Huntington Beach State Park is a beautiful natural area and there are alligator spotting areas (unlike the Gator World place or whatever it's called, these are free in the wild).

Murrell's Inlet is a good place for lunch and a walk on the Marsh Walk, plus there are some great old houses with huge sea oaks. Georgetown is down the road a bit, but has great historical houses. The waterfront has been a focus of a lot of interest in historical preservation.

INSTRUCTIONS
These are the instructions for a simple rain barrel. There are embellishments that can be made such as linking barrels to increase storage capacity, adding an overflow pipe, etc., but this will be a good start on water conservation in the garden.

You will need:

(1) Empty 55 gallon plastic barrel
(1) 1/2" brass hose bibb; Male IPS (plumbing department)
(1) 5/8" X 2 ¼" X 1/8" Rubber Washer (hardware department)
(2) 5/8" Conduit Locknuts (electrical department)
(1) Fiberglass window screen - 36" wide
(1) Long bungee cord or (2) shorter ones (to fit perimeter of barrel)

Saber Saw
Drill with a 1" bit
Wrench to tighten locknuts

Step by step instructions:

1. Start with a plastic 55 gallon drum (food grade if possible)

2. Carefully cut out and remove the top of the barrel using a saber saw.

3. Thoroughly wash the interior with warm soapy water and rinse 3 times with clear water. A power sprayer works great.

4. Drill a hole in the side of the barrel approximately 4-8 inches from bottom. The lower the hold the more water capacity you will have. Drill straight in…try not to drill in at an angle. It will be easier to insert the hose bibb.

5. From the outside of the barrel, insert the male part of the hose bibb into the drilled hole.

6. From the inside of the barrel, push the rubber washer onto the male threads of the hose bibb (you may have to enlarge the hole in the washer with scissors; thread the locknuts onto the male threads of the hose bibb, placing them "back to back" against each other and tighten with a wrench.

8. Cut to size the fiberglass window screen allowing 6 inches of overhang around top of barrel.

9. If you like, drill a series of small holes about an inch below the barrel rim for overflow. Otherwise, it will just overflow at the top.

10. Fit the bungee cord around the barrel, securing the screen. Pull edges to tighten screen across top of barrel and trim the edges.

10. Position barrel under eave of house or under downspout to receive roof runoff. Raise the barrel off ground using concrete blocks, bricks, etc. so that gravity will feed the water flow.

------------------------------------
Software requirements
1. Pinnacle Pro Plus or
2. Adobe Premier or
3. There are many other cunsumer level video editing software

--------------------------------------
Step-by-step:
1. Connect your VCR to the camcorder via the A/V In/out cable, usually it has a component interface to VCR or a s_video interface, remember to turn A/V (or s_Video)
in/out to "ON", in the camcorder's menu function
2. Switch the camcorder to "PLAY" mode;
3. Connect the PC with Camcorder with a Firewire cable (I1394);
4. Power on the VCR player;
5. Power on the camcorder;
6. Open the video capturing software, even the standard Windows Movie Maker can capture the footage into AVI format file. - remember to capture into AVI, it's the
best for archiving and editting, NOT Mpg-2 or any other formats.
7. Play the video tape from VCR.

in my next article I'll show you how to convert PAL tapes into NTSC DVDs. If you have any questions or need help, please don't hesitate to email me, If you are quote this
instruction, please mention this is from CanaanMedia.com. Good luck!
If you want to save your time, please use the following professional service to help you!

Sam, http://www.CanaanMedia.com
speng@CanaanMedia.com

-------------------------
8mm Film Transfer - Our Work is used by MSNBC CBS for TV Show Frame-by-Frame,repair,Canaan is the 1st in USA.
VHS to DVD -Our Work is used by MSNBC CBS for TV Show,All type of video tapes,repair,high resolution.
cassette to CD - Our Work is used by MSNBC CBS for TV Show,All type of audio tapes or reels,noise cancellation,repair.
35mm slide scanning - Our Work is used by SNBC CBS for TV Show,highest resolution,repair.

Here is a link that might be useful: VHS to DVD transferring DIY

Ginger

Other good salvia blues include S. glechomaefolia, which has small blue flowers (similar to uliginosa) on a lax habit most of the summer and fall. Not hardy here but worth keeping over or replacing in the spring. I like it as a ground cover at the base of my big potted plants. S. cacaliaefolia is also very nice, but a shy bloomer for me. Then there are S. chionophylla, S. chamaedryoides, and S. patens, which are hardy. Salvia muirii, villosa, and thymoides are also wonderful blues, but I haven't been very succesful getting them through the winter, even indoors under lights.

My favorite nonsalvia blue is Cypella coelestis.

Question: On past programs you talked about how to store mandevillas over the winter. Could you please tell me again how to do it? Also I have a purple leaf smokebush that's been in the ground for about 5 years. It's healthy except that it is wider than high, which is only about 4.5 ft. I bought it from you when it was about 3 ft. It does have root competition from some nearby plants. Is there any way to prune it so that I can get it to be more upright? I do fertilize it with plant tone.

