Well Howard, lookee here, you want to go to Chicago. Lots of company. The thing with going back to NY rather than elsewhere, for me, is that NY is easy to get into and out of, I can do a RT in one day, don't need hotels, don't need to rent a car, don't need a pet sitter at home etc, etc, etc..... That and I don't feel like taking my vacations in the States going to orchid shows. If I'm going to go to the trouble of organizing a few days out of town, I want it to be well worth it. Albeit,it's fun meeting people from the forum. Not having Paul around anymore to take care of the dogs and birds, when I decide to disappear for a couple of days, just adds another "issue" to consider. At the moment,I don't have the energy.

Hi, There is some seller on Amazon selling 4 copies for well over $300. Crazy. Even $100 is excessive, but it is a good book for a Clivia collector. It is out of print. Now that you can probably print it directly from google, it won't cost nearly that much to have the info in a binder instead of a book. Craig

Very few OG specialty nurseries left anymore :-( And the ones I am familiar with tend to be wholesale suppliers so no direct online sales. But with the growing popularity of ornamental grasses, most better online nurseries carry a decent selection......Bluestone, High Country Gardens, Digging Dog, etc. You may have the best success by just Googling by botanical name to see what online vendors close to you have the selections you want.

Many of us have noted that heucheras tend to look good for a couple of years, then slowly decline and fade away. What!! That's horrible news, my coral bells have become my favorite plants in all of my gardens! Luckily, @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9), I can divide them pretty easily since I have tons of room for them. At the very least I can put divisions in less conspicuous places as a sort of holding spot for when the mothers start to die away. Am I reading correctly that this would extend the lifespan to something near forever? This is the area I'm trying to brighten up: Same area, close up to the West; you see the new Sweetbay Magnolia on the left: and close up to the East: I'm probably gonna put in a yellow Japanese Maple between the two rhododendron in the Fall, so that'll help brighten it up. But after everything stops blooming (June-ish) it's just dark and green for the rest of the year! That's why I was thinking coral bells, to bring some color to the front; in front of the azaleas and near the hostas. The Aralia does look gorgeous! But maybe a little too big at 3' tall? https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/aralia/sun-king-golden-japanese-spikenard-aralia-cordata I have a bajillion hostas around, but none yellow. Maybe I should look in to that better... I don't love the idea since I have so many other ones, but at least I know it will do well.