Chandra, thanks for sharing your pictures. Everything is so beautiful, especially Lucky. Larry

earthworm - I love the Persian Shield. I'd grown it several years ago but have had a hard time finding it at a reaonable priceand hadn't been able to propagate it. I bit the bullet this year for $7 per gallon for an annual. I'm taking cutting and trying to root them in water. So far still alive. I live in North Central Pennsylvania in Dubois, about an hour WNW of State College, the coldest zone 6 in America. Depending on what site you look at our Jan avg highs/lows are either 28/14 or 31/17? I'm a little warmer than the airport official readin which is about 150 feet higher in elevation. Lits of microclimates here, I'm about 250 feet higher than in town where they seem to get half the snow but are considerably colder. Hunter - I've always wanted a monkey puzzle, but I think what you are referring to is a cactus, and I believe it is cylindropuntia imbricata. E-mail me at brm olshanski @ yahoo.com and I'll send you a cutting. Sorry for the chopped up e-mail address but I don't want to make life easy for spammers. They are a piece of cake and totally winter hardy. Those are third year from a very small cutting. Thanks for the kind words tropical! While I don't post much anymore I still read the boards and your stuff looks great!

notougly sent me a very generous box :) On top of the 5 plants she also sent nice clumps of wandering jew, spider plant, vinca minor and the wind chime is sooo beautiful. She also sent some yummy trail mix, 2 key chains, one is an angel the other is a lucky penny from Tennessee, computer cleaner,gardening gloves, Tennessee playing cards, hand sanitizers, a pen and pencil holder in the shape of a watering can (so cute!) AND seeds!!! Faye you out did yourself. And just getting over double pneumonia. It was very worth the wait and I'm so happy. Thank you thank you! :) Laura

That's so funny! That time I thought you were just being silly! Good news at the dentist always makes for a better day! Yay! Lisa - I'm so sorry that I've been remiss in taking time to post on the board that I received my prize package from you. I sent you an e-mail when it arrived on Monday. I hope you received it. To everyone else - Lisa sent me the nicest box of prizes from last month's games. For some game when I was the next person to post (it seems like we were waiting for Tracy to materialize but I don't remember why) she sent me some nice gloves and plant markers. For finding that tiny Christmas tree, thereby putting an end to her 'I Spy' game, she sent me a plant off of my want list. She chose to give me Phlox 'Orange Perfection'. I was very excited to get this, as I've never seen it in my area. And, just because she's so sweet, Lisa sent me another start from Larry's iris collection! I'm a lucky girl!