Answer: On the Mandevilla, there are 3 methods:

1. Store the root, like a Dahlia tuber in peat moss in a cool place over the winter. Pot in early March and start indoors before planting outdoors in late May.

2. Put the pot in a cool dark place and withhold water until early March. Then cut back and move to a warm brightly lit place. Grow as a houseplant until putting outside in late May.

3. Keep growing as a houseplant all winter in a warm sunny place. Trim lightly to shape now and more severely in mid-April. Caution: use systemic granules (Di-Syston), as mandevilla is very subject to white fly.

Smoke trees can be cut back as much as you would like (even to the ground) in late January-early February. Trimming the sides should force upright growth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Mandevilla from tubers

I did bring a few of those to both of the swaps we just had. I don't know who got them, but they like a well draining but moist soil and like to be root bound before they'll bloom. You normally stop feeding any nitrogen in the fall and start feeding it a bloom booster (none or very minimal nitrogen)about Feb. It won't develop buds if it's being pushed to grow.

This basic integrated pest management system--good air circulation along with proper watering and tossing out diseased plants (and not introducing plants that are already infested into the greenhouse) will greatly lessen your need for bad chemical solutions. At best, you can do a lot with simple horticultural oil and soap in a hand-held spray bottle to kill off the first signs of scale, mealy bugs, aphids. Also, have a bottle of rubbing alcohol present to clean your pruners, knives, etc between plants, and DO wash used pots in a 10% bleach bath and then air dry.

Another key issue is collecting and then using plants that are appropriate for the conditions in your space. Many larger "professional" conservatories are poorly planted in that full-sun plants are given full-sun exposures only in the most direct rays of summer, and then due to a wall, or too thick of shadecloth or glass coatings, truly don't get enough light from Sept-March. This causes leggier growth, thinner leaves, and stresses the plant, leading to a more optimal condition for aphids, mealy bugs and scales to really flourish on the stressed plants.

ALso, allowing beneficial insects inside your house at times is always nice, especially katydids, ladybugs, etc. Just remember that caterpillars will eat various plants.

You also made concerns about avoiding a dormancy in tropical plants over the winter. Well, to save energy costs, and to have overall plant health on all but most ultra tropical plants, you MUST have a forced dormancy. There is no "winter" in the tropics and substropics, but the dormancy that tropicals ensure for their health is a DRY SEASON. Typically dry seasons occur when sunrays are weakest (this is in stark contrast to Mediterranean climate plants that need hot and dry in summer and then wet in winter).

So, to answer others remarks, selloum can take down into the lower 30s no problem, provided they are acclimated to gradual cooling temps over the course of a few weeks. At the same time temps cool, you MUST also lessen the water these plant have so to avoid a cold soil along with wet soil condition.

This is also the rule for palms. Palms essential shut down all root growth when soil temps go below 75 F. Lower than that, they just "sit". You may have a frond open in the winter, but it is very slow, and overwatering tropical plants in a cool environment will definitely lead to their demise.

Also, lower your humidity in the winter somewhat, and do not allow leaves to get wet (when it's cool). As water evaporates from leaves, they are cooled. This is fine in late spring, summer and early fall, but having leaves cool off slowly when temps are cool and the sun is weak is a sure way to cause fungal rotting on all plant parts.

I assume that the water that youll have in your greenhouse is right from the tap or well, and therefore (in the winter especially) will be "cool"? Tropicals should be watered with water that is temperature in range of 70-80 F ideally. This may be difficult for you in winter, but would be beneficial if you plan to have a warmer temp greenhouse through Dec-Feb.

If you use gravels for the floor, you can preventatively spray/wash it with a solution of 10% bleach or 20% white vinegar to kill algal growths. Just do it with good ventilation as to not harm plants.

Unless you have ultra-tropical plants in your collection, and by that I mean plants from lands that would never normally have night temps below 55 F even in the "winter" (dry) seasons, I would allow a dry season dormany. Again, this saves fuel costs, doesn't encourage plants to actively grow when sunlight is weakest and in many plants, a dry-season dormancy is the trigger needed for many plants to flower (or at least know to go dormant before they grow that spurt in spring to then flower and fruit). Palms also like it drier when sun is weak and temps cooler.

You only want to plant a small tip of the stem (maybe one, no more than two leaf sets) They will get too big if you start with long stems. Also tried the whole plant and they are hard to get to look good outside the following year. You can start them in water but as someone said before they will rot and you DO HAVE TO CHANGE THE WATER OFTEN. I also found a clear glass is better and if you have some already rooting and add more, they seem to root easier and quicker. Why? I don't know. The roots will get tangled so you have to carefully pull them apart.

