I have about 5 feet of "beach" and the frogs love it! The shelf on my pond is about 8 inches under water. It made for too steep a slope so I lifted the liner and made another shelf about 2-3 inches higher behind it (like steps). I have bigger rocks (my shelves are mostly for rocks not plants) on the bottom shelf and they hold back the gravel and rocks above. From the shelf to the edge of the liner is 1-3 feet. The beach is a half circle shape so the center is the widest. The beach is the lowest part of my liner edge so any overflow runs out through the gravel. The fabric under the liner - a polyster blanket - extends another 4-6 inches beyond the liner and has gravel on it too. That keeps dirt from getting back in the pond. I planted ajuga behind because it stays low and keeps the weeds/grass from invading. The edge settled over the winter and my water level wouldn't stay high enough so I lifted the liner and made a cement collar (about 4" wide - on top of the blanket) that lifts the liner up maybe another inch. The pond level is much better now. Everyone loves to play on the beach. The rocks on the bottom shelf get changed. Sometimes we put bigger ones that are above water level - then we get a pool effect behind them. We stack rocks and/or add a little water line for a tiny stream. It will keep a 6 year old or a 22 year old happy for hours. The frogs love to sit in the shallow water. The fish stay away until I rinse the gravel and wash little bugs out. Then they all come and check it out. I do stir the gravel and rinse it occasionally or it gets dirty and stinky. Some of the gravel makes it to the bottom of the pond but I just scoop it up and toss it back on the beach. sam

Does it look like this? If so, it's a 'Blue Crown', aka Caerulea. I don't know what's up with your flower bud problem, but I might know about your 'no fruit' problem- most (maybe all, experts?) caeruleas are not self fertile. You need to 'cross' it with another caerulea - one that's not a clone of the same mother, as geneticly all clones of the same plant are the same plant. I was having the same problem with mine.. I'd hand polinate the flowers (with pollen from the same plant) and they'd just shrivel & fall off anyway. (prolly what happened to your missing flowers) I solved the problem by picking up a little gallon sized caerulea at the store- I *knew* it was different stock as mine came from my sister's back yard in Los Angeles.. Now I can cross between the plants & I get fruit all the time.

Same potting media I always use for transplanting my seedlings. This is their second transplanting actually. Same potting mix as the time before, so, unless they've suddenly developed a sensitivity. . . The soil they were in was still decently wet from the watering the day before, so after transplanting them I just moved them back under the lights. Like I said, this was their seconding repotting, this one much less traumatic then the first since they were already in their individual pots, I didn't have to do too big a number on their roots. Yes, they always have a phosphorus deficiency, every doggone year it's the same song and dance and they're like that from the day their born. But this year maybe extra bad. Guess I'll plug in the space heater overnight and see if that helps. The fish and seaweed is a liquid emulsion, so it should be useable (though, I admit it's new to me this year, so maybe I'm mistaken). I have been fairly happy with the results with the rest of my seedlings, from onions to peppers, the rest of the year with it though.

Glad you like the idea! Sadly, it wouldn’t work in my place but I love the look. I’m sure it isn’t cheap but I think of it as a two for one - fireplace cladding + art all in one! Good luck finishing your space. It’s looking fab!