r. murray, If "ears" became handles, and the Antique Road Show comes to your area, take it. Bet they'll show it as a "fake" clay jar by Dave, the Slave! At least, you'll get to see their reaction. LOL Why is it called a Weed Pot though? And, yes, it is reminscient of the Mad Potter of Biloxi! (We're addicted to Antique Road Show! LOL) As for rocks, depends on how big you're talking if what I do is considered the same. Got a container garden on our small concrete backyard, plus boulders are just too much for me to tackle -- but "rock collecting" kinda runs in the family. My older brother just had to stop and found a new career. He was a stone mason, who loved making decorations in his fireplaces. (His had a sun.) He drove everywhere in an old, beat-up flatbed truck, because that's how he got the boulders needed for a job. He lives in central VA, and has collected boulders every day, practically, for 50 years. (Strong as an ox, but very quiet.) His "rocks" were generally 25-50 pounds, at least. Even when he came to visit Dad in PA, he'd work towards emptying Dad's wooded lot of all boulders, and took them home each time. Good thing Dad was never crazy about the rock garden the previous owners had. LOL Most people collect souvenirs from a vacation at a gift shop. My husband takes me to a stony beach (what, purplemoon, Florida has no stones on your beaches? Weird! LOL), or dirt roads with wild flowers, so I can gather my two favorite souvenirs -- a bouquet of wild flowers to enjoy on our vacation (usually the vase is an empty pepsi bottle LOL), and "cool stones" that I bring home. Don't know if hubby thinks I'm nuts about this (he knows I'm nuts, in general), but he's found some cool looking rocks, too. I've found white, mauve, black and blue streaked, perfectly ovaled, and quartz like stones. (I can't believe anyone skips stones, since, if they're skippers, they're too cool to toss! LOL) My rock collection goes out into my portable butterfly drinking hole (a terra-cotta saucer with rocks and water in it on our "plantstand" - round plastic child's picnic table) and the rest go into the one souvenir I did buy out of a shop -- a large handblown glass, so you can see all the rocks, and some cool shells, too! jutes, I can't do cement either. Don't know from experience, just know this beat-up old body can't lift up anything heavier then 12 pounds, and can't lean over much anymore, so can't even dream of that as another hobby. Thanks for the pictures though! Been wanting some crazy faces out in my garden as planter, especially for my succulents, and you've just taught and showed me how! Lynn

That's really nice. Now there's a problem...too many headborad benches, lol. I agree a cushion would look nice and I would have to stencil (or hand paint if you're able) some flowers on that large top board and maybe the sides of the seat. Or maybe a short verse across the top board. I remember those wagon wheel beds. Some were solid maple many moons ago. That ought to be a pretty one, too. Is there any kind of "boutique" store near you that might sell them on commission? Seems like with the holidays comming up you ought to be able to sell a few of these, that would look so pretty with fall and Christmas type decorations.

Laura, LOL on both posts! But you see, she also brought balance to the world. Long ago our household had 2 humans, 2 dogs and 2 cats...a boy & girl of each. While the dogs have changed, we found ourselves with only a boy dog - the universe was unbalanced. Shanti brings us back to 2 humans, 2 dogs and 2 cats...a boy & girl of each. And actually there is a new sense of peace- She has so exhausted the other dog (who had become too much of a demanding couch potato, which is also why she was needed) that the evenings really are, well, more peaceful. And only a few orchids have suffered only broken leaves! The pecking order is being established- each cat has given her 1 good clawless smack (you see, they grew up with dogs, so this is their 4th), Yogi has learned that she will protect her food, and she has learned that Yogi will protect his tennis balls (all other toys are open to negotiation). And I have (re)learned how those soft brown puppy eyes can get you to do almost anything; that an extra mouth to feed (and buys toys, leashes, beds, etc etc for) ain't cheap; and that it really is wonderful fun to have a clumsy, silly, lovable, 'I'll follow you anywhere' companion right at your side. And she really does occupy the other dog, so I don't have to ;) Carolyn

Laurie....actually, SI is more of a pale apricot color and RAT is pink...my camera just doesn't always capture the colors perfectly. I'll check my photos of SI and see if I've got another that shows the color more accurately. RAT is much larger than SI too, now PG is a dip and doesn't have the substance of the other two, but it's really been a bud builder for me. It was a bonus plant from Marietta's last year and this is it's first bloom season for me. I love them all....would hate to have to pick a fav...;) Rick....both EM and NMT are new for me. I planted them in the fall so this is their debut in my garden and so far I'm thrilled with them. I wasn't sure how NMT would perform being an Emmerich and a northern bred dl...but so far it's doing great. It should really do well for you in your zone...guess I could add it to your "list" if you'd like it....LOL Debra....ISOA is in it's first bloom season for me and the very first bloom was lighter, but most of the others have been dark. I'm really pleased with it so far. Ellie...DBD is one of my favs, but then I love most of Lambertson's dl's. Actually, I'm not having the bloom season I would like due to our crazy weather, of which you are experiencing also. The bud count is way down and lots of the blooms aren't as large as normal, but I'm thankful for the ones I have. :) Jean....I will be adding more dl's to my album all along if you'd like to bookmark it for later viewing. Thank you all, and I'm glad you're enjoying my photos. Now go post some of yours for me to see!!!! ;) Jan