Very nice. Really like the rock shoals, DW has a very good eye. Using big rocks is smart. Once algae covers the rocks a bit they tend to disappear a bit, bigger rocks disappear less. Some things you might want to consider... It looks like there are some gaps in between rocks that could be filled with a little bit of mortar. I know the look you're going, you want natural not mortared rock wall, so you don't want to grout them all. But when they're underwater things change. Just like in natural gaps will fill with muck. And you won't be able to see these gaps as well even with no algae. Not a big deal but imo, better to fill with mortar. You can still leave deep gaps, but they can be filled a bit. At least as far as I can tell from the pictures. Not saying this is important at all. The cracking mortar isn't a big deal of course. For other readers... Reducing water in mortar reduces shrinkage. Like dry mashed potatoes. Two 1/2" coats would reduce shrinkage. Or doing small sections. Each section shrinks and then an adjacent section is done. The shrinkage crack would happen where it's thinnest, over the folds. You can fill the larger cracks, like say more than 1/16", if you liked. This is a good idea to lock it all down, but not super important. What is kind of important is to wait 3 or 4 weeks before filling with water. 4 weeks is best. You can wet it down right away, a little standing water would be OK. There is a lot of debate on whether keeping cement damp is needed. 30 years ago it was a requirement. Cement never stops curing and it does need some moisture. So to me, in summer, I do think it helps. And it's so easy being at the bottom of a pond. The 3 or 4 weeks are needed for the crystal structure to form enough to be fairly waterproof and to completely enclose the lime. If you add water too soon the lime can leach out and weaken the mortar a lot. People fear the lime leaching out and causing high pH and can be a small issue with uncured cement. But the weakening of the mortar is of more concern imo. Before filling the pond hose down everything. Mortar, rocks, liner, until there's a few inches of standing water. No reason to scrub anything or use anything other than water. Let that sit for 12 hours or longer. Pump out that water. Now you'd be ready to fill the pond. This wash down gets rid of dirt and mortar dust and gives any surface lime a chance to dissolve into the water. Some people might tell you to wash the mortar with acid to "remove the lime". An acid wash has the opposite effect. The surface of cement reacts with CO2 forming a kind of "rust" called calcite. The CO2 can be in the air or water. Calcite has a pH of about 7 and helps seal the cement beneath. An acid wash would dissolve the calcite leaving fresh brand new cement with a surface pH of 12. Formation of calcite is also why you don't want a lot of standing water during the cure. You want CO2 in the air getting to the cement.

Arum italicum, perhaps. Here is a link that might be useful: A. italicum

Don . Always glad to enable. :p I had no intentions of looking at or even buying GwtW. Chris has it listed in his catalog but there is no picture, so I hadn’t paid it any mind when I was scouting my first order earlier this year. Then BAM I saw it. I mistook it for Bridal Falls at first, but looking at my Bridal Falls now, the only similarity is the white margin. The leaf shape, overall size, and mound shape are completely different with GwtW. The picture that Olga has on her website does it justice. It’s going to be a biggun’ so mind where you plant it once you do decide to purchase it. :) Ademink . I actually ordered from Chris this spring as well via mail order. There were 43 hostas total in that order. After this second order arrives I’m going to need a sign in my front yard that says “Garden brought to you by Hallson”. Here is the link to my original post when my first order came . . . it was a great day. :) My First Hallson Order Jan . Shopping for new plants is something I do best !!! I do have a big task ahead of me getting these all in the ground, but it will so be worth it in 5 years when everything starts filling in and my hours of toying back and forth endlessly over which plant should go where will pay off. Thanks again everyone ! Ludi

I am so sorry Shirley , here I posted again on the wrong thread! It's a good thing Susie finds me and brings me back to the right forum, again! Boy i found my post wayyy in the left field somewhere... I'll paste it here: UPDATE: mnf: waiting for spring #4 Posted by grolikecrazy 6-7 UT (My Page) on Fri, Feb 6, 09 at 0:11 I got my box of goodies yesterday and I finally found the posting thread it belongs to!I hope it belongs here! The box contained: 1.A personalized card with 'A note from Shirley' on it telling me she's missed me posting on the forum, that is so sweet she noticed . G. A tiny greenhouse with peat pellets in each cut. R a red sun visor 0 an oven mit and dish towel L "Love lies bleeding' seeds I love it. But why is it called that? Planted. and 3 Lilium bulbs to boot! I iris seeds'Clyde Redmond' planted too K Kinky cute bracelet E Earrings C Coffee, cookies & Mug and church cookbook, will try the 'Tahitian Ham ' fur sure! R Runner beans 'Painted Lady' planted A Angel to watch over me- Thank you for caring about me. Z Zinnia Envy, chartreuse color, my favorite color! Y Yellow Lupine seeds Yeah, I was all out of Lupines!!! Thank you so much Shirley! Chris