Every gardener is unique, so like hopflower said, because it is mine is a good answer. Mine is unique because in our neighborhood there are not a lot of flower gardeners. I have roses, daylilies, assorted other perenniels, and bunches of annuals. I'm aiming for a charming cottage look...and I'm getting there, slowly. Most of the neighbors have grass and weedy shrub beds. I get tickled every spring when the neighbor to the left says 'don't tell me its time for yard work again' when he sees me outside pruning something in late winter. I always reply 'its time to play in the dirt.' What he sees as a chore, I see as a joy. I have a small 'secret' garden that is peaceful, pretty, and private (or getting there...grow, shrubs, grow!) That is one of my major splurges and makes a nice destination during a stroll in the yard. We also do veggies. The best thing? The purple porch swing. It gets a smile every time. Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

Backyardmomma, We have bought a dumptruck load of 'dirt' twice, once with great results and the second time, not with such great results. With the first load, we were building raised beds on land my brother owned south of Fort Worth and we bought a load that was a mixture of topsoil and compost. (This was when we lived in an old house on his land for a year in a rural area to 'test drive' living in the country before we sold our house in the city and took the plunge!) The topsoil/compost mix was purchased from Silvercreek Materials in western Tarrant County (they made their own compost then and probably still do, but are too far away for us to use now) and was AMAZING. Everything grew like mad. We had carefully done our research and asked questions and made sure we were getting quality soil. I just loved it and my brother and sister-in-law were amazed how much the raised bed with that blend outperformed their in-ground garden. In 1999, after moving here right in the middle of planting season (late Feb. or earliest March), I was desperate for topsoil to rototill into our very compacted red clay. DH ordered a load of topsoil from a supplier based in Carter County after calling around and comparing prices and asking them about their topsoil. At the time, no one within 50 miles of us was offering a topsoil/compost blend, so we were stuck with so-called topsoil that was mostly pure sand. It was awful. (I still am not convinced that you can even find really good topsoil for sale here in our rural area....they tell you it is good topsoil, but when you go and look at it, it is sand.) I just mixed the terrible sand with lots of compost and manure and added it to my clay, but I would have been just as happy if we'd never ordered or accepted delivery of that load of junk sand because all it did was bring in billions of weed seeds. At the time, I just said to myself "Well, it is better than nothing". Looking back, though, I think "nothing" would have better better than that poor sand. So, if you ever splurge and buy soil, try to find some that has compost mixed in and make them tell you what percentage of it is compost. Also, look at the soil they sell before you order it and make it clear you expect soil of the identical quality or you'll refuse to accept delivery when the dumptruck arrives at your house. Unless you have a friend with a Bobcat or front-end loader, expect it to take quite a while to get the soil from the big pile they dump in your driveway or yard to the actual beds you're placing it in. A dumptruck load of soil is a lot of soil, particularly if you're moving it one wheelbarrow load at a time. Dawn