I have found after much trial and error that the quickest and best method is to pick the stems you want and dip it into the RootTone or any hormone starter(found at HD or L's). Then plant the stem into a small pot of potting soil. Press the soil firmly down and around the stem. Then water WELL so the roots will start. I used 4-6" pots. You want small pots for several reasons. 1. take up less room on shelf or in a tray, and 2. the small plants want to be "cozy" in their enviroment to get a good start.

I put mine on cookie sheets (with sides) to make watering easier and watered maybe once every ten days or so. Cut way back on the normal watering.

I beleive you are going to have trouble in the location you are talking about but the plastic will help. Coleus want temps of the 60 degree range. The do not like the cold at all. I lost some when we went away for a weekend and turned one room temp down (forgetting they were in there) Lost all of them. The other rooms were OK. If I were you I'd give it a try but remember the cold is not their friend. Also another tid-bit of advise, take more cuttings than you want. Especially it there is one you really want to keep because you will lose some regardless of how you do it.

You can start them in water now, (just to get them in the house for now) and later cut the stems and do the hormone thing and plant them using just the tips. They are actualy very easy but a little messy. They shed leaves and drip, etc. I save some every year but last year was more than I'd ever do again. Did have wonderful coleus all this summer but will not go as crazy as I did last year, this year. Email me as to how it goes and let me know if you have any questions. NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE CUTTINGS AS STATED above by others. Also if you start now and see there is one not doing as well as you want it to or you decide you want more, you will still have time to get more cuttings before it gets too cold. Maybe we call swap coleus in the spring. GOOD LUCK Hope this helps.

http://www.uslink.net/~brandon/ILF.html
A drive up only place, if you live in Central MN.

http://www.cyphaven.com/
Great plants, but only accepts orders from 8-1 to 9-1 or something like that.

http://www.rmorchids.com/
C. montanum in particular.

http://www.orchidmix.com/cyps.htm
Great seed prop plants of various ages, and some really rare species that I've never seen offered anywhere else!

http://www.thimblefarms.com/98orchidtf.html
Never ordered from them and don't know their ethics. I don't know how they got their more rare stuff....

In MA, they have some Frosch brand hybrids, as well as some species.
http://www.hillsidenursery.biz/

Various Asian orchids, including C. japonicum & debile, though neither are hardy outside in MN and both are difficult to grow. In PA.
http://asiaticanursery.com/index.php/cPath/17/sort/2a/page/1?osCsid=bef13d7cf67ea9d735046f84a9f9a910

Best,
Ross

If you are interested in growing Cyps, a good choice are the hybrids that are becoming more available each year. I think they will grow in popularity in coming years and the prices will come down a bit. Specifically, the hybrids C. Gisela, C. Aki, C. Ulla Silkens, C. Sabine, and C. Philipp are all worth growing. Especially C. Gisela has shown extreme vigor in gardens, much more so than even the best growing species.

Here's a nursery that carries both hybrid and species Cyps, as well as some really cool woodland perennials. Their prices are reasonable and folks I know who've ordered from them were impressed with the plants they got:

Hillside Nursery

Also, here's a shot of my C. Ulla Silkens last spring. There's lots of variation with this cross and this plant is NOT the best looking one I've seen. PF

Here is a link that might be useful: C. Ulla Silkens

hillside nursery
Rocky Mountain orchids
Raisingrarities
Robert's
Plantek
Spangle Creek
Wild Orchid Company
Crusta Care (Belgium)
Vermont Ladyslipper Co
Cyp Haven
Paul Christian (UK)
Fraser's Thimble Farms (Canada)

I'm sure there are more

I am amazed that this has now become an event.
In 2002 when we first met at the small shelter at Umstead Park, we tasted
~60 varieties (most brought by Craig) with a small contingent of ~30 people.
I know my primary goal was to taste and share with others as many different
varieties as possible to see what was the best tasting maters around.

Fast foward 5 years, Tomatopalooza[tm] is no longer a tomato tasting get
together. It has become a special event for friends to get together from all
walks of life and all places to meet and socialize, and share a passion for
tomatoes.

Here's the link to the pictures:
Tomatopalooza photos
Tomatopalooza photos 2
Tomatopalooza photos 3

As for the tomatoes, there were a few standouts.
Tim's Witty F3 RL9 was fantabulous! The hint of sungold that Patrina had mentioned in Zig Zag Wattle 2, was in there!
Lucky Cross and Little Lucky were displayed at their finest.
Green Giant was very good this year, Cherokee Green was great, but almost
surprisingly, Spears Tennessee Green was better!

Yes folks, I said STG was better than GG and CG. GG is a sweet tomato with a hint of tartness complimenting it in the background.
STG is a tart tomato with a hint of sweetness complimenting it in the background. Absolutely fantastic. And the group around me while tasting it
thought the same as well. We've got to get this one out!

It was great seeing all the dwarves, and for the second time, I brought
a real spitter of a tomato. This time it was my Zig Zag Wattle #2 RL1. Blechhhh.
Odd thing was that a co-workers' Zig Zag Wattle #2 (not represented), is
fabulous.

