Hello Gigi, There's a recent thread on the Landscape Design forum of a fairy garden designed for a garden show (i.e. a display garden), which you may find interesting. You can check it out here. As for miniature evergreens, there are many dwarf and slow-growing evergreens that would require little training, little maintenance, and in general, little effort in keeping with the miniature theme. Unless you're looking for extra work, I wouldn't bother to bonsai a larger tree. (By which I mean trying to keep a tree which typically grows to 80-some feet under 3 or 4 feet tall). -Audric

Didn't someone post here within the last year, or two, about Calamondins being good to eat out of hand, so long as you eat the rind? I seem to remember them mentioning that after 2-3 Calamondins, they weren't so tart. (I'm afraid to attempt this, as once tooth enamel is gone, it's gone!) Patty - Don't bother with the Meiwa seeds. You'll likely end up being disappointed -- assuming you can keep them alive for more than 1-2 years. Kumquats do not do well on their own roots, and this includes being planted from seed. I planted 300-350 Meiwa seeds to use them as rootstock for Meiwas (something I generally do with Calamondins). And. . . No dice. Buy a grafted tree instead. Many people agree with you that Meiwa Kumquats taste better than Nagami. Nagamis are a little on the tart side. Dawn - I agree with SoftMentor on the varieties. Improved Meyer Lemon is, by far, the most popular dooryard citrus tree. And with good reason. Foxy - Nice tree! Take care.

Thank you Junglegal! I know your are correct. This is the second time I am trying this plant. It is not doing good in the pot right now , so that is why I was thinking to plant it and may be it will get better in the ground. I agree with you I hate it too it is out of tissue culture. Thank you.

The condition is called megaesophagus and it causes regurgitation and aspiration pneumonia, which can be fatal. I have a bulldog patient who has congenital megaesophagus- he has aspirated several times and each time it is a little worse. There is permanent damage to his lungs what with each incident of aspiration gets worse. Eventually it will kill him. This is the fate of any dog with megaesophagus unfortunately. If there is a cause that can be found, the megaesophagus can be controlled and not get worse, but there is no real treatment other than trying to prevent aspiration pneumonia. Ways to prevent aspiration pneumonia vary depending on the severity of megaesophagus. Mild cases can be fed upright with gruel or liquid diet, which makes it easier for food to get past the esophageal sphincter. Once past the esophageal sphincter the animal cannot regurgitate, so they cannot aspirate. There is a regular at the veterinary school with severe megaesophagus who had a stomach feeding tube placed. The dog cannot eat or drink anything by mouth- he has to be fed and watered through the tube. However being a golden retriever he sometimes gets into things and aspirates, landing him in ICU if not on a ventilator for a while. This is very expensive but the dog is totally worth it and luckily the owners can afford several $2000 vet bills per year. If the dog has MG that is the best case scenario. It can be treated, so the megaesophagus will not get worse. However the current degree of megaesophagus will not improve. This is a disease which carries a poor prognosis, unfortunately. But some owners are able to provide their dogs with a relatively good, albeit shortened, life. Eventually aspiration pneumonia gets most of them. I wish your friends good luck.