Hi, this is what I have, some have more color photos than others. All have $$$$ plants than I can purchase. Bell"s Daylily Garden 2008, 2009 Browns Ferry Gardens 2008, 2009 (2 copies) Countryside Daylilies 2007 Daylily World 2009 Floyd Cove Nursery 2008, 2009 Frank Smith Daylilies 2009 Lady Bug Daylilies 2009 Marietta Gardens 2008 Springwood Gardens 2008 (only cover has photos inside/out) Valley of the Daylily 2008, 2009 (4 page of color photos) whew--lots of ink used in these catalogs. I forgot what incredibly lovely ones there are out there. Unfortunately many not hardy here (or maybe fortunately $$ :) Water Mill Gardens 2008 2009

Im glad my response helped. Youve pretty much got it down - plants do naturally develop more shallow fibrous root systems in cultivation which leaves them far more prone to drought. But youll still want to encourage the roots down by being sparing with your watering all year around. As far as the plants are concerned its easy to find yourself spoiled for choice. The most definitively alpine are cushion formers of Androsace, Saxifraga, Draba, Dionysia and Raoulia. Pretty much any of the Porphyrion saxes are wonderful cushion, mat and rosette formers if youve got a space with a bit of shade. Then silver saxes have nice foliage, are easier and like full sun here- though dont have quite as elegant flowers. Theres too many species and cultivars to name, but the saxifrage society has a nice website - http://www.saxifraga.org/plants/saxbase/taxon.asp The others contain a lot of tricky and un-hardy species, but those that you can get the cultivation right are all pretty much golden. Of the Androsaces id recommend carnea, hedraeantha and sempervivoides as all being pretty easy and reliable even in relatively heavy soil - its a shame the other genera dont have similar species. Silene acualis is another one of my favorites, quite unlike the other campions. Ranunculus has some pretty idealistic alpine buttercups such as calandrinioides and alpestris . Im a fan of the dwarf willows as well - theres some really tiny and useful prostrate shrubs such as Salix serpyllifolia and herbacea, as well as x boydii. Celmisia semi-cordata, Bolax glebaria, Helichrysums (milfordiae, arwea, sessilioides) and Anternnaria are some more that really stand out in my rock garden. But the end its a all a matter of taste, and i really dont what problems and opportunities youll climate will give you. But anyway, best of luck with whatever you choose to grow.

I dunno.I did a ground garden and it was really not as easy as one might imagine, for reasons probably more particular to Phoenix and my own yard situation. First, I had to remove/rake an area of decorative rocks to make space for it in my backyard. Hopefully you don't have to bother with that,though. I think the worst thing is, if you've got a bunch of caliche to remove, it can be labor intensive. However, once you remove it, it is a done deal. If you have any caliche, btw, I highly recommend watering it first, otherwise it's even harder to chop through. The other thing is, the soil can be awfully thick and muddy, and is alkaline/salty, so depending on what you're trying to grow, you may need to amend it anyhow. PS. Be very aware of drainage. The land beneath my garden area is just a little sloped, which actually works well for drainage. Even though we don't get that much rain, I believe you want to have an area for your garden that will get rain, but not be flooded. Also, be aware of the amount of sun, any barriers, shade, etc. All of these things will play a factor in how/what you can grow. Good luck! PS. One more thing...weeds. I've been lucky so far, but I'm sure once the spring hits this will be a challenge!

Roundup only damages things that it gets on the foliage of, Bob, so, as David said, as long as you do it on a day when there's no wind you can use it right up against other things without hurting them. Roundup in the soil doesn't hurt plants--at least not the normal amount you'd use when spraying. And if you've used RU in an area you can pretty much plant new things as soon as it's dried on whatever you sprayed--tho I'm inclined to wait a day or two just to "be sure." I don't think KBG would make it up thru 7" or more of soil, but if you happen to have any bindweed growing in your grass, that will go thru just about anything. If no bindweed or other tap-rooted things, like thistle, it seems to me you should be fine. A couple inch "buffer" like David uses seems to me it would make the lawn "upkeep" over summer a lot easier. Skybird