I have some love/hate groundcovers myself. I think the biggest criteria for my love/hate ratio is the combination of how it grows (fast/slow) and where it is located. i.e. not all fast growers are hated if they are in the right place I just pulled out about 100 sq ft of pachasandra because it just got everywhere. I will miss it in the winter. (pre-snowcover). I have a huge patch of bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) that spreads very quickly, but it is in a part-shade woody tree-shrub area and it really seems to fit the woodland less-manicured feel. I also suspect it would be hard to eradicate if I wanted to. It has those thin roots that go everwhere and break easily. But I love it where it is. I have creeping veronica Waterperry in a perennial bed and it stays put nicely. Love it. I also have Georgia Blue but it is much more aggressive. I have to pull it back severely twice a year. Dislike it (but not enough to remove it). I have a gold variegated one that barely grows. I moved it this year to a new place it may do better. Lamium 'Pink Nancy' wanders and blends in nicely. It pulls out easily if it wanders too far. Love it. Ajuga, love it in bloom (have Choc Chip and Crispa Metallica). Neutral otherwise. Need to have something interesting (and strong) nearby. I'm trying out Hosta Kabitan. Thymes... love the daintiness... hate that they don't suppress weeds so well. Geranium Biokova... I consider that more as a specimen perennial than a groundcover, but I can see it is somewhat of both. Love it. Sedge, Treasure Island...grows slowly, love it because it can go anywhere safely, but unless it is cut back with other perennials, it looks messy far into spring until the new growth covers the old stuff. Cutting back a groundcover is not a fun thing. I used to when I had a little, but now its out of the question. I enjoyed and saved this old thread about groundcovers in link below. I haven't read it in a while, but it might be interesting after reading this thread.

Ima or Denise. Personally I forget to sign my name and it isnt anything personal. Well if being lazy is personal then maybe so LOL. I also don't have time to respond to everyone nor would everyone want to hear what I have to say for that matter but I know what you mean and am sure I too have taken over a few posts. Some forums are HORRIBLE about that. I use to go to one forum that the same two individuals would always be the first to answer and then the conversation became a discussion with THEM and my question went out the window. There are also a few who are darn right mean. I hate to say it but the more organic and earthy ones are so opinionated they get really UGLY because they all think THEY are RIGHT and I just sign out. This forum and garden junk seem to be the friendliest in my opinion. Regarding your not getting a response. I posted on the gallery side of Trash to Treasures and i think it has been there several months with no response. Also I finally responded to some poor sole on Farm and Garden about his duck because no one had answered him,,,,it was from JULY!!!!!! The other thing is that our minds wander,,,, some more than others and I feel that often you will see some of that personality in a post. Like right now I am rambling and off topic and if we were here in person i would ramble and get off topic too!Wait, is that a heron outside????LOL What I really hate is when someone answers with,,, i don't have an answer but I'm sure someone else can help you. Well, why did you write?HMMMMMM I Love everyones garden names and imagine what that person must be like and why they chose that name.Afterall,we don't get to choose our birth name but in this forum we get to choose our own name.How cool is that?????? But, to those enquiring minds who want to know ,sign me Tanya