Again, thanks to all who came, and to our gracious hosts who loaned us the
use of their farm for the day. Y'all were the ones who truly made it marvelous.

Lee

Tomatopalooza[tm] 5 Varities - 185 different
4th of July F1
Akers West Virginia
Andrew Rahart Jumbo Red
Anna Banana Russian
Annanas Noir
Arkansas Traveler
Aunt Gertie's Gold
Aunt Ginny's Purple
Banksia Rose 3 RL3
Barossa Beauty PL1
Barossa Beauty PL2
Barossa Beauty PL3
Barossa Fest PL1
Barossa Fest PL2
Barossa Fest RL1
Barossa Fest RL2
Bashful F3 RL6 NCTIM RL1
Beauty King
Beefy Boy
Berkley Tie Dye
Better Boy
BHN589
Big Mama F1
Big Red F1
Black from Tula
Box Car Willie
Brandy Boy F1
Brandywine F3RL3 F4PL1 - F5PL1
Brandywine Pink
Brandywine Sudduth
Buck's County F1
Bundaberg rumball 3 RL1
Bundaberg rumball 3 RL2
Bundaberg rumball 3 RL3
Carbon
Carmello F1
Celebrity
Chapman
Cherokee chocolate
Cherokee Green
Cherokee Purple
Clare Valley Red RL2
Copia
Cuostralee
Dixie Golden Giant
Dopey F2 RL1
Dopey F2 RL2
Dopey F2 RL3
Dr. Neal
Dr. Wyche's Green F2
Dr. Wyche's Red F3
Dr. Wyche's Yellow F2
Dreamy
Dwarf Stone
Earl's Faux
Elfie
Eva
Eva Purple Ball
Gajo de Melon
Galapagos Island Yellow
Gary O'Sena
German Heirloom
German Johnson
German Johnson, potato leaf
Golden Dwarf Champion
Goose Creek
Green Doctor
Green Giant
Green Grape
Grumpy F2 PL1
Happy F3 RL2 - Cosmic RL1
Happy F3 RL2 - Cosmic RL2
Happy F3 RL2 - Cosmic RL3
Happy F3 RL3 - Patrina RL1
Happy F3 RL3 - Patrina RL2
Hawaiian Pineapple
Hugh's
Humph
Hungarian Italian Paste
Hungarian Red Paste
Husky Gold
Japanese Black Truffle
Jeff Davis
Juliet F1
June Pink
Kalmans Hungarian Pink
Kangaroo Paw Red RL1
Kangaroo Paw Red RL2
KBX
Kellogg's Breakfast
Kimberly
Kristina Bulgarian #1
LaRoma F1
Lemon Boy
Lillian's Yellow Heirloom
Lime Green Salad
Little Lucky
Lucky Cross
Maiden's Kiss
Malaschor Isura
Mexico Midget
Mortgage Lifter
Mortgage Lifter Pale Leaf
Mountain Fresh
Mountain Spring
Nebraska Wedding
New Big Dwarf
New Zealand Pear
Not Akers West Virginia
Not Aunt Gerties Gold
Not Opalka
Omar's Lebanese
Opalka
Orange Heart
Orange Heirloom
Perfection
Persimmon
Pineapple
Pink Ping Pong
Porterhouse Beefsteak
Rasp Red
Reif's Red Heart
Rose Quartz
Rosella Crimson RL1
Rosella Crimson RL2
Saint Piere
Shannon's
Sleazy A F2 RL1
Sleazy A F2 RL2
Sleazy B F3 Bruce's Purple RL1
Sleazy B F3 Bruce's Purple RL2
Sleazy B F3 RL1 - Patrina RL1
Sleazy B F3 RL1 - Patrina RL2
Sleazy B F3 RL1 - Patrina RL3
Sleepy F2 PL1
Sneezy F2 PL1
Sneezy F2 PL2
Sneezy F2 PL3
Sneezy F2 RL1
Sneezy F2 RL2
Sneezy F2 RL3
Soldaki
Spear's Tennessee Green
Stokes County
Striped Cavern
Stump of the World
Stumpy
Summer Cider
Summertime Gold 2 - PL1
Summertime Gold 2 - PL2
Summertime Gold 3 - PL1
Summertime Gold 3 - PL2
Summertime Gold 3 - RL1
Summertime Gold 3 - RL2
Summertime Gold 4 - PL1
Summertime Gold 4 - PL2
Summertime Gold 4 - RL2
Summertime Green PL2
Summertime Green PL3
Summertime Green PL4
Summertime Green RL2
Sungold
Sungold Select II
Sweet Million F1
Tennessee Heirloom
Thai Pink Egg
Tipsy
Turkey Chomp
Warratah Red RL1
Warratah Red RL2
White Wonder
Witty F2 RL1
Witty F3 NCTIM RL10
Witty F3 NCTIM RL8
Witty F3 NCTIM RL9
Yellow Brandywine
Yellow Pear
Zig Zag Wattle 1 - RL1
Zig Zag Wattle 1 - RL2
Zig Zag Wattle 2 - RL1
Zig Zag Wattle 2 - RL2
Zig Zag Wattle 2 - RL3
Zig Zag Wattle 2 - RL4
Zig Zag Wattle 2 - RL5

