I had this plant several years ago. It did great until we got our hot weather. Mine had only morning sun, but by mid July it was fizzled out. I remember reading posts from other gardeners here and if they had hot summers, the plant just didn't do well. I've seen them in pots when we go on vacation way up north in Wis. They seemed to do well up there. The temps didn't get near as high or stay that way as long as in the southern part of the state. I would plant it in your front bed. Hopefully you'll enjoy it longer than I did. Good luck. Kat

Hi, I have lots of unusual tomato varieties...White Queen, Black Sea Man, Peron Sprayless, Indian Stripe, Amazon Chocolate, Brad's Black Heart, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Anna, White Tomesol, Black Krim, Nature's Riddle, Ivory White Pear, Japanese Black Trifele, Gary O' Sena, and San Marzano. Pepper-wise, I have Sheepnose Pimentos, Jimmy Nardello. I'd love to swap for some of your flowers, if you're interested.

Hi Sandy, I feel your pain, and I also can relate to the BB gun. I won't use anything that isn't organic or can hurt the butterflies/cats. But, I will use a BB gun. The crows would pull up the seedlings in our flower gardens and in our vegetable garden and THEN eat all of the sunflower seeds (that is... what seed the squirrels left) out of the bird feeders not leaving any for my little birds. So, I started using my son's BB gun to get rid of as many squirrels and crows as possible. The squirrels are easy to shoot, but you have to really sneak up on those crows! If you kill a crow, hang it up in the garden and the others won't come back. It will eventually disinegrate, but it really works while the dead one holds up. If you can't bring yourself to use the BB gun, just go shopping for new flowers while your husband does the necessary deed. My biggest problems in my part of Central Va are deer and rabbits. The deer try to eat all of the roses and tomatoes and the rabbits will eat every fresh thing you plant. They think you just added a new item to their 'Bunny Buffet'!! I just found out today that a mother bunny is raising her baby in the thickest planted part of my circle garden in the middle of my driveway. No wonder my newly rooted and planted butterfly bush in the circle garden got chewed off! Oh well.... I don't have the heart to leave a baby motherless or kill a baby. Glad I bought those stakes at Walmart today to put some fencing around my newest butterfly bush cuttings. OK... now that I'm finished fussing, my suggestions are: You could try using some bird netting over your seedlings to keep the birds off and maybe pin down some wire over newly planted areas to keep the squirrels out. Once the plants grow big enough, the squirrels and birds will usually leave them alone and you can stop using the netting and wire. Hope this helps. Good Luck! Betty P.S.- Miss Sherry, I envy your fencing. I dream of fencing!

This is what I've sown so far..32 containers.. #1 - (pop bottle) : Callistephus - ÂBlue RibbonÂ, A, August-Frost, 8", Dark Purple #2 - (pop bottle) : Crested Celosia - ÂCockscombÂ, P, early summer, 40-48" Pink/Red #3 - (margarine tub) : Cerinthe - ÂPurple BellsÂ, A, Late Spring-Early Summer, 30", Purple/Blue #4 - (milk jug) : Passion Flower - ÂPassiflora caeruleaÂ, A, July-Frost, 13 1/3', Pale green/Purple #5 - (pop bottle) : Mesembryanthemum - ÂGelato RedÂ, A, Summer, 4", Pinks/Reds #6 - (margarine tub) : Aztec Nicotiana (Jasmine) - ÂNicotiana alataÂ,A,Summer-Fall, 36-48",Light pink-White #7 - (margarine tub) : Sweet William - ÂMixÂ,B, April-September, 18-24",Pinks/Reds/White #8 - (margarine tub) : Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) - ÂBurgundyÂ,P, mid June-Frost, 24-36", Deep wine #9 - (pop bottle) : DameÂs Rocket, P, May-August, 2-3', Purple #10 - (pop bottle) : Foxglove, P, June-September, 2-4', Purple #11 - (pop bottle) : Potentilla - ÂMiss WilmottÂ, P, early summer, 12", Color #12 - (pop bottle) : Monarda - ÂRed Bee BalmÂ, P, June-August, 36", Red #13 - (lg water bottle) : Butterfly Weed, P, June_September, 1-2', Orange #14 - (Chinese take out dish) : Impatiens - ÂMixed F2 HybridÂ, A, June-Frost,9",Pinks #15 - Giganteum Poppy, A, summer, 3-4', Lavender Pink #16/#17 - Bread seed Poppy, A, late spring-early fall, 24-36", Red #18 - Astilbe, P, summer, 18-24", Dark Pink #19 - Basil genovese o commune, A, summer, 18-24", Green foliage #20 - Salvia - ÂPurple RainÂ, P, June-October, 18", Deep Purple #21 - Rose Campion, P, mid-summer, 2-3', Magenta Pink #22 - Bells of Ireland, A, mid-late summer, 24-36", Lime Green #23 - Turtlehead, P, late summer-early fall, 24-36", Purple #24 & #25 - Papavier Somniferum - ÂPeony PoppyÂ, A, summer, HT, Black #26 & #27 - Papavier Somniferum - ÂThailand PoppyÂ, A, summer, HT, Pink & White #28 - Poppy - ÂOriental MixÂ, A, summer, HT, scarlets and oranges #29- Papavier Somniferum - ÂBombast RedÂ, summer, HT, Red #30- Foxgloves - ÂMixedÂ, BT, HT, Pinks, purples #31 - Summer Pointsettia, BT, HT, ??? #32 - Dianthus - ÂKing of the BlacksÂ, BT, HT, Black I still have some info to input in the last group of seeds I planted, I'll get to that, eventually.