to #10, I don't know Polish, so can't help there. But I was wondering if this lady is out in her front yard every evening when you run by. If so, I would cultivate her by start waving, smiling, and saying something like "Hi", "Good evening!" or "I love your gardens", "Nice weather today", etc. And keep it up every time you see her. After you've done that enough stop for a rest in front of her house when she's outside and start talking to her. Even pointing at a brug and telling her how beautiful it (or all) is. She may understand nothing you say or understand more than you or others realize. If she's a really elderly lady, could she be living with one of her childen? Maybe you could stop by there on a weekend afternoon, knock on the door, and see. All you have to say when someone opens the door is that you stopped to tell them that they have lovely garden. I have yet to meet a gardener who didn't love talking about their gardens, and only two who didn't want to share even their weeds. If someone who speaks English is also living in the home, somewhere during the conversation ask if when they prune their brugs if they would be willing to part with some of the cuttings instead of putting them into the trash can. Offer a plant/plants/cuttings in trade. There was one older gentlemen (many moons ago) who never talked to anyone in the neighborhood, but had one of the loveliest front gardens I've ever seen. After many years of watching this absolutely beautiful front yard develope, change, and grow, I couldn't stand it any more. I took some home made cookies over and met him and his wife (didn't even know he had a wife all those years) and thanked him for 'sharing' his garden with me, even if he didn't know it and I only did it from the sidewalk. I could never describe their back gardens in a million words. There are very few things that have ever taken my breath away, and that was one of them. I can't tell you how many wonderful hours I spent in their back yard after that and how many times he would walk to my house and spend hours giving me tips and helping me with garden related stuff. As far as the brugs by your hot tub, how close would they be? Brugs can be incredibly messy plants. They can also become quite large so will the plant itself be in full sun all day? They would do best with morning sun and afternoon shade or dapple shade down there. I'm guessing at that as I live in a Zone 9 climate (up by Sacramento) and I have some brugs that get full sun and seem to do ok (Charles Grimadli and Frosty Pink). However, I do water 'em heavily twice each day during the hottest part of the summer. I got several brugs to add to my gardens from the link below. Due to the summer heat, I don't know if she ships right now. But the brugs and hibiscus that I've gotten from here (Seed Sprout) have all been in excellent health and huge sizes and the prices are very good. Hopefully someone from your area can give you a better idea about planting them down there. Jenna Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Sprout

Jeepers, Chuck. First thing you need to do is call the previous homeowner, and have her go through care and maintenance of this little grove. She certainly should have given you a tour of the grove, the drip system, her fertilizing system, products, timing, pest management system, etc. Write everything down in detail. Write all your questions down ahead of time, then make sure as she reviews everything, all YOUR questions are also answered. You say this previous homeowner really knew what she was doing, so tap into that. Then, I would call the UC RIverside Extension office, and see if you can speak to one of the extension agents. I'd refer you to Tom Shea, but I believe he is no longer working for UCR, which is really too bad. Another great resource is the San Diego County Master Gardeners. They can assist you to some degree, or at the least, put you into contact with someone who can guide and advise you (back to the UC extension folks). Lastly, the UC Davis Home Orchard web site is very helpful. I will give you a few links that will provide you with basic info, but it's your previous homeowner who can give you the exact details of their orchard. (If these hyperlinks are broken, simply copy and paste them into your browser window): http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/files/140618.pdf http://www.mastergardenerssandiego.org/downloads/citrus%20for%20home%20garden.pdf http://ucanr.edu/blogs/slomggarden/blogfiles/4260.pdf http://ucanr.edu/sites/sacmg/files/115406.pdf UC Davis Advanced Avocado and Citrus Training Classes (closest is Riverside, HIGHLY recommend attending): http://camastergardeners.ucdavis.edu/?blogpost=9519&blogasset=4537 http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts/Citrus/ UC Master Gardener Handbook: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/GrowingVegetablesFruitsNuts/3382.aspx Integrated Pest Management for Citrus (this is from the ANR Catalog, several other very helpful resouces for citrus available, just search by "citrus"): http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/IntegratedPestManagement/3303.aspx And this site should be bookmarked for info about citrus varieties. Sadly, I think it's too late for you to squeeze into the UC Riveride Citrus Variety Collection Citrus Day, which is being conducted tomorrow, but definitely something you'll want to consider attending next year, as they provide great presentation about citrus care: http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/index.html And lastly, the Sunset Western Garden Book and the Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles. Patty S.

Thank you for the invitation, Norma. This will be my first conference, and I am very excited. I am in the process of scheduling a sansevieria interest group meeting during the conference. If there is enough interest, I would like to see an ISS meeting at each CSSA conference. Members in the USA are not able to attend the meetings of the UK-based ISS. So far, response from the organizers seems positive. I am waiting to see whether we are given a meeting room and a place on the official meetings roster.

Yes, she might get lucky at the Macy's furniture store in Mission Valley. Living Spaces and Jerome's have a large selection. Woodbridge carries brands like Thomasville but not sure if that's in her price range. Room and Board is popular right now but the San Diego store is opening in the fall in the UTC mall so shopping is online or she can drive to Orange County to see items in person. There are dozens of furniture stores along Miramar Road including Ashley. Sometimes you need to stop at each shop along the road and look to see what they have. If the concern is the furniture falling apart I'd suggest she look closely at how the bed is put together on the showroom floor. Some styles are top heavy. I've found that price is not always a good indicator of "quality" when it comes to furniture. I have 22 year old IKEA dressers that I've now moved 4 times and I won't say they look like new but they are solid and the wood veneer is dated but has held up well.