Thank you for the positive feed back. Brenda,the tree in question is a Red bud called Forest Pansy. I love it, but for some reason it has not bloomed for me yet, and every year I worry that it is dead because it takes so long to leaf out. In spite of this it is still one of my favorite trees. Dear spat72 I built my pond using a kit, which includes the liner and a skimmer and waterfall filter, with a flexible pipe that connects the two. It is an ingenious yet simple design, that makes pond building both easier, and the filtration is far superior to the older styles of pumps and filters. The rocks line the bottom and sides and add to the bio filtration. The skimmer cleans out the leaves and gunk off the surface and the waterfall portion is a large Bo filter as well. I donÂt clean it any more and other ponds, but I did invest last year in a good pond vacuum that has made life even easier. The kit I used was a small one. The link below shows photos of a much larger pond being built. Check out the kits they have for sale. Also look for my first posting in the pond gallery; http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ponds/gal012232314290.html?25041 this is a link to my second posting for more pics http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ponds/gal061711545355.html?13 large pond kit, how to, pics http://www.lochnesswatergardens.com/articles.asp?id=131 Bog garden design link http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/design/handbooks/watergarden/8.html On your Idea of a Bog garden. You should think about building one on the side of your pond in shallow water. Use the same pond liner as the rest of the pond, Make a underwater burm to separate it from the rest of the pond and use a bed of deep gravel to plant in directly. I donÂt use pots in my pond. I just use gravel, and larger rocks to hold it in place on the slopes.

I remember seeing the following article in the Handyman magazine some time after I built my stream and waterfall and wished I had seen it BEFORE. It's for a pondless stream, but much of the actual stream construction should help with what you are wanting to do. Be sure to click on all the links at the top of the article, especially the step-by-step pictures and instructions! Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: Build a Backyard Waterfall and Stream

After getting irritated that your neighbor did not tell you about the dye before hand, you boast that you did not tell him about dye you ordered? Wouldn't want to be the neighbor of either of you! You may want to ask your lawyer how your planned action differs from your neighbor's.

OK, so to my way of thinking-not saying I'm right necessarily-soil removal is the nuclear option. But that hand-wicking I mention above is no picnic either. Briefly explained, the technician places a chemical-resistant Solvex (or other approved) glove over one or both hands, then places a larger cotton work glove over that. Then from a small bottle of pre-mixed systemic herbicide-this would be at a higher concentration than is used for foliar spraying-a squirt of the solution is sprayed onto the double-gloved hand and immediately wiped or swiped onto the Phrag or cattail foliage-works the same for both plants. This is done later summer, so that sap flow is trending downwards into the roots, so as to kill the whole plants. Typically, a dye is added so that one can see what's done and what's not done. As you may imagine, this is tedious, often hot work. Usually an entire chemical-resistant suit should be worn as you're more or less right in amongst the plants you're treating. So, slow and painstaking, but it does work. I'd think-again this is just me-that as an option, this one could save the even larger job of soil removal/replacement. And depending on your state's regulations, permits may be required to do work in the aquatic environment, which is as it should be IMO. Once the herbicide is taking effect-before the dead stuff has withered away-one can begin planting plugs of the good stuff right in amongst the matrix of dead and dying Phrag or cattails. We do lots of this kind of work, and a total transformation, from a monoculture of just the one invasive species into a nice and much more ecologically integrated mix of various native bulrushes, pickerel weed, arrowhead, Juncus, and whatever else I'm forgetting at the moment, can be achieved. BTW, here in Wisconsin, we have the native latifolia type cattails, which I try to retain whenever possible, but we also have the non-native super tall and narrow angustifolia as well as the hybrid between the two. I actually really like the native version, but I hate those invasive types. Some folks scratch their heads at seeing us treating cattails, considering that plant to always be desirable. But they don't realize there are invasive types, and short of Phragmites, they are just about the worst at taking over a site and rendering it much less interesting and ecologically intact than it might have been. +oM