Daylilies. Calendula, lilac. Roses of course, violets. Young sunflowers can apperently be consumed like artichokes.

Part of it that I forgot to say is that we've both been living on our own for a while, and he also inherited a house and yard full of stuff from his mother. So, we've already got a lot of the basics, and I can ask for some of the less common things. Like a cheese press. Thanks for all the ideas so far!

What would you ask for? So, I'm getting married, and I'm working on my gift registry. ( Not sure if a gift registry is a purely American thing; it's basically a list of requested gifts that people can choose from to give to you, while still maintaining the element of surprise- it's usually manged by someone other than the receiver. ) I have a hard time figuring out what to ask for. Anyway, if you had the opportunity to ask for gifts that would aid a simple, farm-based life, what would you want? We're hoping to move to a farm and support ourselves off of it in the near future. Here's my list so far: Egyptian Walking Onions Daylilies Gunnera Rhubarb White Currants Bee hive (preferably top bar) Gift Certificate to: RainTree Sand Hill Preservation Center Home Depot McMurray Hatchery Cleaver Milking Machine Oxy-acetylene welding torch Weck canning jars I'm trying to include a range of things, as well as a broad price range. Help me!

With raised beds, my fear was that they'd act like a sponge and soak up all the nastiness from the road, and that would in turn either harm the plants, or they'd absorb it into their tissues. Do you think that's not really something to worry about? Right now I like the idea of keeping blueberry bushes in large pots, and move them some where higher in the winter before the area floods.

Alright, so I've finaly decided to stop ignoring my front yard. What it has going for it: ~Large area 60 ft by 6 ft ~Southern exposer ~I have nothing to loose by changing it! What works against it: ~No soil, just very compacted gravel and rocks ~There is no side walk protecting it from the road (and people parking.....) ~During the winter, for about 2 months, it's under 8 inches of road water run off. Our road isn't very busy, but still. ~it's bordered on the long side by a bunch of trees and shrubs, which I bet would suck off water and nutrients. Well, that does makes it sound really bad, doesn't it? Does anyone have any suggestions? Would you plant food crops out there, or just do something ornamental? The only thing I'm able to thing of is to build large planters to put out there once the water has drained away in the spring. Anyone have any other ideas?