Nick, I googled this and found a picture of the two parents and the result. Just Lovely. Some of the Hybridizer guys just have the knack and produce lots and lots of positive outcomes. Sadly, i was going to link the pic. but i haven't found it again.

I can't think of any WS seedlings that will be sizeable by May in our zone. One feature of WS seedlings is that they are much smaller in the spring than greenhouse or indoor grown seedlings, but they catch up and often surpass them by mid/end of summer! Perennials will usually remain small for the first season. However, annual flowers, herbs, and veggies will grow quickly after May, and make Mom happy thru the summer. The herbs you list are generally perennial and will be tiny for the first season (I've winter-sown oregano, thyme, rue, and savory, all perennial herbs). How about basil, parsley, or dill, which will grow quickly and are very popular herbs. Parsley and Dill are also host plants for Black Swallowtails, and kids usually love caterpillars! For flowers, how about annual Sunflowers or Rudbeckia hirta. Many pretty varieties of these.

A couple of things come to mind here. The first is that I usually prefer to keep my DD's friend's parents at a healthy arms length. The reason is mostly because if the girls' relationship gets strained, it feels awkward for me to be buddies with Mom. A few years back, I met a woman through my DD's school....her daughter was in the same school. She and I became fairly close, but my DD really did not like the daughter. We socialized a bit on the weekends and DD went grudgingly for a while and then later started to refuse. When DD's birthday rolled around, I felt like I needed to invite my friend's daughter...DD said she'd "ruin" the party for her. We do still socialize every now and then with other school families, but only if we feel they're really interesting people. It is also easier now that DD is in high-school. Middle school girls have relationships that are complicated enough without the added layer of complexity that whole-family friendships bring. I also can fall into the trap of feeling judged when people are less than friendly. I have to remind myself that maybe they're just introverted. As others have suggested, maybe the parents feel a bit guilty and don't know who to deal with that, so they just give you the brush-off to minimize their own discomfort. They may also just not have any extra juice left for social interactions after what sounds like incredibly demanding workdays. They may be unhappy people or just going through a rough patch. It's hard to be nice to others when you are suffering. My guess is that its a mixture of some or all of these things. Finally, though you are going above and beyond in your generousity towards this girl, I do not think you need to reevaluate the situation or figure out a way to back off. Being the home that everyone flocks to is a great blessing. You are a blessing for those "fledgling" kids and a blessing to your own kids. It is a huge compliment that your DD wants to be home with you. And you are lucky she's not off elsewhere...so many kids just can't escape their homes/parents fast enough. Before you know it they'll all be off to college and you'll miss them terribly. We were the-house-everyone-comes-to in middle school and I just loved knowing my daughters friends. Now, she is a day-student at a boarding school and their social life is largely confined to campus. We hardly ever see her friends and the house is quiet on weekends. I miss the old days!

Well, I’m not a boomer (I’m GenX) but I can guarantee you that there was not that level of casual sex in the late eighties, early nineties when I was in college. Obviously people had sex, but at least among my friends and sorority sisters...it was pretty taboo to have random sex outside the context of some sort of relationship. I am sure there were girls that did, but they were outliers. Maybe they were happy & liberated & doing what they wanted...but the few girls who I was aware of that did this were girls with self-esteem issues. They were treated badly, and it was sad. I really hope you are correct, Robo, and the article is being sensational. I also hope that it isn’t that bad where we live in the SE.