A plant is just a plant. ItÂs all about providing it with what it needs. Sure you could grow huge yields by placing that same 20 cup in a hydroponics system. YouÂd have to make a few changes to the cup and the media you currently have it in but it would be happily growing and producing just find. IÂll give you the plans and a picture because I just happen to have plans for an 8 cell system that uses 20-32 0z cups. The cups are common in recycling. YouÂll have to buy the pump, 2-4 gang valves maybe the air hose. In fact you could even grow them in 35mm container in a hydroponic set up. If you hadnÂt worked with hydroponics before it would be a challenge to you. Some of the words and phrases would be alien but some would be the same. ItÂs just a different way of doing the same thing to get the same results. Now I had pictures of yields on plants but they were deleted. Now yield is the result of pollination but take that electric tooth brush to those flowers and everyone will produce fruit. The fruit may be small true but thatÂs because their not getting all they need to produce larger fruit. Try using a mixed hydroponic fertilizer every fourth watering then a common ph neutralizer from a pet store every 8th. Problem solved. ItÂs not all a matter of perception or perspective. But willingness too.

Hi all, what a great post! A mix that worked very well for me is edible fennels + verbena bonariensis in the back of a mainly yellow and purple border. Another one is purple leaved beets + pale blue annual verbena. About tomatoes I have to agree with Chris_Ont: they are a great background for purple/blue flowers (in my case torenia). Next year I want to try Swiss Chard and purple Basil, I've seen them in a lot of French gardens during my holidays and they combined well with many annuals and perennials.

I also think that Mr. B has a cool idea there. Or you might want to try kind of a reverse hang-on overflow. Saltwater tanks often use this system of filtration when they use a sump but the tank isn't pre-drilled with an overflow box inside. Do you know what I'm talking about? If not, talk to the people at your local saltwater fish store. Normally the water is flowing INTO the overflow from the tank and then going down into the sump, but you could just reverse the flow, without needing a sump, so that the water is coming up from the false bottom (would require the right plumbing, which would probably also involve drilling the tank) and then flowing into the tank, so that it appears the water is flowing out of the aquarium and down the waterfall. Another animal suggestion I forgot about is a Fire-Belly Toad. They are really a frog, and have very attractive colours. You do need to keep them in small groups (just like PDFs), but they are better swimmers, and are semi-aquatic, so they actually require a larger water area than PDFs. I don't think they're excellent swimmers, so 12" might be a bit deep, but it might be okay if you have some emergent aquatics, like a large Amazon Sword. Actually, I just realized that if you make the pool 12" deep, it will visually divide the height of your tank exactly in half, and that is generally considered to be UNaesthetic. Thirds are more attractive, so you should actually make the pool only 8-10" deep. I think that large schools of neons are absolutely stunning! They seem to be the perfect fish for planted aquariums. If you want things to look larger than they are though (the 'bonsai' fish idea), then cat sharks are a good choice. They will eventually grow huge, and I don't know if they're plant safe, but they really do look like mini sharks! They even have the smooth skin, unlike those so called 'Bala sharks'. Their scales are so big they look like normal fish, not sharks. Cat sharks are brackish when very young though, so that might not work. Perhaps a figure-eight puffer, which would also eat any snails that appear? I don't know, but cory cats are also great. Aren't they cute? =) Oh yeah, if your entire false bottom is 12" high, then you are taking away lots of your wonderful height for the land part! You have the option for some nice taller plants if you keep the land level lower. Also, you will need to hide that false bottom, so then the terrarium tank will appear much smaller than the aquarium tank, and I don't know if you want that with them right beside each other. I have seen water dished for cats and dogs that have a small jug of water attached to the bowl. The jug can be full of water but it doesn't overflow into the dish. Perhaps you could do something like that, with the same principle? (whatever it is, I'm sure Nathan knows). =) Nathan: I have a Mac. I would use Safari, which is better, but I don't like the way the bookmarks work, so I use Internet Explorer. I'll deal with it. =)

Eileen--I know what you are saying. We just got back from a road trip to AZ, and the landscaping is very different. But at least you aren't constantly clipping, watering, feeding, mowing, pruning, raking, weeding, etc. Time to do other things you like. I spent an hour on my knees last night weeding, not done yet either. Jasdip--I was thinking ratatouille!! Some time ago you shared a fresh spagetti sauce recipe which has become a tried and true for me. I think of you every time I make it. Raven--I spent a while looking at glass totems as you suggested. That looks like a lot of fun to do, and the shopping fun as well. I'm just thinking of a cute teapot I saw in a thrift shop, almost bought it too. Maybe it's still there. How cute that would be in a garden! Thanks for the idea. Is your YTT inside or outside? I wonder if they would work as a houseplant. Steppy--I hear you about the pot size. They are actually 14" pots (7 gal.--took one big bag potting soil). This would be the minimum size for tomatoes IMHO, but last year I did have a great cherry crop from a potted tomato and the ones in the ground gave me nothing, so I'm hopeful I'll get some from the pots this year. Patti--I don't know your zone, but it might grow in FL. You could ask in a good nursery (not HD!). Lindalou--yep, I have 4 Christmas cactus which were just repotted in fresh soil. They are as beautiful as orchids when blooming, but it's so long between blooms, once a year. We have a lot of other yard to deal with as well--40 rose bushes, in particular. Trees, too much lawn, lots of hedges to be clipped too often. I only showed you the good stuff. Thank you everyone for your kind words. I'm so flattered you like my gardening efforts. Susan