Helps Plants
It is this hydrogen peroxide in rainwater that makes it so much more effective than tap water when given to plants. With the increased levels of atmospheric pollution, however, greater amounts of H202 react with air-borne toxins and never reach the ground. To compensate for this, many farmers have been increasing crop yields by spraying them with diluted hydrogen peroxide (5 to 16 ounces of 35% mixed with 20 gallons of water per acre). You can achieve the same beneficial effect with your house plants by adding 1 ounce of 3% hydrogen peroxide (or 16 drops of 35% solution) to every quart of water you give your plants. (It can also be made into an excellent safe insecticide. Simply spray your plants with 8 ounces of 3% peroxide mixed with 8 ounces of white sugar and one gallon of water.)

North Carolina Sources of Native Plants
Appalachian Trees, PO Box 92, Glendale Springs, NC 28629, 336-982-2377. wholesale

Architectural Trees, 6404 Amed Road, Bahama, NC 27503, 919-620-0779, retail and wholesale

Arrowhead Wholesale Nursery, 6150 Watia Rd., Bryson City, NC 28713, 828-488-6840. retail and wholesale

Broadwell’s Nursery, 7110 Old Stage Road, Angier, NC 27501, 919-639-2952. retail and wholesale

Burgaw Creek Nursery, PO Box 1337, Burgaw, NC 28425, 910-259-4788. wholesale

Carolina Greenery, 375 Carthage Road, West End, NC 27376, 910-947-3150. retail and wholesale

Carolina Native Nursery, 1126 Prices Creek Rd, Burnsville, NC 28714. 828-682-1471, retail and wholesale

Cedar Springs Nursery, Rt. 1, Box 304, Zirconia, NC 28790, 828-692-5575. wholesale

Coastal Plain Conservation Nursery, 3067 Conners Drive, Edenton, NC 27932, 252-482-5707. retail and wholesale

Fern Valley Farms, 1624 Fern Valley Road, Yadkinville, NC 27055, 336-463-2412. retail and wholesale

Gardens of the Blue Ridge, Pineola, NC 28662, 828-733-2417. retail and wholesale

Growing Wild Nursery, Burgaw, NC, 919-259-6361, retail and wholesale

Guildford Garden and Outdoor Center, 701 Milner Dr, Greensboro, NC 27410, 336-299-1535. retail

Hanging Dog Valley Nursery, 2600 Boiling Springs Rd., Murphy, NC 28906, 828-837-7921. retail and wholesale

Harper’s Nursery, 2145 Oak Level Rd, Rocky Mount, NC. 252-459-2189.

Hawksridge Farms, Inc., PO Box 3349, Hickory, NC 28603, 828-294-2081, 800-874-4216. wholesale,

Hoffman Nursery, 5520 Bahama Road, Rougemont, NC 27572, 919-479-6620; 800-203-8590; FAX 919-471-3100. wholesale

Homewood Nursery, 10809 Honeycutt Rd, Raleigh, NC, 919-847-0117. retail and wholesale.

Humphries Nursery, 4712 Whitfield Rd., Durham, NC 27707, 919-489-5502. retail and wholesale

Lamtree Farm, 2323 Copeland Road, Warrensville, NC 28693, 336-385-6144, retail and wholesale

Laurel Springs Nursery, 401 Regal St., Hendersonville, NC 28739, 828-692-4012. retail and wholesale

McNeely Landscaping, PO Box 266, Lake Toxaway, NC 28747, 828-884-3933. retail and wholesale

Meadowbrook Nursery, 2055 Polly Spout Road, Marion, NC 28752, 828-738-8300 retail

Niche Gardens, 1111 Dawson Rd., Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-967-0078. retail

Old Stage Nursery, Old Stage Road, Angier, NC 27501, retail and wholesale

Page Road Garden Center, 2914 Page Road, Morrisville, NC 27560, 919-806-5635, retail and wholesale

Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Rd., Raleigh, NC 27603, 919-772-4794. retail

Rarebird Nursery, 252 Collie Rd, Castalia, NC 27816. 919-853-2716. retail

Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, 316 Surrett Cove Rd., Leicester, NC 28748, 828-683-2014. retail and wholesale

Silkhope Nursery, 2861 Mt. Vernon Hickory Mtn Rd, Siler City, NC 27344. 919-633-5759. retail and wholesale

Tarheel Native Trees, 4339 Peele Rd., Clayton, NC 27520, 919-553-5927. wholesale

Wildflower Nursery, 4920 NE Hwy 25-70, Marshall, NC 28753, 828-656-2723. retail and wholesale

Wilson Greenery, PO Box 2554, Shelby, NC 28151, 704-484-2709. wholesale

Haliwa01 (Charles)

What works best for me is ant bait products, like Amdro. You need to sprinkle the ant bait granules on and around the mound when the ants are most active, but try not to disturb the mound too much while doing it. You don't have to water this product in...just sprinkle it on and leave it alone. The ants will take the bait into the mounds to share with the rest of the ants, including the queen, and they'll die. As long as the queen lives she only needs 4 workers to start another colony...that's why contact poisons often fail. The queen is hidden deep inside the mound and contact poisons can't touch her.

