Agree with 3 strikes and you are out ------ don't necessarily follow it. After 2 strikes I take pause and try to find out as much as possible about the natural environment of the failing plant. I also try to identify a grower who successfully grows them. I have tried over and over again with Dendrobium cuthbersonii and have always failed . So I finally talked to Tom Perlite from Golden Gate Orchids who grows these things like I grow Dandelion and got some hints from him. Now it takes me 2 years to kill them instead of one. I have finally given up on these little beauties. Dendrobium nobile is another example. No matter how closely I follow the instructions as to how to grow them, winter rest etc, I cannot get a decent bloom. Either they don't bloom or they make a few lackluster blooms. So I finally talked to the grower in Hawaii who is the source of most of the commercial nobiles you see on the market every spring. Success, last spring all 3 of mine bloomed ------------ with a few lackluster flowers! Enough, they went on the plant table of my society and I'm done with them. Miltoniopsis; Killed every one of them in the past. Finally talked to Theresa Hill form Hillcrest Orchids who grows beautiful Miltoniopsis. Her advice was simple, keep them cool in the summer, warm in the winter, they like to be within 5F of 60F. Doing this I am now growing them successfully, meaning the plant is increasing in size. Last year they even bloomed, one or two spikes on a large plant. That should have been 10 spikes or more. So I'm not there yet and unless they pick it up may also give up on them but not yet. Parvisepalum Paphiopedeliums: I just got started with these so have no failures to report. Go to the Gallery where you see an entry I placed yesterday of my first success with Paph armeniacum. They also have a reputation of being a little difficult and I had a discussion with Dr Holger Perner at the San Francisco show who thinks most people are growing them wrong. Most people treat them as cold growers. True in the winter but not true in the summer. In their natural habitat, the ones from China get treated to a bright, sunny, cold, dry winter and a shady, hot, humid and very wet summer. The result of the monsoon season there. So unlike Dracula who should be kept as cold as possible in the summer, these Paphs should go in the warm greenhouse and drenched every day. Since there are 35,000 species of orchids available, I generally don't mess with ones that don't like me. My greenhouse is full of robustly growing plants. Not because I'm a genius but because that is the price they have to pay in order to stay. If a plant lingers, grows poorly and fails to bloom, I will get rid of it. Visitors to my growing area think I do magic because most plants look very healthy when in fact it is a process of throwing them against the wall and if they don't stick, they don't stay. There are innumerable others to replace...

Thanks Sierra. I thought later that that was probably what happened. I had been on PB yesterday making a new album. Northspruce: Gladys Campbell is my only double. I thought I didn't like doubles but I bought her to try and see how it was. When I bought her I was told she doesn't always come up double but she always has for me, I've had her for 2 years. The picture doesn't really show the full double, she gets fuller as she gets older. I think I may just have to get some more doubles!

The towels that tie or hang on a handle are always useful. Not enough time to crochet tops, but perhaps you could sew tops and ties for them using scrap fabrics. Or maybe you could "pamper" them a bit, and go to Michael's dollar bin for some bottles of lotion. Tie them in a circle of fabric or netting to make them look festive. Flavored coffees or teas are always a good choice too. Plop a bow on them or do the circle of netting idea to make them special. If you have a 99 cent type store, they usually have the small potted plants. Buy some of those and tie or hot glue a pretty bow on the pot. Most women love getting plants. Or since you work in a feed store, perhaps you have access to some birdseed. How about creating a birdseed ornament they could hang in a tree or on their patio? I'm sure you could google for instructions to make them wildlife safe. Luvs

Speaking of things from your mom.... I took this bowfront chest from my mom's place a few months ago. I remember her "antiquing" over the mahogany when I was very little. I told myself I'd undo her work, but now I have my doubts. I'm learning to live with it. A smallish thing like this with plenty of drawers is so handy. I have all my gym clothes in it, as well as some other things. It's really too big for a nightstand, but next to the bed is the only place it can go. Too bad I can't strip my way into some more space. Now THAT would be worth strapping on the mask and heavy gauntlets for.