Hey everyone, Is anyone else out there? It has finally gotten cold here. Don't get me wrong, I love to have actual seasons, but it has been nice to have a mild fall. I spent a year in Phoenix & it drove me nuts not to have the trees change color & get some snow. (Denver is perfect for snow - you get some one day & its gone in a week at the most.) I think where you grow up affects you one way or the other - you either have this craving to have it that way or you hate it. I grew up in the Northwest fairly close to the coast, so we had some hardwood trees to watch the colors change in the fall. The contrast between the evergreens & the many fall colored trees was always gorgeous. One thing I do miss now, that I live in the Denver area is that we mainly have YELLOW leaves here with a very few red sumac & the occasional sugar maple someone has planted in their yard. Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed the first time I was in the mountains in the fall & saw the famous Aspen trees in their fall glory. I was rather stunned at the time that people actually drove up there specifically to see them. I have grown to appreciate their beauty over time. I think we're finally going to get some more snow. I have lots of stuff out there that is still green & growing. My Feverfew, Roses, Foxglove, Sage, Parsley, Mint, Iris, etc etc are all still green & growing. I have Daffodils coming up all over. My Pansies are still blooming their little hearts out to. My carpet snapdragons - which were supposed to be annuals - are still growing away too. My Crocus have been up again since. . . October. I hope they are okay for the rest of our winter. It has taken several years but my Mom & I have finally gotten over saying in January " Oh No! Look the Daffs are coming up. I hope their okay " I guess its normal for the Denver area. I have learned that its, when the tulips come up first that there is a problem. I don't recall having crocus up in October before though. I saw a few other people say they have bulbs coming up to. Where do you guys live? Has anyone in zone 5 ever had very good luck with lavender? Some years mine is fine & others it all winter kills. I did read something in the High Gardens Catalog about planting them with a gravel collar around them & providing plenty of mulch for protection. Last year I had one survive under the edge of one of my decorative grasses after all the leaves & the collar I had them in blew away in a windstorm. When I sit down to the computer I never think I have this much to say. How does this happen? Seana (looking forward to snowmen this afternoon) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com