Hello, you could try instead of removing the paint add a liner. You could try kijji or craigs list for used pond or pool liners. Or because the tub is small try off cuts at a pond store. You would need to get creative to tuck or fix the liner to the tub, but it may be cheaper then trying to re epoxy and this way you would know there wouldn't be chemicals leaching into the water. Just a thought good luck.

no brainer! the GT262, it already has a blade and chains which is atleast a $500 attachments. I agree with Kompressor buy a walk behind tiller for tilling. You can find them on craigslist dirt cheap rear tine or front tine. I like rear tine, easier to handle.

NannerBelle- thank you! I swear there is a new piece of land being built on every day. I work in Davidson, a 20 mile trip west, and even 5 years ago that was all fairly barren around there. Now there are lots with houses dotting the landscape! Rootdigger- hello and thank you! Traffic everywhere here, worse now than it was even a few years back! But, solace in the garden you forget about that pretty quick. JQ Public- hello and thanks for the welcome! JIM- thank you for that. And howdy! Weekends can be noisy...race weekends especially, loads of traffic. I plan my quiet time around all that jazz. I have LOADS of questions, but the forums are tricky I dont know sometimes where to post them all! Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes.Lyle

Hi leafwatcher, and welcome to the forum. Warning: it's as addictive as the hostas! I live about 100 miles due east of you with similar conditions, and Great Expectations is my favorite of the 800 or so varieties I grow. This is a hosta that, unlike most, has some very specific requirements to grow well. And if grown well, it will be truly spectacular--my largest measures 32 inches tall, 5 1/2 feet across, and looks good all season. First and most importantly, GE must be planted shallowly. Too many people plant this one too deep, since it's going to be a large plant at maturity. When planted this way, GE will, over the course of a few years, dwindle in size and then simply disappear. You want the crown of the plant right at the top of the soil, with only a very thin layer of dirt covering it. Secondly, GE need plenty of sun in order to thrive. If planted in heavy shade, it will grow at a glacially slow pace, taking years to throw a new division. It needs at least half sun to do really well, and it will take absolutely full sun. Most of mine are planted in half to three quarter sun. The third requirement is lots of water, which this year just isn't a problem! But in a dry summer, make sure you water GE quite deeply and regularly. If give these three things, GE will be the most beautiful hosta in your garden. The same growing conditions apply to Thunderbolt, Dream Weaver, and Dream Queen, as these are all selections from GE. Your hosta list looks very nice indeed, not a bum plant in the lot. You do, however, need to add a Montana Aureomarginata to your garden as soon as possible, unless the one you have listed as Aureo Marginata is a montana rather than a fortunei or a ventricosa. If you can't find MA at a good price locally, email me privately--I have about 20 of these that I'm growing out. And then of course, you will want to get a few minis and small hostas--everything you currently have is medium to large. And then you will want to start digging up your lawn to plant more hostas, and raiding the kid's college fund to buy more hostas, and, well, you get the idea--these plants are majorly addictive. Enjoy!