YEAH!!! "Houston,...the box has landed!" Ummm,...yesterday, actually. - Profuse apologies to all, particularly Sakura and Dan! Meant to get this posted at least by yesterday evening, but,...I fell asleep again. Been waaayyy busy, today, as well, but this is gettin' posted no matter what! Therefore,... What a *wonderful* thing, when most of the rest of our mail otherwise basically sucked-scissors (bills and junk)! From the fabulous Sakura_Komichi (aka Cheryl) I/we received a totally jam-packed box full of wonderful goodies galore! I Told Elly "Geez, it feels like there's a brick in here! If it *is*, I hope it's gold!" While there was no *brick*, of course, it was still *gold* all the same! :) Sakura,...Way big *WOW*! - Thanks so much for the deliciously scented "Dewberry Dreams" candle-in-a-tin! Scented candles are always wonderful and can even go a long way toward making a moderate power outage less stressful. The only scented candles Elly and I have purchased within the last year or so were given as gifts, making this one that you sent the only one of its kind in our home! The large and smaller size peat pellets will *absolutely* come in handy for Winter Sowing! The smaller ones we've always called "dirt cookies" LOL! Used to use `em all the time years ago, but then, I dunno why, we just sorta stopped. Perhaps, at the time, it was simply cheaper t'go with potting soil and good ol' yard dirt. The mini-blind plant-label stakes (bundled together with a *gold* twist tie) are sheer *genius*!! What a brilliant usage!! Beats the mahoogies out of popscicle sticks every which-a-way! Thanks majorly, also, for the blue paint-pen marker with which to label them puppies! Then, there's that big ol' stack o' *gummed*, manilla seed envelopes;...kewl-kewl-kewl! No glue stick required! :) And what a great, frameable card you scribed your communication into, with that water-color-wash beach scene! Super nice! Boy do we ever love the coast! September we *finally* made it back to the beach after not being able to do so for six frustrating years. First time there with our digital camera and you bet I took loads of pictures! Now,...for the seeds: -Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' - "OOOooo! Pretty!" -Cypress Vine - Pretty as heck! Trellis time! -Japanese Morning Glory - Mt Fuji 'Pink' - Japanese Morning Glories always rock! Thanks loads! -Aster - novae-anglae - Alma Potschke' - *Really* pretty! -Conoclinum coelestinum - Mist Flower; hardy Ageratum - Again, *Really* pretty! -Asclepias tuberosa - Orange Butterfly Weed - Why is this called a "weed"? Lotsa purdy flowers! -Orange Cosmos - Never knew there were so many fab color variations of this! -Purple Coneflower - Allow its prettiness to grow for 2 years and ta-daa, the roots are a medicinal! Thank *you*! -Blackberry Lily - Been wanting this! Never had the temerity to actually suggest a trade for same. -Spaghetti Squash - Called "Silly Squash" by my MIL. Love it, particularly since I'm diabetic! Non-pasta *pasta*! -Swamp Milkweed - Quite pretty, with a pleasing scent. This has its own beetle species? -Shasta Daisy - Ahhh yes! The lovely backdrop! -Echinacea 'White Swan' - Wrongly never thought I would ever be fortunate enough to receive any of this in a trade, round robin or newbie offer, so, I caved and bought a packet of seeds at a local nursery. Forgive me for having so little faith! Be it known, however, what I purchased is what I *share*, whereas what I have been gifted with or otherwise received in trade is what I will actually sow. Same for "Rudbeckia - 'Cherry Brandy'! -Swamp Milkweed - Pretty and butterfly attractive! -Jackson Wonder Butter Bean - Wonderful, glorious Foooooood! Yeah!! -Rose of Sharon 'Purple' - Fantabulous! Really wanted! Thank you so much! :) Overall I just can't say "Thank you!" enough! This is a way kewl package/gift exchange that Elly & I totally appreciate and have had fun with every step of the way! - Rippin' rox! Definitely gotta do this again! :) - Thanks again, Cheryl, Dan and everyone else! - Cryptid (Darrin)

Hi clink - I'm happy that you are able to do as you wish with your laundry and don't have the potential issues that I mentioned. Wonderful that you are happy with your own way. I am fine with what works for me. Ain't life grand? I sort of envy you operating an organic flower farm, therefore "working from home" and being able to be there, in that lovely area, all day long. I would imagine that the "chore" (if one is to call it that) of hanging and taking down laundry is one that you enjoy as a leisurely activity. Unfortunately for me, I'm not able to look at laundry as a leisurely activity given my work schedule, commute, and other life obligations outside of my home. If you're surrounded by corn fields and soybean fields, that sounds to me as though there are more fields than trees around your clothesline. Is that true or am I misreading? I'm completely surrounded by trees, birdfeeders, birdhouses, bushes, etc. No place for a clothesline that's not right in the middle of all of this. Sounds like you have a lot of acreage - how lucky! I've only an acre (again, all treed with just a little area for a shaded patio). Someday I hope to graduate/move up to what you have described your home/land to be. Weighing all things, hanging laundry outside or smelling sheets in the nano-second before I go to sleep isn't at the top of my important-things list (heck - it's not even on the list). Even if I had more time, I still don't think I'd care. I'm willing to indulge in the convenience of a dryer (I know you and many would not consider that an indulgence, because you love the air-dried laundry). And, perhaps you'll allege that I don't live right, because I do get bird droppings, pollen, and other such natural stuff on anything outside. Regarding economics, which is the nature of this forum, I am frugal in many, many areas and watch my behavior. I also try to be "green". I decided long ago that I can't do it all, but I can do what I can, and frankly, that's quite a bit. Now, my neighbor across the street hangs her laundry quite often. She's home herself quite often, and has a good spot for her line. I actually like to see it, as it reminds me of my mom's clothesline when I was a kid. Kind of "country". But I also see that sometimes the same laundry is on the line for a few days because we've had a shower on the day she put it out and before it was fully dry, so it had to re-dry, then another shower, re-dry, etc. I don't care from looks-viewpoint, but what a hassle for her! I do know that she often ends up just taking down wet or damp laundry and putting it in the dryer. She also told me that sometimes she just puts it back into the washing machine to wash again because it started to smell musty. Sounds to me like you're doing much more than I am - my hat's off to you.