How about PNW Round-Up?

I know we are having round up on the 29th, but I lost the where ??? at Lynns right?? Details please.

Tills you need to smoke less of the china man's pipe. It is in Buckley at Lynns. LOL

I'm still working on details to attend. I will bring DH that would love non work related guy time, equipment chatter, non gardening chatter while I visit with my friends and see gardens. If that works out I will have a teenage girl interested in daylilies not necessarily in nursery tours, more so in horses, music, teenage things & sports; 11 yo boy interested in growing veggies - not eating them, hand held games (pokemon) and animals as well as a 9 yo girl interested in everything and anything.

The following nurseries are within an hours drive from Lynn's:
Big Dipper http://bigdipperfarm.com/ (one of my personal favorites)
Thunder Mountain Farm http://www.thundermountainfarm.com/
Living Waters Garden Market http://livingwatersgardenmarket.com/
The Rhododendron Garden Nursery http://rhodygarden.creelweb.com/
Lazy S Nursery http://www.specialtynurseries.org/nursery.php?number=29
Taylor Creek Nursery http://www.specialtynurseries.org/nursery.php?number=38
Calendula Nursery http://www.calendulanursery.com/
Portland Avenue Nursery http://www.portlandavenursery.com/ (great sale tables!)
Watson's Nursery http://watsonsgreenhouse.com/ (another regular stop of mine :0)
Todd's Nursery http://toddsnursery.com/
Hartman's Fruit Tree Nursery http://www.hartmannursery.com/
Windmill Gardens http://www.windmillgarden.com/ (wonderful display garden but high priced on the plants)

Parks, Arboretums and Display Gardens
Lake Wilderness Arboretum http://lakewildernessarboretum.org/
Wright Park and Conservatory, Tacoma http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Park_Arboretum (one of my favorite places :0)

I will continue to do some research :0)

Geez, Rach. Is that all? ^_^

Thanks for all the research.

OMG, Rachel, will we have to go preview these first? You are so resourceful!

I really like watsons go there often. Good perenials, and Trees.

http://www.lakewoldgardens.org/ Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma,

http://www.rhododendron.org/display/LakeTapps.htm Lake Tapps Rhododendren , I bought a lot of plants and trees from them last year. They have a HUGE selection of rhodies and hydrangeas.

If you go to Lakewold, you have to come to my house. I'm just a few blocks down the road. It's a nice place and they have a cute little store there. The woman contracts with Mt. Tahoma Alpines and carries some cool stuff sometimes. Decent prices on the plants but not a huge selection.

Thanks for that list Rachel! Frankly, I will not be waiting until the end of August to take advantage of it. I was not even aware of half of them, especially the water garden place in Edgewood! So close to me!!

Start saving your pennies right now everyone! What a nice list Rach - thanks for doing that.

There are many more, have a look: http://www.specialtynurseries.org/location.php

I had no idea there were so many in the area. Thank you for the link.

Oooo, Lakewold Gardens looks really fun! You're lucky to live so close, Pixy.

Gwen where on the website did you find Lakewold Gardens?
I am not motivated to do anything today except read threads on DG and look at A - Z. It's grey and drizzly and I'm tired because I watched CNN before going to sleep last night and then couldn't sleep because of all the bad news!

Go up a few posts to Lynn's post and click on the link. LOL

Thanks Gwen - I completely missed it. Duh! I must go there!

OMG, I feel a soapbox under my feet! Portland is not sleeping and that triggers my 'sleep is the single most important mental health issue in the United States' lecture button!! Beware! If you've already heard this lecture, please scroll down to the next post or press 1, which ever seems more reasonable to you. If you stay for the lecture, please be prepared for a test later.

Lecture:
Portland, TV's come with an 'off' button! While I do not play a psychotherapist on TV, I do play one in real life. I completely seriously recommend that you cease watching the news, especially at night. It just gets those neurons firing in a very bad way, and gets your autonomic nervous system all revved up with no place to go. It's not that the things that are happening are unimportant, it's that we get too much of it. Our brains still think we live in small villages and get our news via messenger when it is already 6 months old. According to our brains, other parts of the world are so far away we cannot even think about what is going on over there. Would you drink a large cup of coffee just prior to going to bed? I think not. It's practically the same thing. Watching stimulating TV shows like the dramatic news shows (which is ALL of them) before bed is a sure fire way to lose sleep and create anxiety unless you are someone who has no trouble letting go of what you have seen. This will cause you to lose more sleep, which will then create more anxiety as your brain will not be able to function well. As a previous medical person, I am sure you are familiar with this vicious cycle.
If you will focus your energy on looking at plants, you will be much happier! And all that happiness is a very good thing for this world right now. Try reading your news, even on the computer, earlier in the day. It is much less over-stimulating and you get the same information. Maybe that would help you modulate your physical response to it. Sort of like the difference between watching a horror movie and reading the same story in a book. Way different.
One more point: they call it 'news' because it is outside the norm. It's always 'bad' news. There has never been a show devoted only to 'good' news, because 'good' news is really the norm, so there is nothing much newsworthy about it. Think on it. When you turn on the TV news show, do you expect the broadcaster to say, 'Well, folks, we have a really short show tonight because everything is going so great in the world!' ? They'd kind of be out of a job. Good things happen all the time, but we don't pay that much attention to them because those warm fuzzy hormones that get pumped out when we hear good news are nothing compared to the stress hormones that are pumped out when we hear bad news. There's a good reason for that since bad news could be life threatening for us, so we physically need to be prepared to literally run away from the saber toothed tiger! Our body responds as though there is a threat present because it doesn't know the difference between stress hormones caused by a saber toothed tiger, and those caused by TV news shows (or scary movies, etc.) We are truly an evolutionary machine in that way.
You can be a good, caring citizen and be informed about what is going on without taking a dose of TV news before bed. You deserve a good night's sleep!


