I looked at the pictures pretty closely and it appears the water is returning through rigid transparent pipe. My reasons are the total lack of water droplets in the air and the very low level of splash in the pond. That is going to be a problem for you. Problem 1. The pipe is likely made for that company by some manufacturer out there and it would be protected by a patent along with any connectors. Problem 2. I am guessing but the input end of the tubing would have to be sunk in concrete or similar weighty substance to avoid having it fall into or across the pond. You might notice the far end of all those arching pipes are hidden by a stone mass. The force of the water flowing through the pipe adds to the problem of a securely anchored base. Problem 3. Transparent tubing grows algae really fast. It would be blocked and really ugly really fast unless the water was loaded with chlorine or some other algaecide. Keeping it clean would be an ongoing task. Problem 4. Re Problem 3: You might have a pond free of algae but any splash is going to kill some plants around the pond if you need that much chemical. Problem 5. The 2 foot width of the pond is going to require the output end of the tubing be very close to the surface of the water to prevent water loss from splashing. It may be so close you will lose the aesthetic you want. On the other hand, maybe my observations are all wrong. You might want to do a little more research. A smaller water arch coming from the ends of a shorter pond might be doable. Sandy

I'm assuming it is a poly stock tank? If you are going to bury it, make sure you have a flat surface in the hole for the bottom to sit on. A layer of sand in the bottom helps protect against any sharp rocks and also aids in leveling. Leveling is really important. If the tank is unlevel it will really show. When you set the tank, fill it with a little bit of water, not too much so you can still make adjustments. Let it sit for a day or two and then recheck your level and make adjustments if necessary. Do not get in a hurry and take care leveling the tank or you'll be sorry later.:) I wouldn't worry about the color as it won't be that noticeable once the pond becomes established. You need a pump that is adequate for your water volume. Filtration can be homemade or bought. Many of us opt for homemade filtration as it can be cheaper and more effective. Google pond forums or water garden forums and you'll come up with other sites to check out for help with your project. We're not allowed to post other ponding forums here. They have filters that catch the key words and prevent you from posting or linking to some others. Try the link below and you might find some other useful information.:) Here is a link that might be useful: Try this link

You have cymbidium(s). Very easy to grow orchids in coastal southern California. The dead looking parts are called "back bulbs". They will never grow leaves or flowers again but they are certainly a viable and alive part of the plant. As long as they are connected to the rest of the plant they won't do anything. More on that in a minute. As for fertilizers, at this time of year they don't need anything, just watered enough to keep them from drying out for too long, about every 10-14 days depending on rainfall. Nothing should be done to them while they are producing flowers. Actually the only thing you could do is use some thin bamboo stakes to tie up the flower spikes, they'll look much better when you do that. Beginning in April as long as you are done enjoying the flowers, the plant should be divided into several plants. Each plant should have at least 3 to 4 solid bulbs, with at least one of them being new from the past growing season. This is called "dividing" into "divisions". Now back to those back bulbs - if you "disconnect" them from newer parts of the plants, preferably in sets of two or three connected to each other, they will sprout new growth from dormant growing "eyes" (sort of like a potato). It may take a year or two or three to bloom again based on your growing talents but it's a great way to increase your collection cheaply. The back bulbs are surrounded by dead leaf tissue but they are loaded with green life. Peel off the dead stuff as the plant will look much better and it will eliminate places for bugs to hide. Anyway, divisions do not need to be limited to 3 or 4 bulbs, they can be a lot bigger obviously. Use black hard plastic pots just like the one pictured but give plants only enough growing room for two years. There's a lot more to repotting and these links should help. http://cymbidium.org/cymbidium.html http://orquideas.com/growing/potting/cymbpot.html http://www.orchardnursery.com/pdfs/orchids/repotcyms.pdf Have fun! Matt

I'm not the most experienced rose gardener (though I am an experienced _gardener_) but I'll go ahead and take a shot. First, I'm not so sure about fertilizing with Osmocote right away--I use organic fertilizers myself, specifically Roses Alive! from Gardens Alive!, and I admit that with that I do mix it right into the soil, but I've heard others say that some chemical fertilizers are not a good idea with new plants, though that may be more for bareroot plants. Next, unless the roses in question are hybrid musks or some other variety that can tolerate semi-shade like the Buck rose Country Dancer, I would definately put roses in the full sun and not a semi-sunny spot. Actually, since they are potted, it might be best to leave them there just a few days until they adjust to being repotted, but then I would find a place in as full sun as possible. The roses will be happier and happier roses are better resistant to diseases. I also confine myself to the allegedly organic methods of disease control, and in the last couple of years I've tried them all. I haven't had much luck controlling blackspot with Neem, though I know others have reported success. I'll go ahead and add the bacterial control sometimes sold under the brand name Serenade as another I've had poor luck with. What has worked better for me is the Copper soaps and the Sulpher-based solutions. But you do need to go ahead any apply it now, and continue doing so on a very regular basis, to avoid the worst cases of blackspot--if you wait until it show symptoms the rose will have a harder and longer recovery. To be honest, even then you are likely to have some blackspot, though hopefully not enough to kill your enjoyment of the roses or weaken the roses themselves too much. Again, the variety of rose is important--some roses are much more resistant to fungal diseases than others. Two other comments on rose care--once roses start growing and hopefully blooming, they do appreciate rather more water and fertilizer than other plants of a similar size might. Are you planning on keeping them in pots? I am forced to do all my gardening in pots due to my current living arrangements, but some varieties of roses are better than others in containers. I keep bugging my friends, coworkers, and casual aquantances to take the roses that have outgrown my pots as gifts, but I've had only limited success with this as they all seem to most want the roses I actually want to keep :). By the way, what size are the pots you have them in? I use 16" pots myself, the kind that are deep as possible, though I have several roses that are in their second year that will soon need to be placed in 20" pots if I can't give them away. If you have yours in anything smaller than 16", I've found that the rose will outgrow it very quickly unless it is a miniature or something very slow growing. If the rose is underpotted, it will again become stressed and be unhappy/unhealthy.