@SeaCanepain
Jim, the Turquoise tails get about six inches high and spread about 12 inches. I just received these with the Semp Lipstick and, so far, they are all liking their pots.

I registered my second-ever Daylily grown up from a tiny seedling bought from the Lily Auction, and now have healthy seedlings from a cross with it. Excitin' stuff.


@ShadyGreenThumb
Cheryl, I am happy to read he is doing so well.

Since I peruse many, many vendor sites over the dreary winter, I have NO problem finding pretty (to me, at least) flowers to have in my gardens. This year (come Sat. I get to sow the seeds! ) I'll have: white pompon chinese asters (at 20 inches, they're a bit over the limit, but I DARE them to come out and use a measuring stick!! "Oh, really? I'm so sorry about that: it's good that they're annuals and I -koff koff- not to plant them again) One of my profs taught us it was easier to be forgiven than it was to get permission: he advocated to keep doing whatever, apologizing & promising not to do it again - then "forgetting" and doing it again! ) Starlight Rose Zahara zinnias prolly (I haven't finalized but DO have the seeds! ) rainbow celosia, red velour tidal wave petunias and dwarf sunflowers (THESE were a surprising find, at 15 inches tall!!). Oh, and singlet marigolds next to my tomatoes again this year, for attracting preying mantis for pest control (last year, they also patrolled my tomato plants, eating any bugs they found!).

Since I got a GREAT deal of enjoyment out of my giant allium's last year (just THINKING of all the cows, & kittens & teeth-gnashing fits of the Management brought a smile to my face!! ). . . I added another variety of giant allium to my Spring Bulb garden. The pic by my name is my Spring Bulb garden the year I planted a row of Gladiator just in front of the wall (they came up the first time a month AFTER the new height rules were announced, but they met the ORIGINAL height rules so there was nothing they could do). Last fall, I planted 8 Schubertii, just scattered willy-nilly amongst the daffodils. I rather doubt they will say anything, but if they do: I plead ignorance!! AGAIN!!

Of course, I'll have a Tomato Jungle again on my back patio. I'll have 4 late blight resistant varieties, two dwarves and one that I haven't finaliozed yet.

Both mine and my Granny's electricity went out: mine for 6 hours while I slept, so no biggie. . . but HERS also for a bit over half the day. She came to my house and we eventually went out for an early lunch. By the time we got finished, her electricity was back on again, so she went home, turned on/up the heat and snuggled under a pile of blankets in her comfy chair. . .and promptly fell asleep! She woke to find most of those blankets on the floor, tossed off as her house got warm again!

Welcome to the thread, ShadyGreenThumb! I purchased my new dolly at Harbor Freight also. I wore my last one out. The new one is a more heavy duty model. I tried
garden wagons, but the one I had was designed with high, sloped sides. It looked like they tried to cross my childhood wagon with a wheel barrow. The design did not work for me. . I think the big, red one I had when I was seven would have worked better. . Oh well, the dolly has the advantage of not requiring me to lift things in and out. I can slide the base plate of a dolly in under things.
A level yard is the one thing I am insisting on for the new house. I keep reading and hearing that multiple levels make a landscape more "interesting". All I can say is that our multi-level property is way too interesting for most wheelchair users. I try hard to meet the A.D.A. guidelines for ramps meaning one foot of ramp for every inch of rise, but I was not able to come up with a way to do that in the case of one ramp in a tight place. If Jim is in his manual w/c, someone needs to push while he wheels to get to the top. The lawn tractor thankfully has no trouble pulling any of the ramps and that is how Jim usually gets around the property.

@Seacanepain, Hush, Jim. A southerner can lose their grits, wild muscadine jelly and watermelon wine privileges if they are caught saying positive things about kudzu. And, I have already confessed my growing from seed addiction.
@BetNC, thanks to Jim I now have an image in my head of you challenging management to a limbo contest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I will ask Jim or one of the gir...young ladies here to take pix of my next concrete planter. I read about a fellow senior gardener who made containers with concrete. He mentioned that Portland cement came in 40 lb. bags now. I wish I knew where he did his shopping. I can only find the 80 lb. bags. Where are those young, muscle-bound customer service people at the big box store when you need them? I think they avoid the concrete supplies aisle.

I think you are right, Kay.

I agree, @betNc. Nature's spring has sprung. My Spring Sprung a long time ago.
Thanks, @Lovemyhouse, that Sedum is a stout little guy it looked larger than 'blue spruce' I like the little guys.

@SeaCanepain

Good, Jim, I will earmark one for you. Do you like Sedum Blue Pearl? I have three of them.

I don't mind the steep w/c ramp WEEEEEE! coming down it is fun.
@Lovemyhouse I love the Shape of the leaves on that one and the color pattern around the ridge is awesome.

Okay, one of those for you, too. (shhhh, though, don't tell Kay. )

Daylily and succulent breeders should be paying you, Deb.

Ah, but, Kay, I only do it for the love of sharing.

My DH has suffered from severe osteoarthritis for years, I don't think he has a joint that hasn't been operated on. He also has diabetic neuropathy, he can't feel his feet and legs. We live on a river and the house is elevated 13ft from the slab which amounts to 22 steps. This is an early view of a cart that he made on our 2nd set of steps leading into the house. The front of the cart has now been boxed in except for one side that we can slide groceries and what not in without a hassle. Also bigger items like dogfood can go under the seat. He uses it every day and it is a wonderful tool for him. I only use it when I have worn myself out in the yard and just can't tolerate one more step.