Class dismissed. Soapbox back in closet.


Yes, Gwen, it really is lovely to have such a nice place down the road. It is literally within walking distance to my house. You'd think I would spend more time there, but I am too busy working in my own garden. Really, I think I am going to have to try to find a horticulture student , or some other person who likes gardening, to come and work for me in these transitional parts of the year. I do enjoy getting things cleaned up for spring, but there is just so much of it! I spent the day outside today and got so much done, but it's just a drop in the proverbial bucket. I would like to enlarge some of the beds and decrease lawn space, but I fear the repercussions of that.

Nice job, Melissa.

I go through phases during which I'm addicted to the news, either because I feel that I should share the pain or that I can fend off disaster if I'm keeping watch. I really have to remind myself to bring in my boundaries (for those of you with boundary issues, I find that meditation on your own bodies energy and practicing "sucking it in" -- sort of like sucking in your stomach -- helps. Seriously. Don't knock until you've tried it. I think many of us are walking around with our central energy force dragging around us and putting holes in it. Focusing on keeping your energy central to your body and healthy really helps to put things into perspective: "Happening to me" vs "Happening to things outside of me").

My neighbors got rid of their television set after 9/11 and haven't looked back. I'm not sure I can do that, but I do only watch local news in the evening, for the most part.

Thanks Pix - I needed that! I have been addicted to CNN for about 5 years. I am so afraid I will miss something going on in the world! I usually do sleep very well but lately not so much and I know it's the state of our country. The week before the election was the worst!

OK I am turning off the TV and getting out my A-Z. How's that? Oh wait, if I fall asleep while reading A-Z it may fall off the bed and go right through the floor to the downstairs.

I get my news only when clients talk about it. and none when I am not working. I dislike someone determining what I should think. I find chick flicks and dramas for a couple of hours enough to occupy my mind for escape during a day. I do glance at my goggle home page to seeif there are items of interest.

Ahhh Judy. Are you funnin'?

The only reason I have a TV is because I have a husband! When he and I met I had no TV and watched DVD's on occasion on my computer. He came with two t.v.'s :0) I don't bother with the news, other than occasionally looking at it online.

So you guys don't watch Grey's Anatomy??? Or the View? I will admit to liking my TV - I'm not proud of that but it is what it is. Dramas OK but chick flicks not so much.

Give me Josh Groban and Enya and Yanni and I'm a happy camper. But I do love CSI.

If you watch 'The view', you have enough drama already. We haven't had cable tv since my daughter was 10. She is almost 24 now and I have never, ever missed it. I feel a bit of agreement with sofer on this one that I resent how they package the news. If you critically examine how television trains our brains, it would astound you. Try counting the number of scene changes in a tv program. Then multiply that by the number of hours you watch. Then go back and, without watching, just listen to the sound tracks. Do you know that TV watching puts your brain into an almost hypnotic state, a state where you are most suggestible? This has been born out in many research trials over the years.

The word 'addiction' is more accurate than you think, Portland.

http://www.raphaelhouse.school.nz/index.php?pid=59

I think the media had a profound effect on our current economy. The news constantly told us about recession, bad economy, house prices are dropping,gas prices are going up, and guess what, we made it happen.

It's an interesting question. I wonder what it would be like if we didn't 'know' the economy was in such trouble. Maybe all we would see would be stocks not doing that well, and homes being on the market a bit longer, some homes going into foreclosure. Maybe it would be troubling on a local level, but I'm willing to bet we would be seeing this as just a bit of a 'hard time' to go through, part of a larger pattern of ups and downs, and not magnifying it out of control. That's an interesting thought, Lynn.

