I buy stuff online as I suppose everyone does, mostly for better prices. But what we lose shopping online is that friendly personal touch and that is what I have always gotten at places like Adam's Nursery and Jeff's Koi House. Sometimes the better price isn't always the better deal. I guess if we don't want to see more of our local businesses like Adam's close, we need to make sure to support them by shopping locally. Just a thought. Perhaps, those of us who communicate via this forum can share with the rest which are our favorite local pond and fish dealers? I sometimes hunt online for businesses in the Tampa Bay area that sell pond stuff (koi, aquatic plants, and other supplies but don't really see many out there. In addition to Adam's, where else do you shop for your pond and garden, Babalu_aye?

I am located in Pinellas and looking for nurseries that sell vegetable plants at a better price than Lowes or HD. Any ideas? Willow Tree sells tomato and pepper four-pack seedling sets for $1.49, could have gone up a little by now but probably not much. Not sure where you live but most independent nurseries do this, far better prices than the big-box, who occasionally bring in seedling sets but make much more money on the quart-sized plants and couldn't care less about giving you the most bang for buck when it comes to veggies. Tom

Wax myrtle and wax leaf ligustrum are both fast-growing plants that will get 10 feet tall or taller. Wax leaf ligustrum has dark green glossy leaves and beautiful blooms in the spring, but you won't want to plant it if you are allergic to it. Wax myrtle is so tough, it's planted in coastal regions as a windbreak for hurricanes. Hibiscus grows fast, but doesn't take well to pruning. Keep in mind that anything you plant will take a couple of years to get established and really start growing well, then they will take off. I suggest something like Fakkahatchee grass inbetween them in the meantime while they are getting established. Not hard to take it out once they are large enough, and you may just want to leave it as an understory plant. Lemon grass is also a possibility. It spreads extremely rapidly. I started with one sprig a year ago and had to thin mine this year it was spreading so fast. You can actually buy sprigs of that in asian food stores, put them in water to get roots, and then plant them out.

It's a shame this isn't Jax because I have some baby firebushes and maypops I can give away and those are great for our state butterfly :/ I do have this one budget tip, though, some of the weeds might be useful and worth keeping as "freebies". He could even make some sort of label for them to increase educational value of the garden (few butterfly gardens I see have both ornamental nectar plants AND host plants, aside from milkweed). Following are all weeds I find in my yard but keep because they are host plants and they are small/never compete with my plants: - Fog Fruit (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Starr_031108-0219_Phyla_nodiflora.jpg) - Cudweed (http://barmac.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/01/cudweed.jpg) - Florida pellitory (https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7184/6925743307_c2131890e0_b.jpg) Various clovers and grasses and sedges (singular big grass clump) are also used. Oh and peas and sennas should also be left in the place unless it's a monoculture of them, those are very useful. Nectar sources: - Fog fruit, again - Spanish needles (https://floridanatives.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/spanishneedles_3020.jpg) are tremendously useful and they're the second largest source of nectar for bees after commercial citrus groves, they're an important plant. Unfortunately they're also incredible aggressive, if area is not being mulched heavily you might have to remove all unless you want to weed regularly or if the plants you are putting in are large. T Hope that helps a little bit and best of luck to him Florida butterfly host plant and nectar information is available here