Tony, what great plants. I looked for this plant for about two years before I found one. Mine is a single about the size of yours, and I planted it in the ground in an almost full sun area that receives no irrigation. It is my succulent area. I never water or fertilize it and it has done well. However, it has only been there about 6 months. It is liking the slightly cooler weather and is now putting out more foliage than before. I think these are much more common in California, where they grow tall and branch out quite a bit. I am hoping for that too, although the rosette is rather pretty. I also have a tiny one in a pot which is doing fine. In spring I may plant it in the ground. Yours are beautiful. Definite focal points. Anna

I'm sorry I haven't been on this forum for quite a while so I'm unaware if you have previously gone to any counselling or grief therapy to help you deal with the profound grief you are feeling. If not, it isn't too late to seek out treatment, it will help you to cope better and be in a better position to provide comfort for your children without falling apart in the process. You can seek help under Social Services in the Yellow Pages or perhaps through your doctor. Your son may even benefit from a therapist who works with children dealing with grief. It's good that you watch home videos and still have a recorded phone message to turn to. But it might be helpful to gather some family pictures and make a scrap book that your son can look at whenver her wants to, perhaps kept beside his bed. You should explain that your tears do not mean you are upset with him for coming to you to talk, they are just because people cry when they miss someone they love, and that is normal. Assure him that he can come and talk to Mommy whenever he wants, because talking about his Dad is a good thing, not a bad thing. Perhaps you could remind your son of a time he got some physical pain from a wound or sprain or something. Remind him of how it hurt most when it happened and when it was healing, but after enough time passed it didn't hurt any more...that even though he can remember what happened, it doesn't hurt to talk about the wound anymore since it has healed. Tell him that when someone we love dies, it makes us hurt for a longer time than a normal wound. But even though we will never ever forget them, one day we will be able to think of them and talk about them without feeling so sad. You and your children are in my thoughts and prayers.

I knew the folks on RP would have a handle on this one. The question is: "What is 'Tomorrow is another day?" This comes, they say, about 2 minutes after Rhett's famous, "Frankly, my dear..." quote. Congrats, Deborah.

Vaporvac-thanks!!! I do like the purple flowers in the spring, it also flowers later in the season. It has naturalized here and grows in many parks. emmarene-the vinca is the most maintenance, but as its gotten thicker it has prevented more weeds from getting in, although I still pull some out. I maintain the edge occasionally because its a fast grower. I dug a small trench around it that I filled with mulch to create a separation from the grass and the vinca and I maintain that edge. Also I have read that it needs cutting back occasionally to stay healthy, and the best time for that is early spring. I read you can run it over with a mower to trim it but I haven't tried that. The rest is low maintenance, I shape the shrubs and tree-which is actually a shrub, as they grow. Thanks for your comment!