I alsmost didn't include the last 2 photos, I'm not fond of decapitation!

Awesome cart@kabby! Necessity is the Mother of Invention, indeed! Nice job!

Dh and i tackled the largest part of the flagstone patio removing branch-sized roots from underneath. It took a lot out if both of us. I thought that recip saw would rattle the brains out of my head! While not perfectly level it looks a look better and we won't trip over lifted stones anymore. For us, it is almost "safety over asthetics" now. Here's a pic. It needs to be cleaned off but it's still not quite dry.

Very nice cart, Kabby! Looks like it works perfectly.

We have a flagstone patio that is raising up from the tree roots. We've been watching it getting worse, and will have to remove the stones and cut the roots to get it level again. What a job! We did this about 20 years ago, and now it's so un-level again that our chairs and tables are tippy.

What a great creation, Kabby, and a beautiful view.

We've had some warm weather recently, and since we have lots and lots of mature oaks, I was out removing leaves that overwintered in the gardens. Since bending and kneeling are not very comfortable, and sitting on the ground eventually requires getting up again, I've found sitting and using the grill tongs to be just the thing. I can pick them out of the azaleas or turn them with the lower tong parallel to the ground and scoot underneath a large clump of leaves, lifting out a large portion.

The aged tongs on the right work beautifully. When I forget where I left them, I can sort of make do with the others.

@kabby I agree. Great job!

Thank you everyone for the compliments. I read them out to him and he grinned with delight. He has helped me so much in the yard, making raised beds, placing pea gravel in my pathways, and keeping the grass mowed so I don't have to worry about it. The list is smaller now of what he can do but every little
bit is appreciated.

@shadygreenthumb The bridge over the pond sounds like a totally cool landscape feature.

@lovemyhouse, The Sarge and MK made a deal. Jim gets to add more hardy succulents while MK gets to keep some fragrant plumeria. The lower maintenance plan calls for only wintering practical plants in the GH such as aloe and edible ginger, making more room for early seeding. Plumeria doesn't make the cut officially since it is grown only for beauty and fragrance and needs winter protection. It's a good agreement.
MK has already given up some fragrant plants for the sake of the honeybees that were either bad for the bees themselves or made honey bad for humans. Plumeria are pollinated by moths and hold no interest for honeybees. Something tells me they will come home from FL with as many plants as they left with to give away. Florida nurseries should be carrying the best succulents for heat and humidity
All succulents looked tender to my newbie gardener's eyes. It was a surprise to me to learn some were only heat tolerant to Zone 7. I should have realized that given they are used for green roofs in Germany where green roofs are the rule instead of the exception.
Succulents and daylilies are probably the most common gateway drugs to a gardening addiction.
The Sarge had a dump truck load of fill dirt delivered yesterday. The truck almost got stuck and we will need to smooth out the damage from that, but all in all it should save us work. I don't mind digging, but we have too many projects going at the moment for me to keep up with. Simplify is the word for this year. MK moved some stands of white yucca (Yucca pallida) yesterday to the xera-scape line at the top of the slope. The root system was bursting out of the wooden planter. It should be perfect for holding sandy soil and I like the color.
Jim and K had doctor appointments today. It seems like those take more out of them than a day of weeding. They are both taking a recovery day and Tigger is out of town. It's strangely quiet here except for the birds.
I'm never talking to crows again. A crow kept cawing in an irritating way while I was working. I cawed back at him in what I hoped was 'shut up' in crow. I don't know what I actually said, but he proceeded to get in my face and tell me off. I didn't have to understand crow to know I was being dissed. I never want to be in bad with the crows. There is what has to be a great-grandma crow tree just off our east boundary.
Crows are unusual in that they never move far from home and frequently come home to visit their older relatives. (A crow can live to be almost 30 years old in the wild if nothing gets it, and even longer in captivity.) They have what must be something like family reunions in this particular tree from time to time. The scene looks like something out of an old horror movie. I'll toss some corn across the fence tomorrow in way of apology. Research has shown crows not only hold personal grudges, they tell other crows and can organize. So, of you are ever tempted to throw a pebble at some raucous crow, research indicates you should resist the temptation.

Nadine, I am very good at enabling...uh, sharing plants. I wouldn't know anything about Daylilies, of course. Have only been adding succulents the last couple of years and they have been intriguing me with what conditions are and are not tolerated for growth. We don't get as humid as in your area, but did have almost double our normal amount of rainfall last year and the ones offered to the Sarge have sailed through.

I will keep in mind your suggestions. Have enough problems with the insolent squirrels, don't want to add a crow war. Unless I could somehow persuade the crows to pull the squirrels in line...hmm, something to ponder...corn, you say?

I'm taking a breather!!

Today is FINALLY the day I get to sow my seeds. Yesterday, I hauled out all the pieces and set up my gro station. . . only to discover that everything that fit, etc last year. . needs adjustment THIS year!

I retrieved ingredients for my container mix from the garbage can outside on my back porch: only to discover what I needed was at the very bottom! After emptying it to get what I wanted, then I had to re-pack it!!

I finally got everything ready to start: now (afte4r this much-needed break) I will adjust my gro station, mix container mix and fill containers, prepare seedling mix. . .and, IF I'm not tired already, sow my seeds!!

I think those seeds can wait til tomorrow to be sown. Just TALKING about all I must do first, is making me tired all over again.

I'll re-set my "taking a breather" timer. . .