Rosie: The Plurabelle that I had to trade is gone; sorry about that. I only have one (big) rhizome left, but I'm not going to try to split it this year. I may try it nest year, as I gradually shift all of my Irises out toward the front of my property. I'm close to being done sending things out - I'm sending a package tomorrow, resending a pink/white bulb to someone, helping someone out who lost all her plants, and then trading with someone in a few weeks due to weather restrictions. If I e-mailed someone in this thread and we agreed on a trade, and I HAVEN'T conversed with you, please let me know. Stuff that I've learned: 1) This takes a LOT more time than I had anticipated. 2) Blue flag Siberian Irises could probably be used for the foundation of a house. 3) Asiatic Lily Bulbs require a far quicker turnaround time than daylilies or Irises.

Ah yes, Buff Orpingtons, Kitty. Well.........maybe, in the (distant) future. We had them at the allotment and they were fun to have around.....as long as they didn't escape.....and therein lies the dilemma - Mr Fox is perpetually lurking and chickens, unlike a lot of birds, were not terribly smart. Cath, I love the thoughtful info you impart - it is worth reading twice, especially since you are mentioning plants which I am utterly unfamilar with. Even now, shrubs have not popped up in my brain - still playing with perennials. Way back in the day, when I first started gardening, it all began with a particularly colourful flowering shrub (lavatera) and, thrilled with the success and ease of having colour and structure, I followed the well-known novice route of rapidly buying several more (philadelphus, weigela, the usual stuff)....and, of course, roses. I ran out of room in the first year! Anyway, apart from a few deutzias and philadelphus, those shrubs are long gone from my garden and also from my brain - so thank you for reminding me about a huge class of stalwart plants. I do recall checking out lindera and fothergilla and concluding they wanted a more acididc soil than I could provide (I had a brief flirtation with autumn colour) but I have always been crazy about heps and berries (I might have to risk a few of the better behaved cotoneasters) and I love the sound of your holly(although I have been looking at non-prickly types such as J.C.Van Tol). Also, I now have room to indulge in some of the less familiar fruits such as aronias, japanese wineberries (and indeed, rubus of various winter colours and good white spring flowers). I feel a bit faint when I consider the massive shuffling around this autumn, moving roses and perennials, so I may have to reach into my purse (deep pockets and short arms syndrome) and spend a bit of cash on a few statement bushes, for the sheer ease of straightforward planting (as opposed to cutting back, digging up and moving ).

Ryan, that Stapelia is one of my favorites, with that fur (somewhat like on a vulture's neck~LOL). I haven't seen it bloom for a while now, but did check yesterday & see I still have some of the plant left. I had several Huernia & Piaranthus that rotted out before I ever got blooms from them to ID. That's a bummer! I will have to take more care on the next ones. On the Cactus Shades... great idea!!! :D Look for an email from me, Ryan, so I can get your snail mail address to send them to you! I'll set up a post about it once I've mailed them off. You'll have to send them to Jessica next! I think what I'll do is see who is interested...in the separate post & then gather snail mail addresses. We'll try to keep the shades in the same box for traveling (sturdy enough not to break these things-sm enough not to cost too much postage) & maybe a small notebook to serve as a log ("guest book"?). Each person will take a pic of themselves with the shades & post the pic. Each will record their username on GW, real name (if you want), place where pic is taken (city/state/country/whatever location) & date, and send along to the next GW'er. We'll see how far it travels & how long it takes!! Are you game??? Thank you, Ronda! I am lucky to live in a place that offers such a wide variety of succulents for my pickings! Many times, the coloring I get in my plants is attributed to neglect...or what I like to call their "California tan"! Many are stressed plants. Some folks frown on that. I wish ALL folks could find all these plants! Best I can do is share my pix of them. =) I have been cheating using pix I took long ago, rather than processing the new pix. (I have over 50,000...and time is limited!) Again, I must run!

Hey! I've got some fall crocus in bloom! I noticed them blooming yesterday. Earlier in the week, I raked out this area, which was just absolutely matted with leaves. I raked up some dead purple petals from the crocus, but some still lay flat on the ground and didn't rake up. I figured, oh, they're dead, but they're just still firmly attached. Well, it seems they revived and stood back up and decided to open up! There's only about 4 blooms, not a big deal, but a nice surprise. I am a bit concerned as I see about a dozen little nubbins poking up through the ground around these crocus, and I wonder if these are more trying to come up now. If so, I hope they don't get damaged when they inevitably get hit by the cold. :) Dee