I got 3" pots of celosia, alyssum, coleus, and iris(don't know if they are Dutch or Bearded) from a landscaper friend of mine and all are growing healthy. Here are my other plants: two lilacs - one died, the other growing good and healthy S facing fence Celosia pulled when they died but wow they are beauties so I will plant them again White alyssum has a nice scent which I can't describe, the purple one has none. Will someone please tell me how to propagate them. They are planted on my north facing wall. Iris flowered last spring hoping they will flower again next year. My favorite is clematis as soon as the one I planted in the fall of 2004 showed the most beautiful blooms I had ever seen. So this year I planted more and have 44 planted in my 800 or so sq. ft. of garden with a few more coming this spring. 3 bush and 3 tree peonies - the trees all bloomed, but none of the bushes bloom at all. Rose of Sharon standard form on container growing good and bloomed all summer in direct sunlight. Tulips and daffodils all rotted last 2004 (heavy rain on clay soil) so the replacements were planted this fall so I hope to see some blooms this spring. I now have a raised garden because nothing seems to grow on our clay soil. Fraxinus Americana and Fraxinus Pennsylvanica are planted in my front lawn - mostly clay but it now has a drain system. What are my chances that they will not die as we are having lots of rain again this year? Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated especially plants good for clay soil as my north facing wall only has a 6 inch raised bed. This is celosia: This is a clematis named 'Bees Jubilee'

Hi All - thanks so much for the great discussion and tips. I have been growing a pink currant but don't know the name - it is thriving here in Colorado (I keep getting new plants sprouting everywhere near the original). The birds don't bother the currants at all here. They eat everything else I grow! I wanted to add a black currant and just called Lucile at Whitman and ordered - what a nice lady! She had the Ben Lomand black and the Russe (sp?) which is not listed in her catalog but she is very happy with that variety so I am trying both.

Hi Roberta, I foudn this thread rather late as I was looking for something else, but thought I would share a little info with you. Our neighbors have a very large cut your own tree farm that has all the bells and whistles. Both of my teens have worked there during the season and I've gotten to know the owners very well. They don't charge for the wagon rides, reindeer, vist with Mrs. Claus, etc., but it is built into the cost of the trees. They will tell you right up front that their trees aren't the cheapest in the area but that they provide a lot besides the tree. The team of horses that they rent to pull the wagons cost $1500 per day. Yes, $1500 per day! That's a lot of trees just to cover your horses! The first thing that they will say about their operation is that you really need to work at it all the time. They actually sold the business on contract at one point and moved out of state, but the buyer did not put much effort into the business and eventually defaulted on the contract. They came back and have the place running better than ever. In the last few years, they started growing other trees for landscaping to balance the seasonality of the Christmas trees. That foresight will serve them well as this past year was the worst season in recent history. I've heard this from them as well as two other owners of cut-your-own farms. The rain that we had in early December really hurt sales this year. Also keep in mind that your busiest times will be the weekends from Thanksgiving to Christmas. My kids both enjoyed their jobs, especially because it was a great way for them to make a fair amount of money in a relatively short time, but they did find out that they had to sacrifice doing other things because of working all those weekends. Hope this information helps! V.

lol thanks Mike. I'm surprised that its already growing fast. Seems like if they're growing well right now, then they must do well in lower temperatures. I know its been decently warm, but it hasn't been hot. I read your post about your Butia coming back from the dead. Happy to hear that. My Trachy is also back from the dead, and is pushing up green. Just noticed it today. I'm hoping this week with temps in the 60s and 70s it will really start to grow nicely.