Hi zozzl, I don't have any seeds, but you may want to be on the lookout for Pentas lanceolata 'Stars and Stripes.' It's a variegated selection of the old-fashioned red pentas. There are several places that sell it in the spring via mail order but it has started to be available in local nurseries around here and hopefully near you too. It is really beautiful and the butterflies are crazy about it. The hummingbirds like it too! Happy Gardening! Danita

The iPad is a beautiful machine, and I was sorely tempted, but I was concerned about having no Flash capability and being locked into the Apple market. I wasn't sure how limited I would feel, but I knew how much flexibility I would have with Android. While getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was a bit of an indulgence, the one at Costco came with an instant rebate, and a free leather protective pouch. Another important factor was that Costco offers a second year of warranty for free on their tvs and computers, and I got a third year by paying for it with a Costco/Amex credit card. This saved me from having to buy a separate, extended warranty, so it's something to factor in if you are shopping for a tablet. You also have a 90-day period in which you can return almost any electronics item for a refund if you don't like it. (I'm not shilling for Costco: I have no connection with them other than as a satisfied customer. Their second year warranty saved me once when my big screen tv died in the 13th month and they did a $1000 repair for free.)

If you like fish, then comparing the fish of the Midwest (Great Lakes walleye, Lake Perch, whitfish and trout, and little inland lake fish like perch) to the West Coast seafood would be fun. Produce and baked goods always fab. in both places. The north country usually offers good cinnamon buns or sticky buns in most diners for hungry hikers for breakfast. The pie is usually good in the Midwest, I haven't had any on the West coast so I can't compare. I used to have my own favorite pie place off I-80 but I'm not sure what route you're traveling. MI has Vernors ginger ale which you might try. Also we have Ruby Red Squirt which my east coast friend raved over. I don't know if they even sell it in MI anymore but might be worth a look. I can't drink any kind of soda pop anymore but Vernors really is unusual if you like ginger ale. It is unlike any of the other brands I've tasted, and I love gingerale.

Oyster, what I meant was finding the darkest sans mutation through selective cultivation. Sans grows slowly from seeds, so traditional selective breeding is not effective. Instead, people grow cuttings and induce mutations on cuttings. Given the ideal condition (heat and light), pups can form within three to four months on leaf cuttings, therefore the turnover speed is fast. Mutation usually happens on meristem tissues. The chance of mutation is much higher on leaf cuttings than on whole plants because, on leaf cuttings, all cells on the wound compete to form callus cells and mutation can happen in any cell, while on whole plant, the growth of pups is regulated by hormone and only a tiny amount of rhizome skin cells are turned into meristem cells, and they are usually homogeneous, with fewer chances for mutation. Of course, you'd need a large amount of cuttings for this to make sense, like hundreds at least. Growers and nurseries do this regularly as part of their production process; when they spot a favorable mutation in their fields, they patent it and profit. Why haven't they found a black mutation yet? It is probably really rare. That's what I mean by a "brute force" way. You don't need much science here. More advanced methods exist, such as using hormone regulated tissue culture to see the color of seedlings without having to wait for their maturity, or using genetic modification to enhance anthocyanin production. The latter are being used fairly regularly now to produce new ornamental cultivars.