The term ghetto just means an area where a group that is similar resides. It has become a derogatory term over time evoking an image of someplace that looks deteriorated and slum like. In rose talk I think it just represents the area where all the plants you don't know what to do with end up until you can figure it out. I have a beautiful pot garden of roses on my patio in the summer. These are roses that will spend their lives in nice decorative pots. I have no intention of planting them anywhere. But I also have a pot ghetto. This is the spot were I have roses that I'm maturing in nursery cans, either bands or my rooted cuttings, and isn't the neatest place. I also have a large area that is my seedling nursery where I keep all my babies. I do call my winter storage for all the pots a pot ghetto because it's pretty unsightly. Usually a pot ghetto is messy and unorderly, more like the classic impression of a "ghetto", and a garden is cleaner and neater or more decorative. I probably use the term ghetto for my patio pots sometimes too though. People understand it and it just comes out. It's easy. I try not to now because they really are a garden unto themselves. They have their own particular set of needs and challenges like each of my beds do. Besides being the short hand of the times I think another component if using the DH, DW, etc. is for privacy and internet anonymity. Some people don't want to put their names out there or advertise their status.

Harborrose, it isn't so much that I want to plant teas, it is more that I want to plant found roses. I have several hybrid perpetual type found roses in my garden as well. HPs are probably my favorite class. I also love the OB-OGRs but they don't thrive here. Mendocino Rose - You make a valid point. The thing about a pot ghetto that bothers me is that I see it as an unfinished chore. If I could get over that I would relax more about it. Jeri - I'll let you know how Edith Perry turns out. I've always liked the name Edith, though I've never known anyone with that name. I think that may have snagged my interest. Besides, the picture was pretty. Rosefolly

So many questions, Marianne! I'll take them in order. The doors are nothing but simple frames made with pressure treated 2x2 balusters which were on sale at Lowes. I added a 5th piece, which extends a few inches below the frame, and rests on the 2x4 support at the bottom corner of each opening. Here's a door in place: I couldn't figure out a way to attach the doors, without them getting in my way or the neighboring tree's way when I'm gettin in and out of the ghetto, so I made them to be fully removed. The tolerances are tight enough the doors fit snugly in their opinings, and I simply remove them and set them on top of the ghetto. Here's shot of the back of a door: After gluing and screwing the corners of the frame, I reinforced each corner with a galvanized L-bracket, and then clad the whole thing with 1//2" hardware fabric. It makes a sturdy door. Here's a closeup of the bottom corner with the extended leg: Shelving and light: I'll have to play it by ear, and stage plants which need more sun on the higher and outside shelves, while shade lovers get lower interior spots. The location is beside the water, so I'll get all morning sun reflected off the water. Then there's about 2 hours of afternoon sun on one end of the ghetto. The Pear Tree shading it is coming down this year, so the ghetto will be in full all day sun. I'll use burlap for shading any sections which need it. Watering: The entire ghetto will be plumbed with drip irrigation equipment, ranging from individual emitters for some pots, to small sprinklers for sections, and even mist heads for other sections. The 1/2" main line tubing will run through eye-bolts in the roof rafters, and 1/4" feeder lines will run down into the ghetto from there. I'll hook up a garden hose at one point, and water the whole thing at once. Drainage will be through the floor, which is 1/2" hardware fabric over the floor joists. I'll have to experiment a bit with highly placed plants draining onto lower plants. It shouldn't be a problem. This will probably become my new cold frame next winter. I made the interior walls smooth and free of obstructions, so I can cover them with heavy clear plastic for winter, and I may even invest in polycarbonate greenhouse sheets for that purpose in the future. I'll probably continue to use the old cold frame, but it will no longer be the primary WS location. I could dig it out and fill it with good garden soil, and make a semi-raised and covered bed out of it.

Tip=Use new sharp drill bits- minimal investment- maximum JOY! Hey- my husband came up with a great idea to keep containers tidy- and not readily viewable from most neighbors- I think he thought I might stop saying a want a green house- But that has not happened- yet. Although, my back hurts much less from lifting from the ground because of his thoughtful gesture- He put up 2 sets of rubber coated steel wire shelves (from Home Depot) along the whole length of the west side of the garage, and made a plastic drape that can be rolled down from the roof to protect the wee little seedlings from rain and hail and help to insulate them a bit as well. I don't have a great shot of it but this might give you and idea... The wood 2x2s support the plastic roll down curtain when it is down- The angled support 2x2s also have holes drilled through them so I can move the pegs that keep the bottom weighted rolled to a cople of different positions. It really is a great system- and is really quite strong- I did test it's limits this year though- I had gallon pots sitting in trays of water after a heavy storm and huge buss tubs of soaking dirt all along both shelves- and finally- the shelves did collapse with hundreds of pounds of weight... But a few new clips on the wall of the garage- and putting the gallon pots on the ground- and draining the water from the soil took care of it- and now it is back to almost new!