Daylily (Hemerocallis) foliage is just fine to compost. It's true Lily (Lilium) foliage that is subject to disease. Daylilies grow from roots that look like fat fingers. They are perennials that have their foliage grow up in arching clumps like wide-bladed grass from the ground. True Lilies grow from bulbs, and they have their foliage grow as short little leaves sticking out horizontally all up the flower stalk. Sharon

my experience... Last year, I tried wrapping a business card (other thick card stock will work as well) with metal duct tape. I was able to write on both sides of the card with a ball point pen and the card prevented the impression on one side from coming through to the other. I extended the tape about 3/4" from the card on one side and about 1/4" on the others. I was able to punch a hole through the tape on the long side and run string through it. I did not attach it to the plant this year, rather, I laid it on top of the mix in the pot. The print is still visible on both sides and it does not show any evidence of coming apart. These are a bit more time consuming than I would like. This year, I cut plastic (opaque) milk containers into strips and wrote on them with a Sharpie. They have faded, and I do not think they will last another season. Also, I've had more than a few dug up by the squirrels. Next season, I was going to try sending Avery Laser Business Cards (#5371) through the printer, separate, then laminate them. I have information about my trees in a database and created a print format to fit on the cards. I called Kinkos, they charge less than $3.00 per sheet, and by my calculations, I can probably fit 8 cards per sheet. Also, Harbor Freight tools has advertised an inexpensive laminator in the past. For those of you who are growing in plastic pots, you could write the information you want on the side of the pot with a Sharpie or a grease pencil. Also, there are dog tag machines in Walmart (probably in the pet stores) as well as online. These carry three lines of information and would probably be the most permanent in terms of retaining its original properties. The machines in Walmart charge $5, and if I remember correctly, there are some online sources that allow you to upload the information via a word processor and are about $2.5 Like George, I also write the cultivar name (and other info) on cuttings with a sharpie (now that I'm thinking about it, I may have gotten the idea from George). It is also good practice to write the same info on a tree before repotting/transplanting. Just remember that if you later find out your X variety turns out to be a Y, you want to be able to change the label easily. I also have a map of the trees in my backyard I created on the computer. When I move the pots around, I update the map. Since I am traveling a lot, it helps to have a map to write instructions on for whoever is caring for my trees while I am gone. Also, if there is a problem, I can tell which tree they are talking about. ~james

Beth, I have been so delighted and educated with all these posts. I love the evolution of your wonderfully charming home! You are an amazing woman! I share several of the decorating dilemmas you've mentioned. My "living room" is about 2' more narrow and 2' shorter than your area. I'm learning a lot from your post. The repurposed gun cabinet idea is absolute genius. Please share a photo when you've installed the shelves and contents. Regarding the non-glare glass for your larger artwork. The price of non-glare glass has become simply ridiculous. I have an entire hallway lined with (Gasp!) a family gallery wall. It includes photos from more than 100 years ago to this year's school pics of the great-nephew. Color, colorized, sepia toned, black and white, all mixed together and mostly in their original mismatched frames. That just about breaks all the rules, but I love my wall. Several of the older photos - Mom's 1954 graduation photo; MIL's 1952 wedding photo, etc. - had plain glass. I can't tolerate the glare either. I made a note in my iPod of all the frame sizes that needed replacement non-glare glass. Every time I'm at a thrift shop or yard sale I check out the "frames" area. You can often find large pictures that may be in horrid frames, but they will have non-glare glass! I buy the frame, take out the glass, and toss the rest. I found one very large print of ballet slippers framed with non-glare that was big enough to cut down into several pieces. It made one 8x10 and three 5x7 pieces of non-glare glass for my wall, all for $1. With their permission, I took the glass out at the shop, tossed the faded print, and re-donated the empty frame back to them.

Two issues here. Whether vermicompost can carry diseases, and whether you need to make compost tea at all. To the first question, there are no guarantees in life, but vermicomposting is an excellent way to suppress the spread of plant diseases (I assume you mean those and not human diseases). The worms carry microorganisms with them that actively outcompete and destroy a lot of plant disease organisms. If you do have a large quantity of diseased plant material, though, you should throw it away or burn it - not compost it by any means - just to be on the safe side. But random occurrences of plant disease spread are really not a big concern with vermicomposting, if the material has had the chance to be processed thoroughly by the worms. As to "compost tea", it's really not a beneficial practice and is a big waste of time and effort in my opinion and in the opinion of many evidence-based gardeners. I don't think it's actively harmful, but it's such an unnecessary bunch of magical thinking. Vermicompost has a lot of excellent qualities, and those qualities are not improved by watering the stuff down. Just put it onto, or into, the soil and stand back. The most I'll ever do is throw some vermicompost in a bucket, fill the bucket with water, mix it around thoroughly and immediately pour the water on the soil - in some situations where I want the nutrients to get to the plant roots a tiny bit faster. I don't think even that's really necessary, but sometimes it's convenient to do it that way on an already planted area when there's not much rain in the immediate forecast.