i use stone in alot of different ways in my gardens. they are all lined with local field stone. i also put alot of it in the gardens. i try to get my plants and shrubs to grow over the edges to break them up. i do line my gardens with a weed barrier before i mulch. i also spray the rock borders with roundup 2 times a year. i try to keep mine looking natural. i have seen many rock borders that look awkward, especially when the garden doesnt have any stone in it other than the border. i can understand botann's opinion cause i know he bases it on his strict japanese gardening rules.

Well, the party line answer is clearly both, and obviously for me too, there is enjoyment of the process and the results. I think that must be true for any gardener who is involved in the making of their own garden space and who isn't getting paid for doing it. But I find that as I get older and farther down the garden path, I would like to enjoy the results more, and I find that the process itself can sometimes be tedious, expensive, require too much patience, and overwhelming. So I am going to be brutally honest here -- while I enjoy the work of gardening to some extent, if I could hire more people to do more things for me and just enjoy the results myself, I would do it. The problem is that, for the most part, if you are a real plant geek like I am (and a whole lot of others who responded above), you can't really hire people to arrange plants for you in the way you want them. So there is a certain amount that you have to be involved with yourself. Being involved again in the creation of a new garden, and having left a mature one, I have to say that so far, I enjoyed the mature one more. The last few years I spent there I did work a lot in the garden still, of course, but the proportion of time spent just enjoying the garden was greater. That doesn't mean that I was sitting when I enjoyed it. It doesn't mean that I didn't pull a weed or two when I walked with a glass of wine in the evening. But after 20 years working on that space, the garden felt "finished" to a great extent. That doesn't mean that there would never be anything new. But the garden had a certain cohesiveness that is certainly lacking in my new garden. It also had as much seasonal interest as I could pack into 2/3 acre in my rotten climate. So, weather permitting, the garden always had moments of great beauty and enjoyment for me. But then again, I know that one of the reasons the garden meant so much to me is that I had spent 20 years making it. I had watched the trees, shrubs, perennials that I had planted get moved from one place to anohter (NAY he says, "I MOVED them from one place to another"...) until they finally found a place that they (and I) liked. Still garden making takes patience, and it is hard in the early stages not to want more results, with less work at garden making. I think that's one reason why, relatively speaking, I did not take many pictures of the new garden this year -- in the last year I was at my old place I took over a thousand, this year less than 100. A reflection that the garden was more about process than results, so far. One of the greatest times of garden enjoyment I ever remember in my old garden was after a big garden tour. The weeds were all pulled, the plants all relatively pristine (it was mid-June), the crowds were gone, my family and the dog were gone, the walks and drives all neat and clean, no cars or other distractions to be seen. Then I walked through and enjoyed my own garden, for a couple of hours, nobody but me and the hummingbirds and butterflies. One of the best times of garden enjoyment I ever had, along with very early foggy mornings and late summer evenings. Give me more of those, and less back-breaking work, any day....

You know? It is very interesting to see how everyone's trees adjust once the colder temps come along. It seems the majority of us exposing our trees to a comfortable cooler temp, whether in cold rooms, cool greenhouses, or in temps lower than the dry heated 70 or above house temps has better results during the winter. It seems that those of us that are storing them at cool temps for the short term are pretty much happy with this. I can tell you that when I was using lights and exposing my trees to very warm temps with the heat on, I was dealing with spindly growth and pests on a continual basis. It was so bad one year, that I threw them all out into a snowstorm, but one. Ryan, your observence of your trees doing better with shade makes a lot of sense. With very warm temps and limited sunlight, mine would always drop their leaves. The only way they would hold on was to give 12 or more hours of artificial light all winter, but then came other issues. Now with no lights and much cooler temps, they do well with just very little sunlight. I once accidently turned the heat on which kept temps way above the 70's by day in one room, and within that same week, many of my tree sshed leaves drastically. Eric, thanks, you are right. All I want to do is leave them out as long as I can too. I too fertilize heavily until last month, then lighten it a bit for the rest of the winter until Feb. Fab, every year my trees do the same. The mix takes it's time to dry out for about a month, and then they start responding to indoors again. They will take up water at a much faster rate. I really think trees know when they are comfortable with their new surroundings. Bugs!!! Bla....I hope you don't have to deal with them this winter! Very interesting to see how your trees respond once brought inside. Thanks to all of you for sharing. Mike

ajay I build my grow racks. yes they work on leafy herbs and vegetables. I have every thing but the drip irrigation system I do not need that. they sure are proud of what they have there. lol did you look at the prices. can I help you. Space age Mylar? Sporting/camping isle a survival blanket $7.00! 26 watt Cfl any where $4.00 ea The fixture for the lamps $7-10 ea.. Adjustable timer, most hardware stores grounded two plug $12.00 ea. Racks about $80.00 will buy a good one anywhere. Trays any nursery garden center 2-3 bucks. Now if you really want to get fancy. Shop lights 2 t-8 x 4' florescent bulb fixtures 10-12 dollars ea. bulbs at 2 for $7 almost any where and at the last a power strip $7-12 most places. Ha Ha ya I grow in my kitchen And they are right It just can not get any fresher than that. The light and smell of the plants growing keeps the winter at bay and helps the mood. Curt