Amy, it is simply gorgeous! I would use it in the garden and let vines and tall flowers grow up and around it. Because the iron? architecture climbs upwards, it would be odd to put a glass in it and make it a table because the upward iron piece would not allow the arms to rest comfortably...unless, in its prior life the table center was large enough that it was entirely over the top part, leaving the pretty iron work underneath, but anyway, I would leave it as is. You might check out the cottage garden forum and ask them how they would use it.

How can I put this nicely?!?!? Well, CRAP! LOL! the only photo of our wildlife pond I have uploaded in Photobucket was taken in about the year 2000. The pond actually extends farther to the back / toward and beyond the Olive tree than this photo represents. There is the chunk of wood to the back, quite a few stones bridging the pond and more open water beyond. Photobucket and I are having problems for the last month or so. They upgraded their site and now are incompatible with my ISP. I can no longer add more pictures to Photobucket unless we figure out how to get around this issue or we change ISP. The pond has since been upgraded and much nicer. It has since then also recently been Daisied and the water level has dropped 6-8 inches. We need to patch the Daisied areas or asphalt the whole thing. I am NOT taking it all apart and moving a half ton + of stones again! LOL. (sort of.) Here is the 2000 site: It is about 3000 gallons and dug around and between the roots of an ancient lilac, mimosa and Russian Olive tree. Some areas are very shallow 1-3 inches deep and other areas drop to a depth of 4 ft.. The roots of the surrounding established plants (as well as the swelling and pain of my elbows during the three day dig) dictated the dimensions and depth of the pond. The improved site has drift wood, stones and a willow limb in the pond. This offers an added safety feature if someone should fall in, they can easily get to a stone or limb so they will not drown. The Black-capped Chickadees, Grackles, Blue Jays, Carolina Wrens, Starlings, Robins are seen splashing in the shallow end of the pond frequently. Squirrels, chipmunk and bunnies have a swig too. The immediate area is alive with salamanders and toads. The only problem with the fountain is that after a few of the larger birds have a bath, more water needs to be added. The pump for the fountain is hidden in the base of the little girl statue. It has on occasion run dry but is still going strong for at least 5 years. The pump seems to be a good one. Don't think there is an automatic shutoff for the thing we have. We add water and it start to dribble water from the top of the umbrella again. :-) The umbrella can be raised higher but there is more splash and the rate of water loss is greater. That's why it is set lower. We are lazy here at Camp Nappy, dontchaknow? We have a mister from Wild Birds Unlimited going near that little palm in the background. The hose is connected to the mister and not the fountain. It is mainly for the hummers but many species love to just have a quickie shower to cool off like our House Sparrows, Chickadee, Downy WPs, Nuthatch and the Starlings. C3D

Good afternoon GB - glad to see your clems are blooming despite being left to fend for themselves. Did you loose any? Baby Reed made me smile - what perfect little features. Ei - I'll have to go smell my quercifolia as I've never noticed any fragrance. I cannot remember now which cultivar it is. Michelle - hope your case Shingles is not too severe. It can be a rotten experience - take care of yourself. Chelone - glad Rex is doing well and being such a good patient. Cynthia - any updates on Katie? Last night really lived up to Michelle's title for this Idyll - a hot summer's night. Never the less it turned out to be a great evening with the Chicklits (our book group). We had a wonderful selection of food, lots of wine and good book talk. David came and played his guitar to us while we ate - he played so beautifully it almost brought tears to my eyes. A friend of my sister's from New Orleans has just moved to our town and I was able to introduce her to the group. It turns out she moved in 3 doors down from another book club member and both have sons the same age. I love it when you are able to introduce people and feel they will enjoy getting to know each other. Only one of the group was up for a swim and we floated in the pool under the stars with fire-flies flashing till late in the evening. It felt sooooooooo good. Another friend chatted poolside, entertaining us with stories of her wild youth. We've known each other for over 10 years and I would never have guessed at some of those secrets. We're all rather conventional now, happily engrossed in raising children, PTSA, jobs etc. but sometimes it's fun to remember earlier carefree days. Today I had a work lunch - it was social more than work, and I had the chance to see a training video I was filmed for earlier in the year. I was mostly pleased with the sections I was in, but thought I looked decidedly "wrinkly" especially on my forehead. Perhaps it's time to splash out on some Oil of Olay Regenerist. Tonight there are leftovers from last night (an easy supper), then David has Karate class. I think I should probably shoot for any early night too. Hi to all Mary

Hey Tamara, I am relatively knew to this forum (I've been more of a lurker), but I thought I would post because I am also in TN. Since it is a larger area, make sure to include interest for all seasons. Because of our weather here, I tend to focus my plant selections towards summer blooms since we generally have a short spring and a long hot summer, but try to throw some things in to keep me interested until my garden really gets up and going in late May, early June. With regard to evergreens, and since you like herbs, I would highly suggest a few rosemary if you don't already have some- great smell, love the heat, grow quicky (my rosemary hedge grew to 24" in its first year), and nice blue blooms in the spring. Some varieties are not as hardy here as others, but if you buy locally they should be the varieties that do well here. For easy color in our humidity, you can't beat Black-eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers. Here are some other things that I am growing that have done well without a whole lot of effort: -Salvia- 'May Night' and 'Blue Hill' are my favorites -Moonbeam Coreopsis -Penstemon, various kinds -Butterfly Bush, to fill a large space quickly -Knockout Rose- The "red" variety might be too pink for you (I think of it more as a hot pink than red), but in this area they hold their leaves well in the winter so could be considered evergreen -Tennessee Coneflower- neat plant to have for obvious reasons -Purple Ice plant- a good low grower -Rasberry Wine Bee Balm- watch this one, its a spreader Have you considered some antique roses? There are plenty of colors besides pink, and the some of the older varieties do well here without too much black spot. As for number of each plant and repetition, it really depends on the characteristics of the individual plant. A lone Blue Hill salvia might look kind of weak in a large area, but a single Rosemary would have a lot more weight and stand alone well. I like to mass 3-5 of several plants in a group, then provide the occasional "punch" with an accent plant, or a small plant that is "tucked in". Hope this is of some help, and sorry it was so long. Did you fare the late frost well? Bryan