Hi, will be a great project but the best place to get answers is the "Stained glass & mosaics forum" Go to top of the GJ page where it says forums & click on that & 3 come up"Garden" "Home" & "Nature". Click on "Home" * then go down the list & it is on right side ,last forum. They are the experts & some are teachers of the art!! You can click on some of their work to see what I'm talking about. Good Luck with your project!! Jan

This project sounds awesome!!! Welcome aboard too!!! I am glad to hear that the mirror won't be left as is as the birds are likely to injure them seves with it, at least I heard that somewhere....What substrate are you using? This will be 4 sided(oblisk you said?), ohhh, sounds cool! Have you been checking out Flag's Triple Garden Bling Extravaganza??? She used mirror too! So harsh winters make me hope that your substrate will not be wood, as it will swell and crack the mosaicing....I use outdoor grout, I buy it in a tile shop(flooring shop) not at a box store, and also use outdoor sealer, but that is because we get wet,cold,freezing here...If it's metal...well show us pics!!!! We will cheer you on all winter with works in progress pics..that's all we ask...heh heh! So with mosaicing, it's a good rule to make sure your grout lines(space between pcs) is no more than 1/4 inch, as it will be more prone to crack during bad freezes...even with sealer...I have learned! So either outdoor mortar or the silicone is fine. Hopefully someone else will chime in to add more stuff for you!!! Jane Here is a link that might be useful:

I think it would be best to explain what a "good posting" is by showing an example, and then breaking it down and showing "why" it is good. Let's pretend that "Gardener_Jane" has made a post that she has seeds to offer for trade. The following is her post: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were Winter Sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow". *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greenish-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds. I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible. Thanks for looking at my list! Gardener_Jane Okay! Great post Jane ;-) Let's break it down to see exactly why Jane's post IS good: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were winter sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow." Jane gives some vital introductory information. Her seeds are hardy for Winter Sowing, and she says they're lovely and easy to grow. ----------- *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greeny-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) Janes list is organized well, it's in ABC order, and she's included both the common and botanical names of the plants. "Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack)" Jane lets us know that this seed pack contains just a dozen seeds because the count is under the GardenWeb suggested miniumum seedpack amount of 24 (two dozen) seeds. "I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds." Jane has suggested what she would like to trade for. She does NOT state that she is ONLY LOOKING FOR THOSE SEEDS so she may be open to other suggestions....you can still initiate a trade even if you don't have what she's looking for and she'll either say yes or no. Never take a trade decline personally. Jane may have a small garden so she only has room for her favorites. "I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible." Jane is letting us know what she does and what she expects. "Thanks for looking at my list!" Okay....Jane is friendly and she seems to know how to trade. Initiating a trade with Jane will be a good trade experience.

Sounds like a good plan to me. The seedlings tend to like more moisture to germinate in and also as youngsters, but it can be a bit of a balancing act not to drown them! Perhaps not the ideal time if year to start seeds but with your set up they should be ok. What kinds have you ordered and from whom? You won't necessarily get what is seen on some sellers sites as they rarely come true from seeds, except in the case of the true hybrids from top sellers that some if the growers on here use, such as Rinoa and Mr Ko for example. I'm sure you will be able to get your plants to flower in the near future given your zone. Your growing season will be much longer and sunnier than mine I would imagine.... only 8 hrs daylight during the cooler months and we have had -17f temps a few years ago! Some growers can get them to that crucial stage within their first year, that is extremely good progress, most should flower within two years I would say. Here in the UK mine took 5 years to form buds but they never opened that year, nor in year 6 or 7, but this season two plants have opened their flowers. It was mainly a problem I had with my fertilisers, that's now sorted and my plants are thriving. It would be good if you post when you plant the seeds, then any extra tips/info can be discussed. Watch they don't get too hot in the closed boxes or whatever as its amazing how hot and steamy things can get in there....I'm famous for boiling seeds to death on more than one occasion! Gill