Merry Christmas to you all and hope you are having a really nice holiday.  We spent Christmas Eve with Sister and her family.  Good to see everyone and Sister always cooks up very tasty meal.  We planned our schedule so we don't have to go shopping until Thursday.  That way we avoid the Day After Christmas shopping/return crush.

I received seven garden catalogs over the last couple of weeks.  I love wish books.  Just on a first look I have about three pages of possibles for next season.  After I list everything I would like I have to go back and prune it.   We started putting up a hummingbird feeder last summer.  This year we want to add plants to attract the hummers and bees.  I have bee balm, pineapple sage, and scarlet runner beans on my list.  I plan to move my little roses--they really didn't like anywhere I put them this year.  I have enough pots to put each one in its own pot.  I think hardy hibiscus will fill that space nicely along with some borage.  Both are hardy enough to be treated as perennials.  I found out that the information I had on pineapple sage was not accurate--it is not hardy at my zone 5 position.  I need to replace it this year, either from seed or with a transplant.  So far the sage, lavender, tansy, pyrethrum, strawberries, oregano, marjoram, and thyme show fresh green and may come back well in the spring.

Inside my patchouli, rosemary, lemon balm, and bay are doing nicely.  I think the light I moved over them has made a big difference.  All are showing new growth and are looking decidedly more healthy than they did last winter.  Especially, the lemon balm--I lost the plant I had last year.

My big question each year is which tomatoes and pepper to plant and where to put them.  Looking back I am surprised and bemused.  About five years ago we had an abnormally cold summer and my tomatoes suffered.  I contemplated putting in one of the hybrids that were highly adapted to colder latitudes.  Eventually, I decided against that.  This year has been the warmest on record and the summer was brutal with more than a month at more than 95F.  Tomatoes don't set fruit in that kind of heat.  The peppers weren't exactly happy either.  I will think about the problem.