"If the mirror is pitted or cloudy do not change it!" Even Versailles' hall of mirrors is being reconditioned. Old mirror technology often used actual silver ad was subject to long term damage. Newer mirrors use aluminum and have a longer life expectancy. If you have a new mirror installed to replace an old one, save the old one anyway.

Here's what I did. In the spring when JoAnn Fabric's was having a sale I bought a metal window box on legs. It's free standing. In the box part I put rolled towels and hand cloths.On the bottom I cut a piece of thin wood and painted it to match the legs. The bottom has metal bars which help keep the legs from bending so with a little work I was able to cut the wood a little larger than the support system thus making a shelf on the bottom. On that shelf I put a couple of baskets with bath supplies in it. I'm even thinking of taking the wood out and replacing it with glass BUT it's so low on my to do list it will be summer before I get that far. IF all you want is the table space think of using a piece of wood with some decorative supports. Add some moulding around the edges and you are good to go.

Hi Guys, Here's the latest update on "Chiclet" with "wings"! Well, the second scape has opened but the "wings" aren't placed quite correctly to view the flowers symmetrically but it's still not too bad. I didn't cut these leaves off this scape. It will be interesting to see if this happens another year; assuming of course, that I can get it to ever bloom again! On the first scape I accidentally selfed one flower, the second one was x Santos and the 3rd was x papilio and the only one that took was x papilio!! Go figure and it's a nice healthy pod too!! That's all folks!! Donna

for me, part of gardening is experimenting with nature as the landscape and my taste change. I had wanted a Smoke Bush for a long time. This was one of the very first plants I added to my garden which was pretty much a blank canvass except for 6 green balls and one traditional Lilac Bush. I got rid of the green balls except for one which is now in my Rose Garden. Smokey was way too tall and was ripping my flag way too quickly. I decided to take action. In the Spring of 2017, I bought a new electric chainsaw and trimmed it down to about 7' high. It looked bare for about a month. My neighbor commented on it. I assured him, it would look better than ever before once it filled in. It does. I kept it trimmed until about September last year. Because I wanted it to flower this Spring, I stopped trimming it around September. It worked. When I took these photos, it was in full flower. By late Fall, the leaves turned a crimson and darker purple. It's magnificent and pretty much a focal point of my side yard. What's also very neat about Smokey is he bares 5 bird feeders. The foliage keeps the birds and feeders dry and protected. My canary, Buddy, gets a front seat via my large living room window. He sings his little heart out watching what the wild birds are doing out there. Do you like Smokey? Have you ever grown one?