Another neat site: www.pahlavani.net

Minetry Apperson, a woman with 10 dogs AND a beautiful yard, wants to contact other gardeners with multiple dogs to find out how they keep their pets and their plants. Chris featured Minetry in her newspaper column a couple of months ago.
She writes:
I need to photograph some other yards with pets, mutiple hopefully, and find out what other people are doing. I have been asked to put together a presentation.
People can call me at 767-5378 or e-mail me at
<minetry@midsouth.rr.com>

If you have not searched around the site for awhile, take time to go to the Books For Gardeners area. You can now purchase books reviewed or mentioned on the site directly from amazon.com

I would love it if gardeners would send me their recommendations for books they rely on for good information and also those they would like to receive for Christmas presents (it will be here faster than we can imagine).

Also, check out the Forum section to see if you can help gardeners who have posted questions.

There are some new questions and new answers posted. Be sure to click on the To Find Out More button to see the responses.

Hey Christine,

You had early written about one of the area gardeners that had a source for composted manure or screened compost, but did not mention the actual source. I am having trouble finding a local source here in Cordova.

Would you happen to recall anyone who would have either old manure, composted manure, and/or screened compost.

Thanks so much,

Jeff Golladay

You can buy composted yard waste at Mulch Works at the Agricenter. Leaves, grass clippings and branches collected from Germantown yards are taken there, ground up and composted.
Call 758-9072

How many Paul Littles does it take to entertain at a plant sale?

At least two. The real one is on the left; that's his effigy in the center.

The tie-dyed longjohns on the lookalike are a gift from Jim Duncan, executive director of the Memphis Botanic Garden, site of the plant sale. He gave them to Paul at the Memphis Horticultural Society's 2005 Christmas party.

All of us who know Paul, president of the horticultural society, know he has a lot of talent in growing plants. But at the sale we learned that he sings, writes songs and plays the guitar.

With Paul, and wearing a patriotic tie-dye T-shirt, is my daughter Madelyn.

The Memphis Botanic Garden recently dedicated a new building named for one of the Mid-South's more knowledgeable and beloved plantsmen.
The Rick Pudwell Horticulture Center is a complex of three greenhouses and a "head house" with offices for Rick and Kyle McLane and educational space for small groups.
In this photo taken in the orchid house, Rick is second from left. With him are Emelia Miekicki, (far left) a master gardener who assists Rick when he makes his incredible floral designs, and Kay and Paul Little.
It was built with more than $500,000 provided by Jabie and Helen Hardin, Memphis philanthropists who have been big supporters of the botanic garden.
The botanic garden's sizable orchid collection is being moved into one of the new greenhouses; another will provide storage for tropicals during the winter. The center greenhouse has space for Laurie Williams's horticulture therapy sessions and for a big hydroponic system -- seized by the Bartlett police in a marijuana growing bust -- that will be used to grow salad greens and possibly heirloom tomatoes for Fratelli's, the restaurant at the botanic garden.
About 200 people attended the grand opening. Rick was a little reticent about being in the spotlight but with his usual aplomb, did a wonderful job in his speech and making everyone feel welcome.