Yes, I too am noticing changes in the garden--which I have gardened in since the late 1950s (when I was but a wee laddie), and the preceding remarks explain the probable cause(s) well. Primroses used to thrive for me, in the shade; now I'm discarding the last few, because they just can't take it any more. My specimens of several varieties of triphylla-type Fuchsias, having survived the Fuchsia Mites, are beginning to succumb. Even the daylilies, of which I have long had a nice collection, seem to have lost their characteristic vim. --And so on with many plants I've known for many years which are now unable to cope. Most pertinent to this group is what I've observed about my roses: For decades, there would be a mass bloom of the roses at some point in the Spring, usually around Easter. This stopped happening for me in the early or mid-1990s, even though the culture I gave them was no different from what it had been; now--be the rose bush young, be the rose bush old--they unenthusiastically produce a few flowers, with equally unenthusiastic repeat over the course of the year. This is also likely why I seem to have lost my ability to get cuttings to root in the last ten or fifteen years, though my technique is no different than it was when I used to have excellent luck with them. These are discouraging days in Horticulture! Fortunately, Cacti are also one of my long-time interests, and they seem to be taking all this in stride...

I'm looking for more links Bowl-to-floor <= 15". We're a household of three 5ft 5in. people. We're renovating four bathrooms. Just ordered a Tushy Ottoman but we're really NOT happy that we literally cannot buy a high-quality toilet that's standard height. Here's the whole plan: 1. We're ordering the Kohler - Wellworth Classic: (14 1/2") for two of our bathrooms. 2. We have a nice Elongated Toto (17" height?!) and I'll be trying out the 7.5" Tushy Ottoman https://hellotushy.com/products/tushy-ottoman-toilet-stool with that. 3. And then... one of our bathrooms needs a corner standard-height toilet, and my current plan is to buy a separated High-tank toilet https://www.rensup.com/bathroom/high-tank-toilets and bowl separately. I may also check Etsy for toilet bowl makers. What has this world come to? What a drag. It is also annoying that everything is labeled "Right-height"... yeah, it's kind of offensive because the height change is marketed as a feature and so it's excluded from most website's filter bars! Since it's an additive-feature, you can't filter for the absence of "Right-height" or "ADA Compliant". It's like -- I feel like I've been in the specific set of meetings where someone has a brilliant, cost-savings idea of to unify on a single height. Brilliant mind (BM): "OK, get this, we can halve the number of products we have to produce that sit on the shelves!" Everyone else (EE): "Oh, how do we do it?!" BM: "We just pick one height!" EE: "*Contemplative silence* God. Yes. Brilliant... But... won't people be mad?" EE: "I mean, there are short people and kids..." BM: "No, no, no, we'll pick the accessible height and then market the change as a feature! This means we'll also get a competitive advantage over other toilet brands who aren't thinking about accessibility!" ~~~ *end scene* ~~~ My beef, TLDR: 1. Public toilets should be as accessible as possible. 2. Companies get to "win" by removing consumer choices. 3. I'm now googling for an artisan toilet bowl maker on Etsy. Good luck everyone. Looking for more links Bowl-to-floor <= 15"

I am glad you enjoyed the reading. It sure was a wonderful trip. I am now trying to get all the pics offf my cell phone...sigh ...no memory card...and then I will get the whole thing put together. Will keep me busy for weeks ! c

I'm getting out of control! I just ordered another, bigger, blueberry bush - Semi-Dwarf Northland, a Pixie Crunch dwarf apple tree, and some Purple Passion asparagus starts! I wanted to hold off on the asparagus since I don't even have the ground ready yet and since it lasts 20+ years, I need to put it in the right spot from the get-go, but I couldn't resist. I almost bought some strawberry plants but I don't have room for what I already have yet so I told myself, stop!! Deanna - I have a marseilles fig and I love it. I grow mine in a pot and put it in the garage every winter and the next spring it leafs out and grows fine. The buds on mine just broke this past week as a matter of fact. It's now on my back, 3-season porch waiting for the temps to warm a little bit more before I move it out onto the deck. My grandfather used to bury his fig every year and my brother does that with his, but I'd rather keep it in the pot and just take it in. Altho it's getting a little big now. I'm going to have to keep it at the size it's at now if I want to still be able to take it in every year! My back is going to be killing me by the time I get all that lawn dug up and the veggie bed in order! I always bite off more than I can chew every spring and you'd think I'd learn by now, but I never do!! The next spring I'm doing the same thing again! Lisa