Grass? Where? Whats that? Seriously, the only place I really have grass now is my side yard on the driveway side of my house. The grass thats left in other places are the grassey paths between and around garden beds. People have often told me that they really like the grassy paths between my gardens. Makes me laugh as the grassey paths are all thats left of what used to be lawn and are now garden beds.

Gesila, your eye and mine settled on the Key Lime Pie! Okay, #2 on the list for 2013. Paul, when you said, "Squash Casserole" and its offspring growing quickly, that's what I like to hear. My Squash Casserole is looking great, will pay more attention to its offspring. Also, I have a yingerii species plant, and hope it gives me some spider flowers this year. For the flowers, I'd like to get a Harpoon. Let it move next door to its parent. Please remember to post the flowers when Harpoon blooms? Great Part II, Paul. More to follow, I presume.

Sheri, Oh, it is drooling time! I can almost taste the tomatoes now. Sungold, Persimmon, and Cherokee Chocolate: if you get ripe tomatoes from only these three plants, you'll still think it is the best tomato year ever, taste-wise! Dr. Wyche's has always done better for me than Kellogg's Breakfast, but then, I have grown DWY for 5 or 6 years and KB for only 2, so Dr. Wyche's has had more opportunity to excell. Dr. Wyche's is a pretty heavy producer, and quite tasty. It also shows great disease resistance. Black Zebra is a very attractive-looking tomato, but I think Black Pineapple (which isn't really black at all, LOL) tastes much better. I have found that every striped tomato I've ever grown has looked pretty, and tasted no better than average. (sigh) Well, I take that back--the one exception is Indian Stripe. Momotaro is probably better than Carmello, but then, your taste buds and your growing conditions are different from mine, so you might find the opposite to be true. I do not think you'll be disappointed in Momotaro though. I haven't grow Alamo. We love Sweet Million and Black Plum, which is our postal carrier's favorite tomato ever since I started sharing them with her several years ago. You're right--I wasn't wild about Japanese Black Trifele, but lots of people love it, so maybe it was just me. Your Mystery Surprise is probably either a tomato that "lost its label" during the seedling growing process, or is from a new grow-out that DJ is trialing and perhaps hasn't even named yet. (I think mysteries and surprises are fun!) Yellow Platfoot Brandywine is yummy, and so is Black Pear. Brandy Boy is the best. If I could only grow one variety, this might be it. There are a few that taste better, but NONE of them can match BB's heavy production and disease resistance. And, even though there are a few that I think taste better than BB, none of them is loads and loads better, only a little better. I don't think I have grown Black Pearl, but isn't it a smallish tomato, more like Black Cherry? I think it is the Burpee hybrid that is said to taste more like a Concord grape after it has been refrigerated? If it even comes close to tasting like Black Cherry, it will be a real winner. I can tell you are ready to get the plants going. Have fun, but be careful and watch the weather. I feel sure we have another freeze or two to get through before Old Man Winter departs and lets us have Spring. I believe you will have more tomatoes this year than last. Remember that so much of last year.....the excessive rainfall, the continual cloudiness, the cooler-than-usual weather all combined to severely affect tomato production. Conditions like that are beyond our control AND exceptionally rare. This has GOT TO be a better year, right? By the way, my little container-grown Better Bush tomato has now formed a second tomato--it is just about the size of an English pea. I am so worried that a deer or possum will get my first green tomato that I carry this plant inside every single night. (It is a very pampered plant at this point. Today I picked up a lady bug and carried her over to the plant and sat her on a leaf, just so she could cruise around and hunt for any bugs that might be lurking.) I am SO looking forward to the first ripe tomato this year. No matter the size of the tomato, we always make BLT sandwiches out of the first ripe one. I am going to order the world's best bacon from the New Braunsfels Smokehouse just so we'll have it for the first BLT of 2008. (Most of the time we eat healthy and watch our fat intake and cholesterol, but BLT time is special and calls for a total disregard of the healthy eating rules!) Keep me posted on how planting goes. I hope to be out in the garden a lot the next few days if the weather cooperates. We are under all kinds of storm watches today, tonight and tomorrow, but so far everything is going either a couple of counties west of us OR a couple of counties east of us, and that's OK with me. Dawn

Thanks, holiday-ers...yes, I am doing better each day (DH, too)...coughing is not gone, but much less, thank goodness! I want to get outside in the gardens...but weather must co-operate, too! jane, yes, this is a 3-season porch & we have a little electric stove heater that we can use & open up the sliding doors to the DR when GK's come home to play! We love the porch...it's almost as old as house...40 yrs. ranch style ...but finished off inside, carpeted cement floor, paneled & replaced windows in the last 10 yrs. or so. And, yes, Jane, that single pc of Depression glass is all I have from G'ma's...it is pretty...I must look up the pattern name again...it has pink glass spoon, too. (can't remember if I added that later?) Thanks, Marylee... & yes, Purplemoon, that totem does look like a bird bath...I got the 2 glass birds at StVincentDPaul, the heavy aqua glass dish at a GS & the 1 pc bottom at HLobby...when I made it. luvs, punk & nana...Dollbaby can be a pistol, all right! Yeah, now she wants to be out there playing, too! Glad you enjoyed her. And the "door" cabinet is my fav pc out there...just an original & reminds me of my sis' old farm house. Thanks, holiday-ers! Jeanne S.