It's already been said, but I'll try to propound further on the notion that color and its "theories" are very much tied up in knots by culture and fashion. Tibbs has already mentioned the marketing aspect: consumers are coached in their purchase of plants just as much as they are persuaded that this season's clothing collection will date and supercede anything that has gone before. When we are not being manipulated by fashion, we are being coerced by cultural norms. In the midwest, at least, certain colors, combinations, and even bloom sizes and shapes are instantly pegged as gawdy, flamboyant, unsophisticated, or cheap. If someone manages to use these colors and shapes effectively, the result might be labelled surprising, daring, or avant garde. Use the same colors and shapes in another part of the world, and you'll find yourself fitting comfortably into the regional norm. My own response to color and color theory is weird. I find myself caught between pride and memory. I am loathe to admit it, but I hate the thought of people thinking to themselves, "Poor thing. She tries, but she's blind, you know, so how could she possibly get the color thing right" I guess I'm also admitting my ego-centricity, as well, as the number of people who pay any attention to my garden are probably few to none. To make my point a bit more general, people tend--sometimes for very personal reasons--to choose the Russian doll labeled "I'm one of the herd" or the one labeled "I break the rules" or the one that says "I'm a trend setter." Sometimes there are clues in a thread about which "doll" the poster prefers. The ones that puzzle me are those wanting "something different". I mean, if you want your garden, home, life to reflect "something different" then it doesn't make a lot of sense to ask for a group opinion to determine your unique, creative touch. My point, which I seem to be making quite tangentially, is that color is a seductive, but rather misleading mistress. In fact, she probably isn't as important as a mistress might be, unless that's your thing. She really ought to be viewed as just one of the high kickers in the chorus line. She's always there, and if she's out of step, you'll notice. She may even be the featured dancer in a particular landscape, but her allure won't work if you're trying to put on Swan Lake and the musicians are playing bump-n-grind, or, worse, if the musicianship is just plain bad. (Sorry for the extended metaphorI'm feeling frisky after getting out of the hospital!) But, then there's memory. I could see normally until I was 24, partial vision until 26, now totally blind. I am still very much a visual learner. I dream in color. I visualize, or try to visualize, the landscapes described here or in other sources. I remember places I've been on vacation--Vienna, the Lake district, California, Colorado--in visual pictures although I've never seen them. What I discovered with plants was that, for some reason, they trigger some of my strongest inner pictures. For another blind person I imagine that the same effect might be triggered by fabrics. If someone tells me that they like the beautiful sea-green shade of my sweater, I'll get a mental flash of that color. Someone who is more passionate about clothing than I am might have a stronger response. For me, it comes from direct engagement with growing things. I'll touch the dicentra eximia with its fern-like foliage and its little pink flower locketsor a particular tulip poking up bunny ears, or holding up a fattening bud, or open like a star. Something goes up my fingertips to my brain and I get an immediate picture in my mind of the form, foliage, flower and, of course, all the colors. I constantly ask people to describe the colors of different plants, leaves, flowers. I add their input to what I read from catalogs and other sources, which is usually somewhat contradictory and therefore interesting. I could probably do a Ph.D. dissertation on the beneficial effect of stimulating the brain's color imaging in persons with visual impairment. For me, at least, playing with color is an extremely pleasurable part of playing in the garden, both when I'm out there in reality and when I'm installing mental landscapes over the winter. I guess you could say that I'm easily seduced, although my preference would be a dancer of the very male persuasion. Wellspring / Charlotte

I did cinnamon in a small blender type coffeee grinder, and it was so hard it abraded the clear plastic top, as well as fracturing the plastic cap on the blade. There are several kinds of cinnamon sticks and some are rock hard. I think the one thats a bit easier to grind is the one that packaged in small bits. I think Penzeys sell it that way. Jimster, As to the grain grinder, I guess that about the only way to grind with any kind of decent output would be to find a place that will grind it for you. There are a few nature food stores out there that can do a decent job. For the particle size issue, a few sieves of different mesh sizes might help to single out the bigger pieces so they can be run through again. As mentioned in a previous post, the Kitchen Aid model for belnder type coffee grinding has a stainless bowl and is removable from the motor base. It does have a clear plastic cover, which would soon get dull, but at least ist a bit easier to clean, especially if the herbs are oily like cloves.

A summary opinion: "Perhaps I could try a dry-cut diamond wheel?" Yes. On a super cheap ten dollar snag grinder from Harbor Fright. That's not a stone wall but just a stone veneer on the face of the "real" wall, right? I'd be sloppy to treat a veneer as any part of a structural mount. Veneer may be hard but you cannot count on it for anything except looks. That certainly was the goal of the original installer! I'd consider removing the veneer (take pics for re-fit reference) and mounting the heavy stuff to the real structure behind the veneer, and then reapplying the veneer after trimming the pieces with a diamond bladed saw or hand grinder to fit around the wood. Don't forget to think about whether any waterproofing is necessary.

Actually, Anj, it's old and rusted anyway...but still looks pretty good...so I'll punch holes in the bottom for drainage. Otherwise the water would just sit in it. I have two old boilers and several other metal things with holes punched in the bottoms, and they work well for planters. At first I tried using stones in the bottoms, but finally gave up and punched the holes. Saves a lot of headaches...and lost flowers! DH loved the "Welcome Wagon" idea! ~Sandy~