Maybe call two of them Verti and Pompom! for short. Let's have a naming contest for the little beauties. I know the genus gets a lot of press because of the stinky bloom, but I love my small version, "Konjac" for its beautiful foliage and exotic lily like flower so let's give them positive names.

Thanks for weighing in, worthy. I really wanted to replace the stairs with one that had a landing and a turn. But the three contractors and two architects we seriously considered for the project said that can't be done till the very last step because there has to be a minimum height at the landing and some structural element (forget exactly what) in the ceiling cannot be moved without major changes upstairs. The other issue was if we replace the stairs, we will have to make the treads 36" wide to meet code and that would again involve changes upstairs. So for now, we decided to leave the stairs as is. As for my question about the stair railing, the contractor's guy will build a removable frame with balusters like my last pic.

Same in my garden. H. golden crane is loaded - will some pics next week. Strange plant never went completely dormant and my 5ft'er is approaching 12 ft! lol Most of my two year cuttings have broccoli and should sell fast at the garden sale on Saturday in Shoreline, WA. Nikko Blue is loaded with buds and Hydrangea scandens 'Fragrant Splash' is already blooming. Lady in Red has two blossoms heads ready to burst and H. Mac Izu No Hana is totally covered and almost ready to explode. Each lace cap blossom is surrounded by many star shaped flowers and they really do look like fireworks! It is going to get hot (PNW hot = 80+ degrees lol) this weekend so they should all be happily blooming soon. Plum Passion is so beautiful with the afternoon sun shining through the deep purple leaves that it is gorgeous even before the arrival of the lovely soft pink blossoms. Hope everyone's garden is showing promise!

Good morning Prairie Moon and others, now the snow is gone except for small ridges where it was plowed up or fell off the roof. My husband has taken advantage of warm good weather days to do some outside chores but I have not. I would have made a very poor farmer. I never planted my high tunnel last fall since I did a lot of traveling which included my first ever trip to Italy, mostly the Amalfi Coast where lemons were everywhere and it seemed every hillside was planted with grapes. We were there just before the olive harvest. A vineyard we visited had a 300 year old grapevine with a trunk thick like a tree. I'm embarrassed to admit it has been so long since I looked at my seed lists that I don't remember what I'm planting. I do remember a tiny pepper which some people had in one of their meals. I tracked it down to being available pickled in a jar and called Sweetie Drops and low and behold on the pepper bar at Whole Foods in Bedford. A few years ago I planted quite a few pepper varieties because I was trying to grow my own Aleppo pepper and why not buy other interesting sounding peppers while I was at it. The good news from that exploit was sharing plants with a neighbor who is a library volunteer and it seems we are going to have a small town garden club this year. I also like to grow Buran which comes from Pinetree Garden Seeds. It's a very large, meaty bell type. For some reason tomatoes like being under the plastic roof of the high tunnel which then disrupts plans for seeding fall/winter crops. I had an excellent tasting purple and yellow cherry tomato that I think I bought at Edgewater Farm in Plainfield NH. I hope to grow it again IF I figure out what variety it was. The planting label might still be in the ground. I don't think it was a Bumblebee type. Good luck with a couple of raised beds which are probably the best idea is growing fewer vegetables if you can only decide which ones merit the privilege. We have good corn stands and surly raccoons so I don't try growing our own sweet corn. Raccoons outwitted us 35 years ago and I haven't tried since. Surely you will grow a few tomatoes and at least one pepper good for salads and/or frying up for sausage sandwiches (I like Carmen for that but it's not meaty enough for roasting.) And basil. Cilantro self seeds in the high tunnel. Dill self seeds outside. They are easy enough to buy at the store. Last year the new asparagus beds did not get properly weeded so that will be a priority this spring. The beds are infested with Creeping Jenny. I think lettuce is difficult, bolting so easily. Do you have good farmers markets nearby? Sometimes I think I would be a lot smarter to do a CSA. I usually make at least one trip to the Norwich VT farmers market which I think is one of the best and worth the hour + drive especially since I can go to Edgewater at the same time and they grow a wonderful variety of annuals. The inexpensive huge plastic pots I bought a couple of years ago at Ocean State had to be thrown out due to splitting etc. A red morning glory waited to start blooming just before frost so I won't try growing again. But a holly hock was new to our narrow south facing garden under our kitchen table windows which provided a great opportunity to watch hummingbirds. I also like to grow Scarlet Runner bean for that purpose. If we try to grow a couple of cherry tomatoes to have handy, we also get to watch a chipmunk climb tomato cages to feast. Chipmunks don't usually bother the tomatoes in the vegetable garden which is quite a few yards from the house. I think it's because they don't dare be out in the open that long with hawks and crows around. But what about sugarsnap peas? After tomatoes and peppers I think they are our next favorite vegetables. They are also the only green vegetable one fussy granddaughter will eat although she only wants the peas inside not the tasty pods. Green beans are also a favorite and I'm surprised it took me so long to plant pole beans. Fortex is a favorite. I had good luck growing on a metal trellis made from concrete reinforcing wire panel and pepper plants along the base. Well, I'm good at typing about gardening even if I don't get chores done. Alas this week looks like a great time to get outside and I have meetings and seminars. I hope others enjoy some outdoor time this week and tell us about it.