Acknowledgement, thanks and appreciation

[Jumptrap]

Fellers,

Without naming individuals, I just want to say a sincere thank you to the friends who have stepped forth when I have mentioned special projects going and sent goodies my way...damned thing is, they never let me pay them back! Truly, this is what friends are all about. I just hope that I am able to repay in kind, when some of you are looking for that special something. I have had pulleys, magnets, reloading gear, moulds, brass, copied data, a powder horn...all sorts of helpful trinkets...even flower seeds!, sent over the years. Again, thank you very much. I don't post much, but read everyday. My shooting and casting bug has ebbed over the last several months, but like malaria, the fever will return by and by. I am very excited with the flower seeds kenjuudo sent. I raise a big bed of flowers every year..actually several beds...and these seeds will be something new. Do any of you raise flowers or save seeds? like a box of choclates...never know what you're gonna get:)!

[waksupi]

Jump, you may be able to answer a question for me. I've tried to get hollyhocks growing around the outhouse for several years, with no luck. I suspect it may be the soil. I always thought they would grow in any crappy soil. any suggestions? Sure would like to get some growing, as they were always kind of traditional when I was a kid, at everyones farms.

[MT Gianni]

Ric, we had some that grew around the foundation next to the house where the ground got heat from the basement. They died out suddenly a few years ago [I could have sprayed them]. but climate is not the problem. Gianni.

[Jumptrap]

Hollyhocks have always been sort of a hit and miss adventure for me. I love them and have tried moving where I sowed the seed and the end results are generally the same for me.......one year a nice stand, the next a bummer. Like anything else, given decent soil and average moisture they should thrive. I have seen them grow in poor soil and had them fail in well fortified soil....and vice versa. I suggest you dump some wood ash next to the outhouse and work it in the dirt, sow the seed just deep enough to cover it, firm it a bit...that #12 shoe of yours probably work fine, and then water....dont piss on them! Put them on the sunny side and if you get a stand, save me a few seeds. I gathered a few seed pods from some Hollyhocks I found at my sister's place last fall....I'm going to give them a shot this year and see what happens.

[Blackwater]

Waksupi, my wife frequents this forum:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

Post a question there, and you may find out what you want to know. She's gotten some pretty good advice there .... kinda' like asking a cast boolit question here. There seem to be some very knowledgeable and experienced gardeners there. Hope this helps y'all. My thumb's brown instead of green. (sigh!)

[Blackwater]

One other item of note. Best info ever given me about gardening, and particularly relating to flowers or bushes, was given to me by my Mom. That lady could grow anything, and I honestly believe she could grow roses on concrete. Roses were always her favorite, and I've planted some here as a remembrance of her. The Seven Sisters are a particular favorite, because they're so productive and so fragrant. Always look forward to May when they shower forth with hundreds and hundreds of pink, perfumey flowers. Not the prettiest close up, but .... what a treat to have around, olfactorily!

She told me to "always plant a 50 cent plant in a 5 dollar hole," meaning dig a MUCH bigger hole than you really want to, so the roots can have nice, soft dirt to spread out its roots in. Big roots make more stable plants. More resistant to drout and all sorts of stuff, and high winds, if they come, aren't as likely to cause permanent damage.

I got the wife a cheap PH tester, and it's helped her with some species.

Who grows gardenias? That's another personal favorite. My aunt Janie was always my substitute for the grandmothers I never knew, and a finer one couldn't have been found had I searched the world for one. She had a large and VERY old gardenia in her back yard, that I'll always remember the fragrance of. I'll forever associate roses with Mom, and gardenias with Aunt Janie.

When aunt Janie died, her daughter pulled that gardenia up, and I swear, it was all I could do to not hit her! DANG! Welcome to family livin', right?

Give that gardenweb site a try. It's really helped the wife, and more than once.