Happy 4th of July!! I am Canadian but I always enjoy watching your celebration at the Capitol which is televised on PBS. As usual, it was lovely tonight. I love the bands and the marches - reminds me of my Dad.

They can be amazingly hard to locate kitten. You'd think that with the stripes and colors they would stand out like sore thumbs, but they have the ability to just disappear on those plants. Check underneath the individual leaves. If you are going to rescue them, it's best to catch them when they are small and before they fall prey to the wasps and flies.

Beautiful...I am jealous...I have wisteria that grows like wildfire...but has NEVER bloomed. It is a huge maintaince problem. I am ready to cut it down in the next year or two..it provides great shade...but THAT is it..and it needs monthly severe pruning almost to keep it from taking over the neighbors house too..it is on a huge arbor over my deck..the arbor is bent sideays from the pull..it keeps crawling up over the roof and up a huge ole cedar tree. Never a bloom no matter how many hints we follow..we have trimed its runners..we have super phosphated it, we have not trimmed it, we have trimmed it..we ignored it, we babied it..still NOTHING..it is somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen years old or more even maybe? It's days are numbered now. I love wisteria...but with no reward for the blooms, I am tired of the work. I am jealous you got flowers :( Any secrets you want to share?

"It's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission". How true! Well played sir. "last weeks sproutings of WR's will overtake them in a few days!". Even funnier knowing it's true! You know there are some plams I really like but there just ain't no use gowing them cuz they do nothing,heres my short list-S.minor,T.nanus,C.humilus( a larger plant would probably remove this from the list but cold hardiness has to be factored in)Needle palms,these are hard to establish this far north but this is one I will probably keep trying as it is extremely hardy!Blue needle palm,I would like to try this again as I think my small one may have come back,they are very sloooow and I will replace with S.louisiana-anyway you get the point,this logic reverses when you consider something like a Washy,they may not be super cold hardy but they repay you with incredible growth!