"Hi Amber, We are neighbors. I'm over in Middleville. Are you haveing things coming out quicker with the warmer weather or is the lake moderating it for you?"

"Down by the river the trout lilies are blooming. My tulips are 1/2 bloomed (if there is such a thing). I have a purple flower that looks like an anennone but I'm not sure. My new Japanese maple made it thorugh its first winter . I'm…"

"Today it seems like I've got a complete pallet of color. Redbuds, lilacs,pink thrifts ,pink pweter lamium,red nancey lamium,blue periwinkle,korean spice viburnum, allaganey viburnum, lantana mohican viburnum, canadian choke cherry,fern leaf…"

"Hi Honey, You are my closest "neighbor" so far on the site. I am up in Grand Rapids. We have had a frost last night. And I live on the river so we have fog. But now the sun is up and my mulch is calling. Hope you can do some gardening…"

"Hi--another Michigander. Are you from Detroit or the subs? I grew up in Westland and moved to Grand Rapids. So over here I am also from Detroit."

"Hi Nice to see someone from MI. I am in Grand Rapids. I just got my mulch and am planning a lot of spreading today. What is going on in your garden?"

"I find it interesting that Spring seems to show it's lightest colors int he spring, then getting more bold in the summer and then darker in the fall."

"I did something like that last year. I used creeping jenny as a trailer and purchased a coral bells for a container and planted it last fall. It is fun to be able to reuse and mix the stuff up. Like your idea."

"That makes sense. Now I just have to find my tag! I have a system but then it does not always work. Thanks "

"So by pruning after blooming, you loose some of next years flowers, right? But I guess it is worth the loss for the shape of the bush. It would then seem the same would apply to rhododendron, right? I had a bush here when I moved in. Last year I got…"

"Here in Detroit Z5 I don't prune them because you can lose your flowers for the year since it flower on last year wood but after it bush out and have the leaves and flowers I have went in and did a little shaping to make it look good for next…"

"I'm learning myself but have had one for about 4 years and it continues to get bigger and produce more flowers without any pruning. My neighbor has multiple bushes well over 20 years old and they never do anything either. Zone 4."

"I tried using the store one and I found that I could never water it enough. So maybe the crystals are the answer."