Ladybugs!

When is a ladybug not a bug?                 

Always, they are actually beetles!  (Coccinellidae)  A minor distinction, I know, but an entirely different order of insect.  Bugs have mouth-parts made to suck, and feed on fluids, beetles have biting mouth-parts, and tear their food.  The ladybug's proper name is actually the Ladybird Beetle.

Spring Really Is Coming!

The first Snowdrop

I was out enjoying a rare, sunny afternoon yesterday,     

raking up the last of the leaves and doing some other 

general clean-up when I spotted them!  Snowdrops 

(Galanthus), blooming in my front border!

That is always the first sign of spring, here in Oregon, and a welcome sight they are.  They inspired me to check out the rest of the yard more closely, and I found many more signs that this strange winter is finally coming to an end.

Brandon Wilks - Nationwide Craigslist Scammer - Beware!

This is so heinous I have to tell the world:  

If you have applied for a job thru Craigslist, and it seems this is nationwide, and you get a reply from a Brandon Wilks, RUN, don't walk, and for heaven's sake DON'T click any enclosed links.

It's a scam to get your info and credit card number.  He's currently operating with the return email address of ADEXIMEDIA . com, and if you do a Google search on them

'Socks - How our garden saved our cat'

By Ted Sherman                                                         
Reprinted by permission from Greenprints Magazine
Issue #84, Winter 2010 / 11

     Socks was our family pet, a mostly black tomcat with white legs.  he had to be the biggest cat in the neighborhood and should have ruled the backyards and fences.  But Socks was a coward.  All the other cats, including the females, bullied him badly.  They'd hiss at him and spit at him and, if they caught him, bit pieces from his ears, nose and jaw.  He looked like the neighborhood chewing - uh, punching - bag.

Tax Time...

UGH - I've spent the last two days getting all the papers in order for our new CPA, we meet with him Thursday.

I've always done my own taxes, and last year I did 3 years worth of refund returns for my wonderful lazy husband, in addition to my own!  We got married in Sept. of 2009, so filed separately for that year.

A Side Effect of Quitting?

So my husband Sam quit chewing tobacco.  Hooray!   And his dentist is happy too.

It's been about a month since he chewed, however he still has the occasional cigar, maybe 2 big ones a week, and one of those little cigarillos daily.

But the last few days, he's been experiencing a strange thing - several foods have "tasted like tacos"!  Foods that really should not taste like tacos -

My Very Favorite Garden Magazine

It isn't full of information about plants and how to plant them.  It IS about the human side of gardening, and our relationship with nature.  It's about the funny side of gardening, and the terrible (and sometimes wonderful) mistakes we make.  It's about the sad side of gardening, and how one particular plant can make us cry over the loss of a loved one like it was yesterday.

A Great Garden Club

Last November, I spoke on the phone with Katie and her supervisor at my wonderful Garden Club, of which I am a life member. I get a great bi-monthly magazine from them, jam-packed with great garden and patio ideas, new plants, product reviews and tips. It's called Gardening-How-To.

 They have granted me permission to utilize the magazine for blog ideas and exerpts, so I am going to grant them a shameless plug!

Purple Velvet, Purple passion (Gynura aurantiaca)

A beautiful plant native to Malaysia,         
and can be used as a hanging plant or
not, depending on how you trim it.  

It does bloom, when it feels like it,
but it's rather picky in that regard,
and I love it for the unusual purple
'fur' that covers the leaves and stems.

String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)

WARNING:  POISONOUS TO PETS, and     
possibly humans.

A beautiful succulent from South America,
and keeping it hanging prevents accidental
ingestion by pets or children.  

Houseplant Series and Cuttings Available

I have a lot of houseplants!  My whole enclosed back porch / laundry room is full.  It's a great room, with full windows on both East and North sides, so the plants get plenty of light, but very little direct sun.  The only problem is it's very hard to keep warm, with all that glass - my house was built in the 1920's, and I have old single-pane wavy glass.  But the laundry is a plus, it adds warmth and humidity!  Cuttings are available!