daisyinga -- Paper bags! Duh...why didn't I think of that? That makes SO much sense! I am so glad I posted about this. I will DEFINITELY try that suggestion. Not to mention I still have a few rolls of that contractor-grade brown paper (y'know, the stuff they put down to walk on in your house, while they're doing finish work, so they don't scratch your floors) leftover from the renovation. That would be good too, it sounds like; and so easy to roll out! jmzms -- Thanks! :) I hope they do. Since I posted this and have gotten so many responses, I am starting to wonder if maybe the neighbors are, indeed, more "curious" than "disapproving" when they are doing the drive-bys. foxesearth -- I don't want it to be a big pile of rock...and I don't want it to be a southwest garden...I guess I don't really have any pictures (except in my mind) of how I want it to look. I guess I sort of jumped into it, when hubby and I finally decided that's what we wanted out there. At first, we just wanted something to not make the culvert look so...culvert-y...and also to keep the soil from eroding down into it. The rock garden idea sort of evolved from there. BTW, the pix I posted show more of the flagstone in the actual culvert part, and some of those are being removed in favor of more Tennessee Field Stone (the rock used throughout). There will probably still be some of the flag stone left (because it matches the path I'm building down through my foundation plantings), but it will be only in just the bottom of the culvert.

Coriander (cilantro): A very short-lived annual, sometimes living out its entire life-cycle in a matter of 2-3 weeks. Those leaves won't have a good flavour (once they start changing to lacy, they've bolted), so just let the plants go to seed and die a natural death. It's too late to do much else! Those seeds will grow into more plants. Most people grow coriander by sowing new seeds every couple of weeks to keep up supplies of useful leaves. (successive planting) Chives: only 2 inches tall?? They won't be seeds on the leaves, they'll be dirt or bugs (probably aphids). You'll get seeds after the flowers die off - and flowers haven't happened yet, have they? They'll appear on the top of long, firm stems. Chives grow in a clump which you can divide once the clump gets larger (say when it's about 30cm/12" in diameter). Leave them be for now, and never prune the leaves at all unless you're actually harvesting. Wait until you have enough leaves to use. Dill: a photo would be useful. Dill can get about a metre tall, so it's still a tiny baby. Here's a picture of mature dill. http://julielepage.com/blog/photos/2005/07/15/3.jpg You can harvest the leaves any time you like, but never more than one-third of total growth at any one time, then let it regenerate before you harvest again. Same with most plants. Basil: still a tiny baby. I'm surprised there are no flowers yet. Basil can flower from a very early stage, and it's from the flowers that you get the seeds (same with most plants). It has a LOT of growing to do, (it will get to about 1 metre tall, maybe a bit more, and about the same wide), but you can harvest the leaves at any time, taking no more than one-third of total growth at any one time. To encourage a bushier plant, chop off the flowers. If your plant ends up like mine, you'll spend a lot of your life chopping off the flowers!! In brief, be patient!! Your plants are only tiny babies just yet, so you won't get any useful quantities from them. Forget about pruning for now. Wait another few weeks. Meantime, do some browsing via the Search button here on this forum for more information. You know, I really hate it when people try to generalise about 'herbs'. With 20000 known herbs on the planet, you can't generalise at all!

Ok off the top of my head since I can't find anything in this mess: Super Nachos 1 can refried beans 1 lb. ground beef 1 4 0z. can chopped green chilis (I use the mild) Taco sauce 1 8 0z. package cheddar 1 8 Oz. package jack guacamole sour cream chopped tomatoes, chopped black olives, chopped green onions (these are the garnish) Spread the beans on an oven safe platter, brown the beef, drain it and spread it on the beans. Spread the chilis on top of the beef. Spread the cheeses on top of that - you may use less cheese, matter of taste. Drizzle Taco sauce on top. Bake at 325 for about 40 min. Watch it cause not sure of the time but you want the cheeses to melt and be a little bubbly. Spoon the guacamole down the center, spoon the sour cream on top of the guac. Sprinkle the tomatoes, olives and green pepper over the top. I then insert taco chips around the edges for presentation. If you have trouble scooping with chips, put a spoon on the side so people can scoop onto their chips. Hope you like it.

What a sweetheart you are! I mixed up half a batch last night to try them out and DH and I gobbled them all! Nuts are good for you, right? These have a great 'kick' to them. Perfect with an ice-cold Corona with lime! Or two... This will be my contribution to our extended family's Super Bowl party- thank you so much! And you have me down to a 'T' - I am sweet AND spicy!!