I keep thinking of all those ladies who like to wear bright sunny dresses for Easter Sunday. It's not going to be quite the same this year, even if it is going to warm up a bit (and rain) for the weekend. 27F out there this morning, and we're well past the average last freeze date and nearing the average last frost date (next Tuesday). And yet it's been such a mild winter overall; I know I didn't drop below 20F here the entire season. But spring marches on. Warm weather will get here eventually. I hope! The long term forecast suggests above normal temperatures for April, so I guess the NAO is heading back where it belongs.

Since Soultan is not here, I thought I would help him out and bump one of the older threads before it is lost. In my gardens and outside, it is not unusual to see a superficial red mark here and there. There is a big difference between 'Red Blotch' and the marks made my a slight bruise or a bug of some sort. Most of the year, my amaryllis are outside. They get watered from above (yes, rain and sometimes a sprinkler). Perhaps, this is possible because our spring/fall/summer temps are high enough that the bright sun quickly causes the leaves to dry. This is true despite the fact that, being on the Gulf Coast, the humidity is tremendously high. You should see the red marks after a hurricane or tropical storm. I suppose I have become accustomed to that, especially during recent years. Fortunately, I have never had problem with mites (knock on wood), and I read somewhere recently that this may be due to our warm/hot temps. BTW, after getting down to 20 degrees last week, we are now experiencing a heat wave with highs of above 70 degrees. NICE! But awfully confusing to plants... Anyway, consider this thread bumped! Good pics, Anna!

Well, what can I say, we've had the absolutely worst growing season for most things ( with the exception of weeds) this year. It has been cool, approaching darn right cold some days, and rain, boy have we had rain. The beans are hanging in some are doing better than others. In the greenhouse the Chinese Red Noodle after sitting and sulking have decided to grow, looking pretty good now. The Pretzels are still sulking. Blue Jay planted in containers and left in the greenhouse until today are looking really good, these were the last beans I planted. My Italians, are climbing the netting but haven't seen any flowers yet, the same goes for Insuk Wang Kong. Both these beans have had a fiberglas roof over them so they are somewhat protected, I planted more of the Italians on a tripod in a half barrel, I've given most of my seed supply away in trades so need to replenish my seed stash. Uncle Steve's, I started the seed in the greenhouse and then planted out, looking good, just about to start climbing the netting. The three rice beans I'm growing are all in hanging baskets, they are all starting to form beans, the Ritz Escoffier and Comtesse de Chambord are about neck and neck, so far they look like the same plant, I have one of each of these plants in pots in the greenhouse, planted at the same time, look pretty much the same, the only difference I can see so far is the RE is a little ahead of the CdC. Flowers look the same, as do the beans. The little rice beans are a little more floppy and slower in forming beans than the other two. My little taste test bean patch has varying results, all planted at the same time, of the seven varieties planted Barksdale has been struggling, slugs or? seem to prefer this bean to the others but I will have enough for a taste and hopefully enough seed to plant next year. In all fairness it was planted in the shadiest spot, will give it more sun next year. Bosnian Pole, this is the one the birds kept pulling out the seed, so I started more in the greenhouse to fill the empty spaces, they don't seem to mind our cool wet spring so much they're now climbing the pole. Zelma Zesta, Tennessee Cutshorts, Garafal Oro and Signora della Campagna just sat at the two leaf stage for the longest time but now show signs of doing something. Drum roll please... Oregon Giant is thriving, seems to love this weather, so healthy and will soon be at the top of their pole. It has surpassed all the beans I'm growing, even my Italians which I have grown for 45 years. I swear you could grow this one in mud. So that's how it's going in the cool, lots of rain, cloudy with snipits of sun, just north of the border PNW. Annette

lpinkmountain I wonder if you might have rosacea. (By the way, please forgive me...I'm not a dermatologist at all but just am someone who all of a sudden developed a kind of blotchy bumpy skin.) When I went to the dermatologist for my yearly check up (I've become really good about this), she told me that I have rosacea. If that's the case with you, there are very specific things that should be used on the skin and equally specific things to avoid. Actually, I've saved money on skin stuff because the dr. told me that the best cleaner for my skin is Cetaphil (cheap) and that the Oil of Olay products are good as well. Her comment was that they have good chemists working for them. I'm to avoid Retin-A (boo hoo) and to wear a really good sun block. Vanicream (another cheapie) sunblock was also recommended. I don't wear much makeup but did have a couple of Bobbie Brown products left over from my daughter's wedding a few years ago. The doctor told me that those were OK to use because there wasn't anything in them that shouldn't go on the face. Good luck. Regarding skin, I figure that my eyes are getting worse just at the right time because I can't see all of the imperfections without my glasses. So...I just don't wear them!