So is there any secret to growing beautiful lupines like yours? I started some from seed this spring and am praying that they amount to something!!!

Hi Cindy, I love your area. We go camping out there every year. I will be at Sampson State park (Seneca Lake) next month. I love the land and the wine trails. I would love for you to be a gardening friend.

Love your photos. Thanks for adding me to your friends. This website is fantastic!

I am so pleased with progress of my gardens this Spring. Those fourth year Peonies are ready to pop. Some older Rhodies I transplant are showing new life. I've working rows of strawberry plants into a special section of the backyard. A favorite late summer perennial-- Crocosmia will be photographed and posted here. Another fine flower group called 'Beth's Blue' will be hardy and colorful again this summer by the pool. Salaam to all.

Cindy, I was working this weekend so didn't check in until tonight. I see no one answered your question about the ground up maple stump and dirt. We had a number of trees that either were dying or unsightly after lightning strikes. The tree company was going to grind and haul them away. I had them grind it and dump it on my driveway. I used it to fill areas with poor soil. Over several years, it composted beautifully. I did add hollytone fertilizer, because as that material composts, it will rob the soil of nitrogen unless you add in a lot of grass clippings of other source of N2. I used a lot of it near my acid loving blueberry bushes, as wood chips increase the acidity of the soil. Good luck and keep on using what you have. You have done a wonderful job judging by your photos!

Wow! Your photos are terrific. Thank you.

Wow. My friend teaches PE at Geneva HS. She also does a lot of coaching of girls sports. I went to Nursing School in Auburn and lived near Ithaca for a sort time! So I am familiar with the area. Its a beautiful part of NYS!