I got some rain!!! YEAH!!! Not a ton but enough to make my hostas ALL start poking their noses through! Aside from those...there is a bunch of things all about 1-2" up...name a few..... Astilbe Rudbeckia Lady's Mantle Sedum Assortment of Iris's Tulips - of course Daylilies are not like 6" tall Fern's Liatris A few more but I can't remember! Seems like the SUN part of my perennials are more on the up and up! Even my PARADE rose (a little rose!) that I got last year for my flower boxes was put in the ground and mulched heavy and is already showing green shoots!! I got it for like $5.00 a piece at Walmart...they bloomed little roses/like in a little bush with little dollar coin roses all summer and I thought they would not make it but obviously did!! The Snapdragons I planted last week are doing FABULOUS and so is the morning glory! I am impressed! I live in the Minneapolis area..Hennipen county...can anyone tell me...if I am DARING do you think I can put some cucumbers or squash out there? I started them indoors (I always do!) and theyare like 8" tall (squash-zucchini) and have multiple leaves, and like 5" tall (q-cumber)! They are soooo ready to go out there and keep asking me but I was scared....they will go in in the same area/sort of, as the snapdragons up against the fence/trellis with no wind! Anyone think I can drop them in this week???? Weather looks like 50 will be the night low after Tues.!!!! I am anxiuos I know!!!! Also...can anyone tell me...we are going to move my veggie area to a few NEW raised bed areas....it will be like 12" deep....what do you recommend me using for filler?? I know I need soil, compost manure, and maybe some sand? Anyone know what amounts of each?? Is there a ratio?? Also....I can't use TOP SOIL so should I just bite the bullet and buy all bags of the expensive potting soil for the "soil" part? Thanks much in advance! Becca

I'm like my Mom. She had 4 quick deliveries. Her third child (my brother) was delivered in the hallway of the hospital. With my youngest sister (her fourth) , my parents phoned for an ambulance, but Suzie wouldn't wait. She was delivered at home on our living room couch.I got to see my new baby sister when she was just minutes old. Then my Dad drove me to school. This post was edited by jannie on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 8:17

Such a nice story, and congratulations on 50 years! I didn't realize Michener's Hawaii has been around that long. I loved that book. Good choice! :-)

Rina, I use newspaper folded into a thin ribbon. I wrap it around the base and that's it. You can do the same with cactus or any thorny plant. BBQ thongs work, also. It can be difficult to tell arm cuttings from seed plants over time. I know the two smaller plants are arm divisions because I grew them from arms taken from the larger plant. After rooting an arm, most people will once again cut the single arm just above the soil line. This forces the plant to grow new arms. Early on you will see the old cut scar, but with time, as is the case for mine, the scar gets lost in the caudex. This is a seed grown plant from my seed from the larger plant above. Notice it has a single larger caudex. The circle is where the seedling sent up its first growth. I treat it the same as an arm cut and remove the single arm (circle) forcing new arms. If I were to raise this seedling, you might see developing fat boys. Here are some other examples of seed vs cut plants. This is Euphorbia squarrosa. The only plant that is seed grown is the back left. The other three are my cuttings from the stock plant.