Hi Nancy, I would love to trade with you again. The plants I grew from the Brian's smile balloon flower seeds you sent to me are blooming now. They are very pretty. I know I have Matt to share with you. I will try to get myself organized soon for a fall trade, but you can see a lot of the plants I grow on my member page. Not all are big enough to divide. I am sorry that so many of my hyperlinks no longer are functional. Kathy

There is a butterfly bush near those beautyberry shrubs but you can't really see it in the picture. The beautyberries, winterberries and the viburnums are only afew of the fruiting shrubs I have planted around here that produce berries that the backyard songbirds love to eat. The mockingbirds especially love the beautyberries. Those were the ones I moved earlier this year before the rose planter projects. I actually like them better were they are now but its only afew feet from were they were before. The winterberries provide food all winter long for the birds. Its really a holly and the females are planted here on the hill were I can see them from the office window. The poor male is stuck way in the backyard since he has none of those lovely berries but without him, none of the girls would either.

If you have not yet visited Tranquil Lake Nursery, you owe it to yourself as a reward for all your hard work gardening this year. In Rehoboth Ma., just outside of Providence R.I., 1 hr. from Boston. I attended their annual July open house and heard these presentations- that are being repeated the next 2 Saturdays. Terrifically helpful talks. And the display gardens there are just simply the best in any New England public garden or nursery. They also sell alot of unusual perennials and woodies(and in great condition). Here's the notice of their upcoming programs: Greetings The many garden at Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth are always beautiful in the late summer and fall and the latest blooming varieties of our daylilies will blossom until frost. The nursery is offered three Garden Talks on Saturdays in September at 11:00 a.m. Bring a lawn chair. We will move indoors in case of rain. Our Fall Garden Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 3. The workshops and festival are free and open to the public. Spread the word. Saturday, September 12 Daylilies for the Late Season Garden and Their Companions (Garden Talk) 11 a.m Philip Boucher, horticulturist and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery will show off some of his favorite "Daylilies for the Late Season " from the collection of 3,600 or more daylily varieties in the fields at Tranquil lake Nursery. Learn what characteristics to look for, how to use daylilies in the garden and then ramble through the fields to see the September blooming beauties up close. He will also recommend a diverse selection of perennials for the late season garden and will suggest plant combinations that will complement these plants through the garden season. Early fall is an excellent time to plant perennials for beauty this year and continued appeal in years to come. Saturday, September 19 Plant Combinations for the Late Season Garden and Early Spring (Garden Talk) 11 a.m. Take a look at some plant combinations that will accent the late season and add color and interest to the early spring with horticulturist and garden designer, Warren Leach. Early fall is an excellent time to plant and establish plants for the spring garden. Explore planting combinations of spring bulbs, perennials, and shrubs that will add color to your garden next spring while also offering interest in the late season. Try some of our suggestions for perennial and spring bulb combinations or put together some new combinations of your own Saturday, September 26 Plants for Late Fall and Winter Interest (Garden Talk) 11 a.m. Garden color and interest need not fade with the first fall frost and frost and may even persist through winter snows. Enhance this often overlooked garden season by adding perennials, grasses, shrubs and small trees that will add color, texture and structure in your borders throughout the fall and into the winter. Warren Leach, garden designer and co-owner of Tranquil Lake Nursery will highlight a variety of uncommon and lesser known late season beauties that will spice up your borders adding late-season blooms, fall foliage effect, colorful twigs and attractive fruit to brighten the fall and winter landscape. He will also offer design suggestions for combining these plants into your borders and protecting them for the winter ahead. Saturday, October 3 Fall Gardening Festival (Full day of garden talks and demonstrations) 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spend an educational and fun filled day at Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth, Massachusetts on Saturday, October 3rd from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Learn new techniques that will help you to hone your gardening skills and improve the look and care of your own garden. We have invited a variety of speakers and exhibitors to share their knowledge and tools of the trade with you through workshops, hands-on activities, garden talks and demonstrations. Learn how and when to divide perennials, prune shrubs, propagate tender perennials, harvest and dry herbs and put the garden to bed for the winter. Experience the fine art of stone wall construction, add a water feature, or make hypertufas and more. There will also be workshops on perennials and shrubs for fall and winter interest, planting for spring color and spring bulbs. Plan to spend the whole day and learn how to improve the look of your garden this autumn, while you also get ready for the winter ahead and the spring to follow. You will also have the opportunity to wander among the gardens at Tranquil Lake Nursery, where you will see a diverse variety of perennials, grasses, shrubs and vines with late season interest. The gardens include a number of perennial borders, mixed perennial and shrub gardens, an ornamental vegetable garden, a thyme bench, container herb garden, an entry garden, an ornamental grass garden, a pond-side water garden, a bog garden, a dry-scree garden and more. The nursery also has more than 10 acres of daylilies and Siberian and Japanese Iris in the field. Some of the late blooming daylilies will still be in bloom at the end of September. Tranquil Lake Nursery offers a diverse selection of perennials, herbs, shrubs, grasses and tender perennials. Bring a picnic lunch; we'll provide the drinks. For more information, directions or a schedule, call the nursery visit our Web Site at www.tranquil-lake.com Warren Leach and Philip Boucher tranquil-lake@earthlink.net

we had a few cooler days here, too, then the upper 90's came back for over a week, was so hot out you startswetting soon as you get out the door, suppose to be in the 80's next week,I think. that's still hot with the humidity.at the present, I am b arely able to stand up and walk a few steps. a neighbors big dog was in my frony yard yesterday drinking all the water out of my bird bath, when I went out on the porch I seen it about the same time it seen me,and came running past me to get out of the yard,as I have run it out a few times before, and it run into me and since I have no balance no more,i fell one way and my cane went the other.I managed to get myself up and get inside and into the recliner, but today, every inch of me hurts and stiff. don't think they feed the dog very often or give it any water at all.I always make sure the birdbath is full of water at night,and each morning, its empty again, so that tells me the dog is getting all its water here from my birdbath.