My husband and I visited the Green Market yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful sunny warm day and we enjoyed walking around the various booths. We stopped to chat with Donna of DonDro Gardens about an orchid I had given my husband that was not blooming.

Donna gave us some great advice, which I'll share in just a second, and as we talked further we noticed a cute little statue of a frog pushing wheelbarrow sitting on the table. Well, everyone who visits the booth loves the frog and wants one. Donna bought it in a yard sale and has been unable to locate any others like it. Me being the smartie that I am said that with all of the great links I have on my links page, I should easily be able to locate it.

Let me give anyone reading this a little piece of advice. Don't ever think it's that easy to find something someone else has been unable to locate. I do have many fabulous links on my site but after searching for several hours I reached the conclusion that I would not be able to find that particular frog. So I turned to the net.

If someone is a lover of frogs I have unearthed several sites that cater to you. Here are just a few:

• frogstore.com
  
• froggifts.com
  
• frognirvana.com
  
• gardenfrogs.com
  

I searched and searched and do you think I found that dang frog? Not on your life. There were a few that were similar and quite cute but none that looked like Donna's. And although I like frogs, I'm not looking for any to take up residence in my garden so I'm giving up the hunt.

Now for the orchid advice. We have a Phalaenopsis, which needs filtered sunlight, regular feeding and controlled watering. If you have orchids, visit the DonDro Gardens site for more information. Ribbit. Oops, I mean Happy Gardening.

Anyone else who has been down and out with a month long virus, raise your gardening tools! How miserable! The problem is that not only do most folks get sick with it once, it recurs spreading itself over about a month - a period of time that I'll never look back on fondly.

So what have I been doing while I've been sleeping or whimpering for chicken soup? I read a book or two. I highly recommend Memoirs of a Geisha. It's an engaging fictional tale of a young girl who is taken from her home at a very young age and groomed to be a geisha. She narrates the book and takes you all the way through her life from childhood to her senior years. (Don't I just sound like a book reviewer?)

Here's what else I've been reading:

• Seeds of Change 2006 Catalog. From cover to cover this catalog is filled with gorgeous pictures of veggies, flowers, hand tools and even kitchen accessories. Their seeds are all organically grown and they have some recipes sprinkled throughout that are mouth-watering. Seeds of Change also has an enewsletter offering growing advice and featuring new plants.
  
  
• Plant Delights Nursery catalog. This one is way too cool or, as my niece would say WICKED cool! They feature a huge selection of plants and wearables but the big eye opener is their cover. Plant Delights always has a fun cover and this catalog is no exception. For those of you who are Harry Potter fanatics, as I am, Spring 2006 spotlights The Hairy Potter and the Horticulturist's Apprentice. When you visit the site you can also see all of their past covers.
  
  
• Waterwise Florida Landscapes. This booklet is produced by Florida's water management districts. It speaks to landscaping using the seven principles of Xeriscape. There are gorgeous photos and lists of plants and shrubs that do well in Florida. This a wonderful resource for Florida residents or anyone in warmer climates who may be water challenged.

So, there in a nutshell is where I've been since Christmas. I'm just about back to normal, or as normal as I can be. Look for more frequent postings as my strength increases...now where's that chicken soup. Happy Gardening.