Any product you have to water in will almost always fail when it comes to fire ants...those products only kill ants near the surface, leaving the queen and the workers she needs to start over. The surviving ants will move the queen and her eggs to another fresh mound in another location on your property.

The bait products won't poison any other insects because they only target fire ants, so it's safer to use than broad-spectrum granular products that you have to water in. You aren't going to kill any "good" bugs with an ant bait product, just fire ants.

HTH~
Renee

But my all-time favorite method for murdering fire ants occurs in the winter on sunny late afternoons where the temps are expected to go below freezing that night. I will dig out and scatter any mounds that I find, then fill in the hole that I dug with firmly packed fresh soil. Any ants that can't make it back below ground by nightfall get frozen to death. One visit is all that it usually takes to kill out even the largest mound.

At this point, fire ants aren't a major problem on my property and are mainly limited to small nests that get started over the summer and a few mature colonies that migrate in from adjoining properties where they aren't controlled.

Fusca, pitcheri, and crispa can be purchased from Ellen Horning at Seneca Hill Perennials. She also has texensis which I didn't post a picture of previously but which is stunning.

http://www.senecahillperennials.com/index.php?page=clematis

Here is another picture of fusca from last year although I think it is actually fusca violacea since the straight fusca should be a hairy brown shaped bell and not have the purple tinge.

Picture of my texensis from last year---

The pitcheri hybrid can be purchased from Dan Long at Brushwood Nursery.

http://www.gardenvines.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=pitcheri

Glaucophylla can be purchased at Sunlight Gardens but they are out of stock and not available until 2008.

http://www.sunlightgardens.com/pages/1334.html

Versicolor is available at Woodlanders Nursery. They also have C. socialis which they have a picture of on their website but don't do mail order on it!

http://www.woodlanders.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=816

Sorry but I couldn't do direct image linking for the links but you should do okay copying and pasting them into your browser's address window.

Enjoy!!!

Pitcheri

Glaucophylla

Versicolor

A pitcheri hybrid that Dan Long sells at Brushwood

Addisonii

Fascination

Crispa

There are tons of them out there and quite a few are US natives that hardly get any press!

From Greensboro take 421 South. Continue South down towards the Julian area. There is an exit ramp that says Hwy 62 Julian/Climax. Going south on 421 you get off the exit and take a right on 62. Plant Logic is maybe a 1/4 mile on the left. You go over some railroad tracks to get to it.

Brian glad to hear your viorna is doing well. I have two now. One from cuttings from a plant near the house at Salem Lake, the second from a seller on eBay several years ago.

Tamelask, I supplied Dan Long at Brushwood Nursery (www.gardenvines.com) and Ellen Hornig at Seneca Hills Perennials with tons of seed from the wild colony of plants I discovered at Salem Lake. Dan has seedlings up already and hopes to have them for sale this fall or next spring at the latest. I haven't heard how Ellen is doing with her seedlings but I am sure you could check with both to find out when they may have plants available.

Alicia, realize that clematis viorna may take a year or more to germinate so don't give up on the seeds too soon.

i got on nan's sedum site and i.d.'d the 4 kinds i'm bringing. 1 divvy for arwen of s. makinoi 'ogon' ( i only have enough for 1 right now), couple of s. tetractinum, several of s. acre majus ( at least that was the closest i think i saw- it gets confusing looking through all of those!) and a couple s. lineare variegatum. i have dribs & drabs of many others, but not really enough for anything but tiny divvy's, so i'll wait. maybe by summer's end. i do have some nonhardy succulants that if i have time, i'll grab little pieces of for those who like strange stuff.

dana- i understand about the leaves being tiny. it was just the other day when the mulberries were out far enough to i.d. if they aren't out by swap time, we can get together another time & swap caterpillars, turtle stories & stuff. and the kids can play.

tanya- no guarantees, but i have some places where i've got suckers of quince roots coming up. i was planning to round them up. IF they are in a spot i can dig them out(many aren't), i'll get you a piece. mine is the old fashioned coral pink. i don't need anything in exchange. tam

arwenlurks - you too will like it and all us other sedumaniacs. I do question a few names though, so check other sites before you really believe you have the right name (like Squaw Mountain Gardens).

http://www.sedumphotos.net/main.php

If you think it lopsided, a Leadwort Plumbago would be lovely if you have any left to share.

