So glad you didn't lose them. I thought I had lost hollyhocks or malva (wasn't sure which they were last season), but just checked and there are three right where they were in the fall. And even though my mature lupine still is gone, it appears that at least one seed took so I've got a baby right near where the mother plant was. As for the unidentifieds, I've got a slew of them around my garden as well. They're either rudbeckia or gaillardia or a weed -- I'm holding off on pulling them just in case. I'm hoping that the wind, rain and snow we had blew a bunch of the seeds around then gave them enough of what they needed to grow. :) And what a difference a week has made for my sprouts. I definitely have astilbe coming up as well as jalapenos and cherry bomb peppers. No sign of the bell peppers, but I've got eggplant and that's never been a good ws plant for me. The tomatillos are thriving, and most of the tomatoes are getting true leaves. Maybe the cold, rainy spring wasn't so bad after all.

Lol, I'm glad you all enjoyed the video and yes my husband was dreadfully encouraging her until he realized she was going to take out all his bait for fishing the next day, lol. She didn't eat them she just liked to catch them. My other dog likes to eat them. They love those denta stix from pedigree and they do get snacks, lol. When I first got my tropical fish tank it took her months to quit smashing her nose into the tank trying to catch them. She is a full blooded doberman but John didn't have the heart to get her ears cut when she was a pup and she is getting fat with old age and the tumor in her belly. That is the perkiest I had seen her in a long time. She is on some new medication and it seems to be making her feel a lot more frisky. I don't know why but fish and flashlight beams drive here insane, lol.

Okay, I'll leave it be and hope for the best. The pine nuggets seemed perfect, with some pieces being dime sized at the largest and some being really fine mulchy stuff. I'll see if I can get a picture when I go down to my mother's house this weekend, I don't remember the brand name. Was a massive bag for pretty reasonable though, I've used that stuff for nearly ALL of my plants this last repotting season. While most are houseplants, for edibles I planted an olive and a cherry tree in soil amended with it. Guess I'll just see what happens over the winter!

Marti8a ~ Between the oppressive heat, my determination *not* to run up the water bill, and my lower back pain . . . I made the deliberate decision to let the entire backyard go last summer. In the past 3 weeks (since the tornadoes & hail), I've spent more time in the yard than I did all of 2011! Lots of storm debris, but lots and lots of 2011 weeds and leaves. I strongly 2nd someone's earlier recommendation that you employ a lawn service for a season (month, summer, year) -- you can select the $$ or type or method of service. So they could weed or they could napalm or they could use only organic . . . its your choice. But this will kickstart the project until it gets to a level you can manage. I did the same thing with a cleaning service last year -- I've never used a cleaning service before, but things had gotten out of control (both cleaning & life in general), so we did a one-time turbo clean for the kitchen, one bathroom and the living area, and I'm so glad I did. ~ freshair