Hi Jeanne I'd be interested in Van Sion Queen of the North Little Witch Acropolis I'll have a new list in May of fresh bulbs we'll be getting in Fall. And there are some on my list right now, but it needs updating. Pam

I have a pondmaster pump with a prefilter attached. That has worked well for about 4 years and I love it. However, because my BF, on whose property my pond resides, dislikes algae in any form, I am thinking of adding a skippy filter or a UV light this year. I know that algae goes through blooms but he hates it with a passion. I'm hoping that the skippy filter will reduce the time. If that's doesn't work quickly enough for him I'll get a UV light. Plants: in the pond, I like the hornwort and anacaris (sp?), and floating water hyacinth and water lettuce. I have creeping jenny on the edges and in the rocks on the sides of the stream and that is perenniel and, as it grows, it will spread across the water. I also have a water lily that produces every summer in spite of my "wholesome neglect" (this is a family joke). On dry land I also have a lavender plant and a miniture rosebush that will be moved this spring (long story why I'm moving them) - the lavender is so wonderful when I brush against it. So is the mint, but I won't plant that again. Fortunately it has finally spread to an area that is not interferring with other plants Oh, I also have bloody dock to put in the stream or bog area if I get around to making one and a curly rush that hasn't done too well, but it is still alive. They are both wet-footed plants. So is lobilia which is pretty. One year I took a foam kneeling pad and cut holes in it and stuck ajuna in the holes, threw it on the water to float and they grew really well. Once they filled in and were making runner babies you couldn't even see the foam any more. I also tried this with hosta and it worked okay. If you have a boggy area, which it looks like you might from the pictures, there are many plants that will grow in this: pickerel plant, iris, cattail(watch out this can be invasive), and others.. I'm sure someone else will add to the list. The funnest (is that really a word) part of ponding is that you experiment and sometimes come up with something so weird it is fabulous!!! Anne

It should be no problem moving them. I've noticed with planting cannas from rhizomes that some will sprout roots and some just won't- not sure why. I've pulled rhizomes up after a whole growing season and they were still solid but never sprouted any roots or top growth. Once you have rhizome with fresh roots though, you can do just about anything you like and it will be fine as long as it's getting lots of sun and lots of water.

I don't think rent will save much financially, some but not much if you factor in the tax effect of everything. To clarify, I'm not in dire straights, Unless i really screw up or lose my job too, my house isn't in danger. I'll just have to control the budget more. current home is at the point right before contract, so no penelty there. unfortunately, closing costs by me run around that. to purchase my current house the cost of everything was about $14K. that did include setting up the escrow account, but actual fees were in the $10K range. Thats not counting a downpayment. Basically its a feeding frenzy for everyone involved from the lawyers, to the county, title insurance, etc etc yeah, I know it costs money to have children. when we started this plan, we figured that her salary would cover some of the transaction costs, and the increased mortgage for a little bit. Still doable to have the kids, but not the bigger house just yet. maybe at some point we'll move outside the area and actually get a big house, seems easier everywhere else.