We are in Dunedin and of course a tarnado passed through a few miles from home Hopefully I still have a home. We have not got any info on the place yet. Someone will check today. No news was good news hopefully. No one called so I think we are ok. We just know 24 homes were destroyed.

Sugarweed I sent you mail

best of luck Shirley

lost a limb off a tree and got lots of rain which is great. Maybe I will have green grass when I get home.lol It was turning brown.

Hi strangers, did you miss me?

I'm not sure if ya'll already know this, but badseed is having a co op. Prices are great and plants are beautiful. I kept waiting to see all my old friends over there. .....................

http://cubits.org/notfortheser...

My daughter Sandy and I had a great time meeting Sidney. She is a fun person and just as she seems to be. We were like old friends in minutes. We found a fabulous plant we would have missed if not for her. I am gonna post it here for you. Since she has not posted it yet I will . Let me know what you think of this . It only blooms at night.

Shirley where did you get that beautiful 3 tiered planter you posted on 4/19? Your porch is so pretty. Pretty soon I will have coleus again. I just braved this awful hot humid weather to go clean up a little coleus corner for the soon coming plants. How are you liking this weather Shirley?

Hey Debbie. My son got that planter for me about six years ago in Slidell, probably at Home Depot or Wal Mart. He said he only paid thirty dollars for it. I am in Dunedin Florida now and the weather is awesome here. This place is truly paradise. I think it has been raining some in my home area but it is really hot right. Par for the course. I usually hide out in the AC during the day and do my gardening at break of day and very late afternoon. I will be home soon. I cannot wait to see how my house sitter has cared for my deck plants. I am prepared to start all over. Are you near Pearl River. If things are ok and you are near you can pop by for some starts if you like. shirleyt

I know you told me before, but I'm not sure where Pearl River is. If I'm heading to Hammond, I get on the interstate at the Walker Port Vincent exit. If I'm heading to Baton Rouge, I go to Denham Springs and get on 1-12. In other words, I'm 10 miles south of 1-12 between Denham Springs and Walker.

"I usually hide out in the AC during the day and do my gardening at break of day and very late afternoon. I will be home soon."

Me too girl. The humidity is unreal. We've had showers off and on the last 4 or 5 days. And it is thundering out there now. Before that I was having to water my garden twice a day. And yes, we have had some thunderstorms that were pretty fierce, but we didn't get any damage, just electricity went off.

Thank you for the offer. I'd love to see your coleus. Your photos are always so pretty. I hope you have a great vacation. My daddy's family is in Lake Wales Fla, and my sister lives in Freeport, Fla. , but I don't know where Dunedin Florida is.

Debbie,
If you want to meet 2 of the sweetest ladies in the world go by and meet Shirley and Sandy.
Sandy is head of the Phys Ed Dept at the high school she teaches at and an ardent lover of the wild and unblemished natural places in Florida....and I am sure other places to. She had her knees replaced in Jan or Dec and is doing great.
I actually had to pause a minute to figure out which was the mama and which was the daughter.
Shirley is just beautiful and has been a care taker her whole life and is easing into learning what to do now that she has fewer demands on her. As in her picture she looks 20 years younger than the 70+ she confesses to.
I have rarely met two ladies I felt almost kin to immediately. We enjoyed a drive out to Honeymoon Island and a great rip to the ice cream shop. We spent time in the pool and Sandy brought us breakfast on the waterfront.
I had an awesome relationship with my mother and just being around these two beautiful women was a blessing.
Sidney

I would love to meet them Sidney. And maybe next time she heads to Florida, I will hitch a ride and go see you. How you been?

waving wildly from my side of town... How is everyone? I love the new look of cubits/all things plants.
Sadly nothing here to report the drought has taken its toll on all the gardens. But we are not giving up all hope, we have a trip to central Florida planned this weekend. Hope to find that one
special plant that will inspire..

amazing how much drought is out there.. and we are swimming here.. flooding all over again.. glad to see you Pheadra!!

Anyone in Z6 Time to take cuttings.
Night temps on Thursday will be in the 40's.

Yep, that's what's on tap for me today. I figure I can get out and take the cuttings earlier, then play and pot them up while I watch football. Last year I kept 34, this year my goal is to limit it to 25. But, we'll see on that. Are you going to over winter any this year, Jo Ann?

Here's a tip for those new to cuttings, it has worked well for me. As I walk around and take cuttings, I carry a bucket of soapy water with me. As I take each cutting I toss it into the soapy water. When finished I rinse each with a fine spray from the hose before I bring them into the house. That way I avoid introducing bugs to the house in the first place. Then I pot them up, adding a little systemic pesticide to the soil. I use this one, seems to work well.
http://www.bonide.com/products...

Karen

Great tip.
I am not doing cuttings. I have begun to convert containers to perennials and dont nees as many coleus as in past. They take up my whole livingroom and obscure the view of birds on the lawn. I am even moving the feeder to a further tree to escape the seed-weeds next summer.
DD will take cuttings and watch them in her part of the house. I will do a small order frm RD next winter.

love that tip!!.. thanks!!

Dare I ask how many cuttings you plan to keep, Allison?

Karen

O M G

ooohhh just a few