Nancy the nancedar

Drones - Some folks are terrified of this buzzer. You won't see him visiting flowers and minding his own business like the female. Rather he'll be looking you over to see if you are sexy. Drones have a territory that they watch, and anything within it that moves, will be investigated.
There is not an ounce of aggression in this harmless fellow's body, except toward other drones. He cannot sting you anyway. So when he comes to buzz around you, look him straight in the eye and dance with him. Toss a pebble and watch him chase it. Look cross eyed, or stick out your tongue at him. See, all he'll do is a friendly buzz game. This is an ideal chance to teach your kids one of the joys of nature, rather than load them up with wasted fear of something completely harmless.

She's often mistaken for a bumble bee, but is easily distinguished by her shiny black butt, instead of a fuzzy gold and brown butt.
Carpenter bees are much maligned because they bore into wood to make their nests, but they are valuable pollinators and should be protected. Usually the damage they do to wood is just cosmetic.
They pollinate many spring flowers, though they sometimes slit blueberry flowers and steal nectar without pollinating them.
Carpenter bees are solitary bees, with each lady making her own nest. They are most common in early spring.

There are also suggestions on the internet for providing nesting for the carpenter bees, one being basically to provide nesting blocks made out of untreated softwood such as pine or fir. A commonly sized block is 4"x4" or 4"x6", drilled with holes that are about ¼"-3/8" wide and 4-6" deep. Brian Griffin, who raises orchard mason bees in Washington, drills his 4"x6" blocks with holes on ¾" centers, so that each block has 102 holes. (9) He angles the front of the block and places a piece of cedar shingle on top, to act as a roof overhang. These blocks can be used for many years and can be cleaned with a bleach solution.

Good luck!

Heather

As for deer -- it depends upon the deer herd and how afraid they are of your house.

At a previous house (near Jordan Lake), the deer came up to the lowest porch step and munched the geraniums. They do eat impatiens and tulips. They nip azalea buds and leave you with the greenery. Same with hydgrangeas and daylilies. They devour hostas and Indian hawthorn like candy.

What deer don't like (my personal experience) are those plants that butterflies do like or that fall in the hot/dry category or herb category. They don't touch any of my ornamental grasses (carex, acorus, cortaderia, miscanthus, etc.)

full sun herbs, perennials and annuals:
nepeta
lavender
rosemary
thyme
fennel
oregano
achillea
agastache
penstemon
coreopsis moonbeam
snapdragons
heliotrope
iris (Dutch, Japanese, Siberian, bearded -- once in awhile, a bloom will disappear)
monarda
eupatorium
dianthus (they don't eat it, but the fawns pull it up)
phlox subulata
salivas
verbena
daffodils
hyacinths (and bluebells)

shade perennials:
ferns
astilbe
dicentra

Shrubs/small trees:
cotoneaster
buddleia
itea virginica
deutzia
vitex
gardenia (radicans left alone; bigger ones tasted)
cotinus
nandina
bambusa (clump)
osmanthus fragrans
magnolia (bucks rub their antlers on the lower branches, so a 24-30" high edging fence is what I use)
ilex glabra
ilex vomitoria
ilex carissa
spirea (mixed results with the blooms, foliage is okay)

They munch the first flowers on echinacea, helianthus and rudbeckia, but them leave them alone. Since I cut the first flowers to encourage more flowers, I'm okay with this.

They munch my heuchera in winter, but not in summer. Same with my lorepetalum, illicum, hypericum and ligustrum. They taste a few other things like cryptomeria and chamaecyparis, but tend to spit it out on the ground.

I have just planted calla, canna, brugmansia, colocasia and agapanthus. I'll report on those in my blog as we go through the summer. I don't expect a problem.

I'm also adding these and not expecting a problem:

amsonia
asclepias
crinum
chelone
veronica (I've had mixed success in the past, but I'm going to try royal candles this time)

Now, when I lived in Efland in the middle of the woods, the deer left everything alone -- hostas, hydrangeas, daylilies, azaleas. Different herds that have access to sufficient wild food and don't go foraging in yards.

Deer are lazy! That's why my little 28-30" high edger will deter them from their traffic pattern. Too much work to jump into a space that looks like they can't get out. They will jump the 4 board fence out front that has wide open meadow on both sides. They also go under the lowest board in the fence if it's easier than jumping!

Best of luck with your garden!

Pam

- Koto no ito -- A threadleaf variety that is hard to find in nurseries but not on-line. Looks like a miniature weeping willow. Grows more upright than many JMs and has nice yellow-orange fall color.
- Viridis -- One of the old standards and easily found in nurseries. Grows wider than tall, so this might be a problem if space is limited. Nice yellow-orange fall color. Waterfall is a similar variety that seems to be available in a lot of nurseries.
- Autumn Moon -- Hard to find in nurseries, but a few of them are around. Spectacular yellow-orange leaves in spring, summer and fall. Different species than most JMs, with more upright growth habit. My personal favorite for season-long leaf color.
- Shin de shogo -- Another one of my favorites. Leaves open a spectacular fire-engine red and gradually turn to green, but new growth is red all season. Fall color is also bright red.
- Villa taranto -- Another threadleaf variety that you sometimes see in nurseries. Leaves open reddish brown and gradually turn green, with new growth reddish. Will keep more of the reddish color with more sun. Very unusual variety, like nothing else.

