Update - July 1, 2008 I am trialing some of the hardier Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) cultivars in my Hamburg NY, yard. Here are the results as of July 1, 2008: 1) Unnamed clone from Appalachian Gardens - Regrowth is fair, however the tree is planted near a large Norway Maple that is slated to be removed this summmer. I am quite sure there is root competition from the Norway Maple... 2) 'Pocano' - Planted late April 2007. No tip dieback. Regrowth is extremely vigorus and tree looks very healthy. Has dropped some leaves, but has replaced them. 3) 'Edith Bogue' - Planted late April 2007. leaves look same as last fall, no tip dieback.Bought from Forest Farm Nursery and is grown from a cutting. Extremely healthy and vigorus growth and has dropped very few leaves from last year. 4) 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' - Planted late April 2007. Leaves look same as last fall. Has dropped few, if any leaves! Later to start into growth, however it is putting on healthy growth. was forming a flower bud, that I removed as the tree may redirect it's energy into growth. 5) '- 24 Below' - Planted in April 2008. This tree is growing quite good in it's first year in the ground.

PLANTING MY NEW JAPANESE GARDEN PLANTS: FEB 28, 2023: POPPIES: 6 Poppy varieties were planted in pots & put outside. I can’t put them in beds yet because soil us being moved around…. roses being moved soon & new Japanese beds will be established by end of month. Perrenial poppies will be transplanted after blooms to their forever beds. Annual bread seed poppies will be harvested in pots for their seeds for next year. They will go both in Japanese garden & south side rose garden bed. I planted 3 Varieties of Japanese Morning Glories, now sprouting. They will be transplanted to large 3 pots & grow on trellis in Japanese Garden. MARCH 7, 2023: Yesterday I repotted my new Japanese Dwarf Pixie Maple Tree…. It’s just a twig…. but hope it grows….it should have beautiful red leaves. It has lots of big long full roots about 7 inches long. My 2 Japanese roses came early in winter….. so I temporarily potted them growing on kitchen counter near window. Their leaves have grown & filled out! They are getting an early start until warm & J bed is established. Pas de Deux rose Shinoburedo rose Still waiting for my Japanese iris, & persimmon, to be delivered. I should plant primrose seeds now! And Andromeda is growing on kitchen counter, too. ALL plants need planted in new Japanese bed , once established, around March end! I just ordered 2 schrubs to fill out the Japanese bed from ETSY: Spellbound Camelia Pomegranate Splash Rhododendrum

Hi Camille/Arborwolf, I was planning to get here to post sooner, but other stuff has been happening and I just didn’t get it done! I’m sure there are people around here who’d like to have a swap again, but I’m not sure, based on the fact that this post hasn’t received more of a response by now, if they’ll see the post about a swap or not. Since houzz took over GW/RMG there have been fewer and fewer people posting around here, and as “old” members “go away,” only rarely does a “new” member show up since GW/RMG almost never shows up in search results anymore since houzz—so “new people” don’t seem to find us anymore! You may have noticed that there are VERY few posts anymore! So! Having said all that! If you’d like to go ahead to see how many people show up and express an interest in a Spring Swap this year, here’s what I recommend! If you already have a date you’d like to have it, start a new thread with a subject something like: SPRING SWAP 2023 – SA? May ??, 2023 at 00:00 a.m. It doesn’t need to be May, but that’s when the spring swaps have generally been in the past. Other than that all you’d need to start the thread is that you’re planning to host it in Berthoud, and maybe give an “approximate location” with “main streets/roads” near you—don’t post your exact address here online. OR – If you don’t have a particular date in mind I’d suggest starting a new thread with a subject something like this: SPRING SWAP 2023 – When should we have it? And then post the day/dates that will work for you if it makes any difference to you, and ask people what days/dates will work the best for them. I’d add to that post, like I said above, that you’re planning to host it in Berthoud, with similar “location info!” You really wouldn’t need much more in that post, just enough to see if enough people see it and respond with dates or ideas to find out if there’s enough interest and response for it to actually be feasible this year. If you have any other questions before you start a new thread, post them here and I’ll try to get back within a day to answer them for you. And if/when you start an “actual swap thread,” as in my first suggested “new” thread above, I’ll jump in as soon as I see it and copy/past all the Swap FAQs for you—to answer questions for anybody, especially anybody who’s “new” and has never been to a swap before! Since there have only been a few people who have responded to this first thread that you started a few months ago, I’d say that the most important thing right now it to try to get a feel for how many people will see the tread and respond that they’re interested in coming! There will definitely not be as many people as were at the swap up there in spring of 2015—there just isn’t enough action around here anymore to get that many people. And if it turns out that there is a swap this spring, and as long as it’s on or before the weekend of SA/SU May 20/21, I’ll be there! After that I’ll be “back on the other side of the hills” for a while!!! I’ll watch for specific questions if you come up with any, Skybird P.S. I'd like to add my condolences to both you and Lucy in the loss of your sister, Gloria. I'm so sorry you lost someone so close to you--I hope you're able to remember and share "the good times" you had with her, to honor her and keep her alive in your hearts. F 03.24.23 @ 18.18 MDT

On this, the last day of the month, I finished Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I find her to be a powerful writer, and fortunately she came to be recognized before her sudden death in her late 50's. This is the first of two novels from a planned series about a declining America, written about 30 years ago but eerily prescient. I'll probably read the second book in a while. She never finished the others she planned for the series - apparently too depressing! Nonetheless, there is enough hope in this novel that I was able to enjoy it. In turn, I am glad she was able to enjoy the recognition she deserved. She is probably best known for the time travel story Kindred, which I read with my book club a few years ago.