If you're in Southern California, visit one of our 6 rock yards to get an idea about what types of rocks are available from a natural stone supplier. If you're a rock lover or rockhound, you'll be in heaven! It's worth taking a look just to be inspired. A rock yard is similar to a quarry in that it has large bulk quantities of stone, but everything is organized in piles and bins that can be easily browsed through or strolled around (or take a golf cart if you don't feel like walking). It's open to the public and safer than a quarry site. There isn't a minimum purchase, so even if you only need a couple of small rocks it's worth checking out. Since rocks are stocked from a number of different quarries, the variety is impressive. But be warned - it's hard to go back once you see the possibilities and options at a rock yard! Best of luck and happy hunting to all in finding the best rocks for your landscaping and other projects!

I don't want to speak poorly of folks working hard to make good organic products, but I took delivery of a bunch of the Compost Farm compost and don't have a lot of great things to say about it. I had to do alot of work once I got it to get the Ph to a reasonable level and an analysis of the nutrients present showed that there was a lot that needed to be added to get my veggies to grow. As a medium, it was alright - a bunch bigger chunks of wood and and wood chips in the mix lead me to believe that it was not quite done composting. I was hoping for a product that I could fill my raised beds with and forget about for a season and this certianly wasn't it. In retrospect my expectations were unreasonable as the more I learn about composting and organic gardening the more I realize that there is nothing like that. That being said, this stuff needed more attention than I (and most of my gardening buddies) thought that it should. After the addition of some supplements ( I really should have been keeping a journal - but I'm pretty sure I put in a buch of cotten seed meal, rock phosphate (?) and greensand and some pressed fish liquid) I got some great veggies and some fun hands on soil education. Also, the guy who sold it to me and delivered it was a pleasure to work with - I'm more of a settler than a complainer (I told myself that if I was really concerned about these issues I would have done some tests on the stuff before buying it) he seemd very friendly. Again, I don't want to knock the hard work of a local compost farmer, but I thought that my experience would be helpful. I'm new to the forum and exctied about learning and sharing with folks on the list. Greg/cyclome

It is a terrible picture, but not totally worthless, and it sounds like it is time for some visual aids. I have 3 oak trees in my backyard. There is another one directly behind the on in the picture, and a third one just off the right side. Underneath them is the species rose in the picture, the Viburnum plicatum 'Shasta' on the right side, mock orange on the left side, another Viburnum plicatum 'Summer Snowflake' beyond the mock orange, a forsythia past it, then coming back on the other side of the back oak a dwarf flowering quince, a Viburnum carlesii, and a bunch of daylilies. The other oak has a bunch of tree peonies, some hydrangeas, some ferns, hellebores and pachysandra. The point of this is that you are plant just about anything you want under an oak. The shrubs are planted at least six ft from the trunks, but that has more to do with the shrubs than the trees. The space between the shrubs and the trees is either mulched or planted with groundcover. Forget you ever heard about rototillers. Unless you are tending a large, conventional vegetable garden, I have yet to find a use for one. Shrubs are planted in holes, and not carefully spaced out. Murphy's Law is alive and well in gardening, and if you plan the planting holes out, you will hit major roots in almost all of those holes. It is much easier on the brain if you allow the holes to move a foot or two to get them between roots.

I would place a round obelisk in front of the rock, which would require moving the phlox. I would give it a long blooming shorter clematis with consistently healthy foliage such as Arabella or Star River, neither of which climb, but will do well up the center of an obelisk. As long as there is still good visibility out of the window, I don’t see an issue with having the obelisk higher than the windowsill since you could enjoy the flowers from indoors.