Hi I loved reading all the posts regarding the Kapok trees. I planted one like flower lady in my Johannesburg South Africa garden three years ago and was wondering how long it would take to bloom. Now I know seven years. Thank you for the wonderful information Eric. They are very popular in my suburb and look stunning when in flower. Isn't gardening fabulous always something to look forward to in any season. Happy growing : )

I don't usually frequent this forum, but happened to see this. I put cat fur in an extra suet feeder on my deck. In JANUARY, in Olympia WA, I saw an overwintering Anna's plucking the fur for her nest. It's so wonderful to think of those little hummers all snug in their furry nest. And the adult takes the fur in her beak to about equal the size of her head. Quite amazing. Now the chickadees and juncos are at the fur feeder, pulling it out, carding it with their beaks and feet, flying away with big bales of fluffy cat fur to line their nests. As a side note, the Anna's have only begun overwintering here in the last few years. I keep my feeder out all year and when the weather dips below freezing, I wrap it in incandescent, not LED, Christmas lights to keep it from freezing. It's quite festive looking.

Hello, I have seeds that I would like to trade, below is a list of seeds I have to trade and a list of what I want. Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, and regular pumpkin ,Sprout mix, Swiss chard, Watercress, Dates, Grapefruit seeds and organic Grapefruit, Collards, Parsnip, Honeydews, rhubarb, Florida Ferns, Beautiful Red Crepe Myrtle, Tall Boneset, Evening Primrose, Borage, Dwarf Sungold Sunflower (teddy bear) , Giant White Moonflower from ( burpee seeds ), Mina Lobata ( spanish flag ), Formosan Lily, Anise-Hyssopus, Tickseed, Cactus( Sedum pachyphyllum), Mixed 4 o'clocks,. 3 Ranunculus holland grown, 5 packs of Garnet Red Amaranth, ..... If there on the list they are still available, I delete thyem as they go . I am looking for all kinds of Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Zuccini, Summer Squash, Radish, Beets, Onions, Scallions, Carrotts, Chinese cabbage ,and regular Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Green Beans, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Celery, Mint, Garlic, Dill....... let me know what you have . Please contact me for exchange ,thanks

A couple things I do to help the birds during their nesting time is give them places to build their nest. Doves only put down a couple sticks before laying their eggs so I give them platforms that are sort of saucer shaped — to keep the eggs in the nest. I just take 1/4 in square screen, cut a 8x8 inch piece and bend the ends over canes so it doesn’t fall. Also works great on metal arches. I also place them up under the over hang of the roof on our buildings. That way they are out of the rain. Make sure they have more than one easy escape opening. Robins like the roses but they do need a bunch of the canes close to each other so they can place their nest in the ‘hole’. You may want to tie some canes together if your bushes don’t have any. Also if you have a cane sticking straight up with off shoots that form a cone just cut the center cane out leaving just the cone. They can build their nest in it without it falling out. Wrens will fill your bird houses with small sticks so other birds can't use them if the houses are close to each other.