Stage Rat, thanks so much. I googled it and that is what it is. I will go right out and dig it up. I don't want those in my flower beds. I wish all my flowers looked that healthy though. I forgot to mention lesons learned about which containers worked best for me. My favorite is the round containers that I get cakes or cookies in (also an excuse to buy them). I make newspaper pots, and they are so much easier to plant out than to try and get the babies out of a milk bottle or 2L bottle. I think the newspaper helps the soil also. I tear off the top as I am dropping them in the hole so that they don't wick away the water. All of mine that were planted that way are doing the best. Also, I put a small water bottle in the center and use plastic shower caps (16 for $1) from the dollar store on top of them--it works great. The second favorite is the 1/2 size stem table aluminum pans from Sam's. The shower cap fits on them also with a small water botter to hold it off the babies. I think I will learn many more lessons from the responses to this thread. Thanks again for helping me ID the plant. Also thanks to everyone who shared their lessons learned. It is a great help. Jeane

Hi Deanna- I love to arrange flowers although my sister is the real star in the family. I agree-you need structure-here are a couple of ideas: buy wet foam (comes in green blocks, Wal Mart or Michaels carries it), cut it to fit bottom of vase (abut 4 inches) and then you can poke all the stems in it to stabilize the arrangement. To hide the block cover the inside of the vase with leaves (layering on the outside of vase) or fill the outside with gravel or rocks. gather vines (I use my virginia creeper, wisteria or ivy) and I wind them around and put them in the bottom of the vase. Now you have something to stick the flower stems in. another trick is to get a smaller vase (or jar) and put it in the large vase then hide it by pouring rocks etc around it. The Barefoot Contessa says to make the bouquet in your hand and then put it in the vase. Hope this helps! Those are some beautiful vases.

johnt, just curious those 5 1/2 tomatoes are in dirt right? i was actually surprised how well my tomatoes did this year (my extras) that got very root bound. they seemed to eat plenty and drink everyday but other than that they seemed ahappy. and we will see if i got this right or not. thanks for expaining how to italicize. i was thinking it was these [ brackets. live and learn. i have peppers i had that were a bit root bound when i put them in the ground. this was about 4-5 weeks ago i planted them and they are just now taking off in size. takes a little while to get into the grove after transplanting but you can really tell when they are happy again. i also have noticed some posts about larger leaves falling off. ppl seem to be worried about this. i have noticed that the leaves get big. then get bigger. then very big, then start to look bad, then yellow and finally drop. then you end up with new small leaves and more growth. more leaves than the one you start with. just seems natural to me. many seemed worried when the big ones drop. should i be? i say no. some might know i bought ladybugs this year. they looked a bit different than the ones i have normally seen around here but i really dont know to much about them or their life cycle but anyway... i have been noticing many more this year and it has been almost a month since i let them go. i had also had larva and put them into the garden. (they were found on a potted tomato) i am pretty happy about that and i say an aphid or 2 so the lady bugs should stay around. one last thing. SQUIRRELS!!!!! frig! what can you do about them. i have heard a few gripes about them. and it seems someone is feeding the little buggers and i have peanuts sprouting everywhere. not such a heart breaker in the garden just routine weeding. peanuts sure grow fast too. but my grip is the digging is awesome in the potted plants with the soft potting soil which makes an appealing place for a squirrel to farm his peanuts. maybe i need a dog? michael

Yikes ravencajun! That is certainly a major project! I had issues too, because my flat roof is so large and I did not want gutters. I had roofers tell me they werent interested. One roofer gave me a price of 65k! I think the roofer I used said with carport and patio overhangs it was 7000 sq. ft. (!). I have had issues since it was installed, not with leaking, but with trying to direct the water away from the new concrete patios. The patios are not sealed and the water was leaving white spots (I guess from the roof materials). This is also why we put the flower bed in the middle of the back patio-to catch some of the runoff. Now that he's redirected it, it's leaving white spot at the front entrance. Argh! Maybe ask your roofers where the water will run off when it rains? You will love having a new roof though! Thank you jakabedy! It will look better when that damn electrical wire is buried, the pool equipment hidden, and the chain link comes down. I just have to wait a couple more weeks. With all the GW people visiting, I should buy that anthropologie bar and learn to make a good martini! Where I live, there are a lot of critters. When moving the patio furniture from the carport to the back yard, I had to leave multiple doors open. I also left the doors open while cleaning the kitchen floor that night. I should know better than to do this, because last time I did this, a kangaroo rat got in the house. This time, a thrasher got into the house (got him out safely), and this guy! Argh! I WAS NOT HAPPY SEEING HIM IN MY HOUSE.