You can get flats of Georgia hybrid collards at Lowe's or HD. I planted mine in mid-October and am still snipping leaves off to boil. I don't let the leaves get larger than my hand before harvesting, and they're great! the most important thing when deciding what to plant is to check your county extension service! Mine has an online "gardeners almanac" that tells you what to plant, and things to do. Here's February for Hillsborough County: WHAT TO PLANT IN FEBRUARY FLOWERS: Annuals: Ageratum, Alyssum, Arctotis, Asters, Baby's Breath, Balsam, Begonia, Bracteantha, Browallia, Calendula, California Poppy, Carnation, Diascia, Dianthus, Dusty Miller, Foxglove, Gaillardia, Geranium, Lobelia, Marguerite Daisy, Nemesia, Ornamental Cabbage/Kale, Osteospermum, Pansy, Petunia, Snapdragon, Strawflower, Sunflower, Sweet Pea, Vinca, Viola VEGETABLES: Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cantaloupes, Carrots, Celery, Collards, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Endive, Green Onions, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mustard, English Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Radish, Squash, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelon HERBS and SPICES: Anise, Basil, Bay Laurel, Borage, Caraway, Cardamon, Chervil, Chives, Cilantro/Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Ginger, Horehound, Lemon Balm, Lovage, Marjoram, Mexican Tarragon, Mint, Nasturtium, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Thyme, Watercress. BULBS: Achimenes, African Lily, Alstroemeria, Amaryllis, Amazon Lily, Aztec Lily, Blackberry Lily, Caladium, Calla, Canna, Crinum, Crocosmia, Dahlia, Gaillardia, Gladiolus, Gloriosa Lily, Hurricane Lily, Kaffir Lily, Lilies, Louisiana Iris, Morea, Rain Lilies, Society Garlic, Tiger Lily, Tritonia, Tuberose, Voodoo Lily, Walking Iris, Watsonia, WHAT TO DO IN FEBRUARY For more details on the following, call your local Extension office or visit the University of Florida s publication website: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu Plant or transplant cold hardy trees and shrubs. (See January) Fertilize citrus trees if not done in January. (See January) Fertilize annuals and vegetables. (See January) Check Out Seed and Garden Catalogs. Most gardening catalogs arrive during the winter months. Check out the new varieties offered this year. Prepare vegetable and flower gardens for spring planting. Till soil and add organic matter such as manure, compost or peat. Test pH of soil (Contact your county Cooperative Extension Service) and add lime or sulfur if necessary. Prune, mulch and fertilize roses. Roses that are older than 1 year require a major pruning each year. Remove one-third to one-half of the top growth and any unproductive growth. Strip all leaves from remaining to rid plant of latent diseases and insects. Fertilize and mulch. Prune grapes. Grapes should be pruned before leaves begin to sprout. Bunch grapes and Muscadine grapes each have different pruning requirements. Control scab disease on citrus. Scab fungus causes light brown, corky areas on fruits and leaves of susceptible citrus varieties. Spray Murcott, Page, and Temple varieties with a copper fungicide when new growth emerges and again when 2/3 of petals has fallen from the flower blossoms. Fertilize lawn and trees. Shop for a fertilizer that contains slow- or timed-release nitrogen. To determine the correct amount of fertilizer to use, simply divide the first number on the fertilizer bag (which represents nitrogen) into 100. Apply this amount per 1,000 square feet of lawn and landscape area. Broadcast the fertilizer over the soil or mulch and water. The nutrient and water absorbing roots of trees and shrubs are concentrated in the upper 6 to 12 inches of soil so there is no need to punch holes in the soil--simply water the fertilizer in. Apply mulch to all plant beds. A 2-3 inch layer of mulch will discourage weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Apply pre-emergent weed killer to lawn. Pre-emergent herbicides kill weed seeds as they germinate. Some fertilizers contain pre-emergent herbicide. Do not apply them near trees and shrubs or in areas where any seed will be planted. Carefully follow label directions. Fertilize shrubs. A good lawn fertilizer such as 12-4-8 , or 15-5-15 or the like is usually adequate. Shop for a product with 30% to 50% of the nitrogen in a water-insoluble or slow-release form. Acid-loving plants (Azaleas, Hollies, Gardenias, Camellias, etc.) will benefit from an acid-forming balanced fertilizer such as 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 . Broadcast the fertilizer on the soil surface and water in. Start vegetable and flowers from seed. Sow seeds in flats or pots in a light, sterile mix. Plant seed no deeper than twice the seed's thickness. Place in a sunny spot; keep warm and moist. Watch new growth for aphid infestation. Aphids feed on the undersides of new, tender leaves causing curled, distorted growth. Most broad-spectrum insecticides easily control aphids, but soap solutions are effective as well. Mix 2½ tablespoons of liquid, dishwashing soap (do not use those containing a degreaser  use 1/3 less for concentrated soaps) in one gallon of water. Forceful sprays of water can dislodge aphids.

lplantagenet -- Yes, this year some roses were looking rather rougher than usual, hence my decision to intervene somewhat. Again, part of that was that I didn't get to do post-flush pruning last year, and things were growing everywhere. Now that I've cut back quite a few roses, they can sort of "reset" and grow anew. Before I hit them with the spray yesterday, new growth was already getting dusty, and I didn't want that carrying through any further. jerijen -- I hear you about toxic side-effects from some other fungicides, and that's why I won't use them. Normally, I don't mind some roses going naked after the first flush, because what I've come to observe is that their first set of leaves don't seem "built" to handle Summer conditions here -- they seem more "built" to handle the cooler temperatures of leaf-out time in April. But this year, bad foliage was coinciding with the first flush, at which point I felt it was too late to do anything, since anything sprayed would get all over the blooms. I felt the need to do something, since powdery mildew had run rather rampant. It wasn't about "perfection" so much as it was about keeping things in check -- a little bit here and there I can tolerate, but not great swaths of it. So far today, I don't see burned foliage, but I do see a sharp reduction in the white dusting. I'm guessing that at the moment, it's simply smothered rather than actually killed. We'll see how things look after the sporadic rain forecast for the next few days. :-) ~Christopher