I must be morbid or on a differant pattern of life. I like Forensic files and Cold Case and my really favorite is Law and Order. But in all all would rather watch MASH 4077

Tilly, I don't think you're morbid. I watch CSI, Bones, Criminal Minds, L&O, and Dr.G, Med.Ex. I think it shows a curious mind. My mind is as curious as they come. :-)

Pix - interesting article on TV and the brain. When I was working I never watched TV and always got the news online as I was flying. My job required that I keep up with world affairs and current events. When you're having dinner with the CEO of Johns Hopkins or St. Bart's Hospital in London it helps to know stuff! Now that I am retired at 61 I like to have the choice to watch a little TV and go comatose. I watch The View for only about 10 minutes to see if they are going to fight that day - I think Joy Behar and I share the same brain! I like PBS. I really enjoy the change in my life from hectic and always having to be "on" to having time to relax and play outside. If I can't get outside and enjoy nature every day I am not a happy person. Having said all that, I have put a halt to watching CNN before bed. Instead I read gardening books. I'm re-reading Second Nature by Pollan.

Yesterday I went to the nursery and came home with a Camellia Japonica Margie, a Vaccinum Ovatum, a Clematis, and a Sarcococca Ruscifolia that smells wonderful. Since I have no little pots for starting seeds I got 2 little trays with clear lids and little rounds of soil that you pour water on. Last night I put the MG seeds in there and now they are in a south facing window getting lots of light. Oh my the nursery was full of great stuff! I can hardly wait until it gets a little warmer today - right now it's really cold out there.

I too agree that the press has contributed to this unpressidented outpouring of government investing in the private sector. I think this is a step into the unknown.

I have a theory about tv news. All news actually, newspaper and the like. What if for one day NO ONE reported any bad news. All they reported was good news, people who did good things, no matter how small or big. What if they did for that one week? Or one month? I would bet that if the media reported on good things, the world would become a good place. Some bad things might still happen but I think a lot more good things would happen.

The media has such an influence on life. I rarely watch the news. It's just too depressing and sad. I don't read the papers much for the same reason. I read our little local rag which reports on more local things and we don't have too much in the way of crime here so they are forced to find other things to write about.

But I have always felt that if the media boycotted bad news for a while, this world would be a different, and better, place.

without them we would not know anything in this global world. the problem is the lack of objectivity they report with. Then even worse is the intent to inflame the observer to respond with malicious retoric to opposing views.

I like knowing what is going on in the world & in our own country, good or bad. I just read about the judge who got kickbacks for sending youth to a private reform type place for delinquents. He sent kids there that should not have been there and ruined their lives. We need to know about that stuff! For me, I feel like I have a responsibility to know what is going on in my community - then I can choose to take action if I want. It is not the watching of CNN that, in my case, is detrimental - it is watching it before bed that makes me lose sleep! The last few nights I have slept like a baby because I followed Pix's advice and NO NEWS BEFORE BED!

if you watched Fox you could not say that. CNN does that to me. that is my point.

Fox is too conservative for me. I'm what you would call a bleeding heart liberal.

I agree, sofer. Lack of objectivity is rampant. The media can't boycott bad news, cuz that is what 'sells the soap'.

I do like watching the news, to keep a update on whats going on local when I can. Most times, I always miss it do to time fractions and my schedule. I like CNN . but in my time frame, I hear the same thing over and over. And it does get to you. I have Direct TV.

I don't watch TV - too many ads and I don't sit still for very long.
I do like to know what is going on all around me: I prefer to read the wide variety of print material & let the $oundbites fade away.
Knowledge in & of itself is merely information. It gains relevance when it has application: what can be done with it, and to what end.
There are a myriad of "information portals" available to us, but at a cost. I believe Pixy nailed it in her previous post. There is a burden that knowledge has also: the limitations of the individual's ability to resolve problems on a global scale. It's overwhelming, particularly if one only hears the negatives, and/or one point of view.
This is why I read - I can hear the words without tone, without the visuals that distract. I can read a variety of viewpoints and formulate my own. While canned news has it's place, I don't think it is wise to substitute it for in-depth coverage. I'm afraid that too much emphasis has been placed on headlines & selling the spin, instead of reporting the event or idea(s).

Portland - I, too must connect with nature everyday. I can absolutely relate to the futility of achieving sleep with all that information relentlessly swirling in my head. Winter is tough, but there are always things to celebrate in Nature. I planted tomato seeds on 2/7 - I was thrilled to see them start popping up their heads on the 11th! You will love seeing the MGs do the same; they'll bring you long-lived joy.(you know they reseed!) =:0)
I highly recommend A-Z as a wonderful bedtime story...

I am in Las Vegas for the next 4 days learning all about new medicine and diagnostics in. vet med. I had fun last night with Bill Cosby at our convention. We all had lots of laughs with his style of comedy. He had stories of dogs, cats, roosters all during his early career. It was very funny with his skits about going to the dentist.