Broadwells and Tarwheel nurseries on Old Stage Rd sometimes have nice JMs for good prices. I bought a very nice Shaina there for $25 a couple of years ago and they had at least a dozen different varieties at that time, but last year they only had a few varieties -- the usual Bloodgoods, etc., when I went there.

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E-mail: adam@cartierwilson.com Web Site: www.cartierwilson.com
Territories FL, GA, AL, MS, TN, LA, NC, SC
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I put in seed about 2 weeks ago before we got real cold. Experimenting to see how early things might come up, I direct sowed, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, beets, spinach, lettuce.

In my cold frame I have broccoli, cauliflower, excarole and spinach already making second set of leaves. Today I put out in a second cold frame, 6 varieties of tomatos and 5 varieties of basil. I also set up some plastic muffin containers with chives, purple cauliflower, carnations, marigolds, poppies.

I will be putting in peas on Thursday and more spinach and lettuce. I built a special raised bed for carrots which will also be going in on Thursday with some radishes.

I usually direct sow beets around the 15th of March to the 15th of April if we stay above freezing and the soil is workable. Fortunately, our soil did freeze but not very deeply cause I noticed today it was loosening up already and this was the first fairly warm day. We probably hit 45 today. Looking forward to 65 on Thursday.

I usually direct sow cabbage, brocc, cauliflower, turnips and rutabagas in mid March.

Can't wait! Whaaahooo!

Susan in Stokes County, NC

Here is a link that might be useful: sarcococca (sweetbox)

Has anyone seen how large tinctoria is? Like the size of your palm, and SCENTED too. Wow, need that one and CANNOT find it anywhere.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nurseries Caroliniana

Here is a link that might be useful: Wilkerson Mill Gardens

Jacob

Again, I THINK, as I've not done it, garbage cans and weed whackers do work, but the can should be pretty full and the weedwhacker moved up and down through the leaves for best results.

As far as shredding leaves, if you have a lawn mower with a bag, running over them, either just as they lay or raked into windrows, works, and you can then pour them out where you want them. You can also just run over them and leave them lay; they won't kill off any grass if they are shredded. You can also - USING EAR PROTECTION - put the leaves into a metal garbage can, and run a weed whacker in the can to shred them. Or, which I would love to do but haven't yet decided to spend the money to buy the shredder/chipper, buy a shredder/chipper and shred them that way. The benefit of that is, while you do need to rake them up for most of them, you can move the machinery to the piles and not vice versa. Some machines have a vacuum hose attachment, and you can use it to collect and shred the leaves. Having borrowed a friend's last fall, I would advise getting one with as big a bag as possible!

It's a really nice feature of the GardenWeb~

Here is a link that might be useful: Searching Exchange Lists

I'm a rock hound too, but have slowed down considerably since I no longer move from one state to another every couple months like I did for 20 years. I haven't been hunting since I went to Hillridge Farms in Youngsville with the grandchildren but I suppose that doesn't count anyway when you just BUY a bag to sluice for rough "gems" that are native to NC. It really is more fun to climb into mines or caves, or pan for gold in the mountains, but not in winter.

Good luck with your xls rockhunting! Since there may be some people on this site who don't know about Arkansas's treasures I've put a website link here. There is a good page at this site too for children's experiments in growing crystals, even growing edible rock candy! Fun to do in the dead of winter when they can't play outdoors. If you don't know about the mines open to collecting in NC www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/ncsites.html is a good place to start - or Google "rockhounding north carolina".

Nancy the nancedar

Here is a link that might be useful: Arkansas Rockhounding

I have a lot of ornamental plants in my yard that the deer love to snack on, and they will eat them to the ground if I don't spray with repellents. I have successfully preserved most of my hostas with periodic spraying because they have large leaves that apparently retain the repellents well. However, my daylilies are hopeless. The deer have eaten nearly all of the flower buds off my daylilies before bloom for the past 4-5 years. It's useless trying to spray them because they grow so quickly while flowering and the repellent doesn't adhere well to the buds. Might work if I sprayed the new buds every single day, but that would be too expensive, time consuming and pointless when were have rainy spells.

Here's my dilemma. I have at least 30 large daylilies planted around my yard that never succeed in flowering any more. From a landscaping perspective, they are useless and they probably are attracting deer to my yard. I might as well get rid of them, but that would involve digging them all up, replacing all the holes with good soil, and finding/buying replacement plants that the deer won't eat. I wouldn't mind swapping or giving them away, but that would involve a lot of work and I don't have any soil/plants to replace them with. Any ideas or suggestions? What would you do?