Excellent post and I completely agree. Two bins are definitely better than one. I do like the bins that have a lid to keep out any unwanted guests. Compost activator???? Last I checked, Mother Nature does not need this for her composting efforts....

Common sense tells you that all of this STUFF is harmful. I stopped using weed killer and fertilizers long ago. Funny, Mother Nature has managed to care for this entire planet for eons... without any help from Monsanto or Scotts! How did she do it? Naturally of course.

Excellent post! I believe that our desires do change over time. If find myself longing for a loft with a beautiful albeit very small terrace garden. A simplier life in the city. In reality, I have 2 labs, a yard, a neglected garden and 2 ponds. As I've gotten older (now past 50), I gone from wanting to live on 36 acres to wanting to live in a uptown loft. I imagine strolling through the Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning, not pulling weeds. Spending leisurely hours writing, watching old movies and walking everywhere. Everytime I stay at a fancy hotel in the heart of the city, I find myself saying, I could live here. I really could...

I vote for Rudbeckia. In Houston's 100 degree heat this summer, these golden beauties still look fresh and cheerful. I was just admiring them at a nearby development entrance and thought "why didn't I plant these at my mailbox this year?"

Thank you for this wonderful essay and it could not have come at a better time. Smith and Hawken became a ghost of its former self after the SCOTTs purchase. Sadly my last few trips to the store here in Houston, resulted in a quick browse through the store and then I was on my way out the door. It just did not feel like same place. The romance of the earthy store filled with orchids, bulbs, and hand forged tools was gone. Truth be told, when they started selling products at TARGET, I knew their days were numbered. They were destroying the brand. I only hoped that SCOTTS would sell them to a private group that would allow them to be restored to their former glory. The only consolation is that SCOTTS lost money on this deal in the end.

Perhaps they are discouraging "Fried Green Tomatoes" ? :) LOL

When Scott's bought up Smith and Hawken (a store I love), I knew it would a matter of time before they started making changes. Guess that didn't work out. Glad to see that they recently removed their name from the Smith and Hawken website. Recently I read they want to sell SH, which they only bought in 2004. GOOD! GO AWAY SCOTTS.

I don't know why, but I can't resist orange flowers. I find myself buying anything orange at the nursery these days.