Colleen, your Echy still adorns my desktop. Doubt not your skill. About the Gasteria, those are the first Gasteria seeds I tried about 2.5 years ago. They came from a spotty Gasteria I bought from a guy named Richard at the farmer's market. The seeds were open-pollinated. These seedlings are special in the way that the "first dollar you ever earned" is special. The hybrids I've created and sown since then are something I can get excited about. 'Spotty Rick' is historically significant, only to myself. I will keep you updated, though, and you're welcome to some of the brood. That's only one of three identical pots. Mara, hahaha! I'm taking beach's down-time as an opportunity to catch up! Seriously though, how can I compete with a real South African? That dude is legit. How, thanks for the info! I'll sow them today! I'm sure it's still warm enough, though it IS pretty foggy today. It feels like the beginning of Fall but I'm hoping for a few more freak weeks of heat! Ashton, gracias!

Hi Avedon...you were missed! Sorry about your Mom...I have been there with my Mom. She has suffered 2 broken hips and rehab in the past 4 yrs. It is a long process to get them walking again, although Mom's is complicated by the Alzheimers and blindness. Now she is back to night-wandering and I had to get a bed alarm to let me know when she gets out of bed. No sleep for me! That's exciting that you're getting new daylilies soon...but you have to tell us what you're getting! I have some big orders coming but not until May so I am getting antsy. Glad you're back!! Celeste

Thanks everyone. The last two have been around several years and I don't really know what to do with them. I don't think they are distinctive enough to register, but as garden plants they perform way better than lots of my registered daylilies. What do the rest of you who hybridize do with plants like this. I've composted plenty of prettier faces because they had low bud counts or were crowded and top budded. The first two flowers I posted are first ever blooms so I'm hoping they improve. I'll post a picture of the wall when I get a chance. Val

Thanks dmkelly. Even though those Walmart bags are only 50â a piece, it still is expensive when you add it all up with the peat, pine bark, bat guano and all the remaining ferts. I really thought raised garden beds would do well and they do seem better than just in the ground but the Walmart bags out performed my raised beds by far and I used the same soil mix for both. Sorry I haven't grown anything else in the bags but peppers. Everything else I much easier to grow. Peppers are very particular. These bags require much more water and more fertilizing. They are very well drained and will leach out nutrients quickly. Whenever it rained for a long time I would go out there in the rain and fertilize them with a strong solution. Iron fert like you would use for lawns helps and to combat calcium deficiency I use calcium acetate, quick lime mixed with vinegar and allowed to settle.