Eight months and not even any Unhelpful Replies. VBG

While Richard Taylor's books are a pleasure to read, they are out of date. Since the introduction of varroah mites in the mid 1980s, beekeepers have had to face challenges that did not exist before then and are not discussed in older books, and if you don't face these challenges with mites and other parasites, you will lose your bees. So start with up to date books, and read people like Taylor for the pleasure of it after you have gotten the most recent practices under your belt. I would recommend, besides the dummies book, Kim Flottum, The Backyard beekeeper and Sammataro and Avitabile's, The Beekeeper's Handbook, 3rd edition. There is an enormous amount of information on the web, and you will, unfortunately find quite divergent views, since beekeeping is an area where there is considerable disagreement. Even better, join your local beekeeping club; it seems most counties in the US have them. And if you are planning to start bees next year (now is rather late to do so), see if you can tag along with some of their members when they work their hives. This is what I did last year when I was at your stage of the game, and this year I am now keeping my first hives. Good luck with your beekeeping; you should enjoy it.

The best advice I have is: ItÂs your garden and youÂre the one whoÂs going to be looking at it, so donÂt worry too much about what somebody else thinks is "right!" With gardening, the only "right" is what you like! Visit some public gardens and some good garden centers and find the things you like the best and then decide where YOU think theyÂd look good in your yard. I guarantee you, as long as youÂre happy with the way it looks, everybody else will be too. And once you get started, if something just looks "wrong" to youÂwell, perennial gardening is all about moving things too. Because my yard is small, I only have one of each of almost all of the perennials I have, and youÂll find lots of people who say that makes it look like polka dots since youÂre "supposed" to plant in 3's, 5's, etc! Well, I donÂt think it looks like polka dots at all, but even if it did, itÂs my yard, and IÂm very, very happy with the way it looks. And I never had any kind of a "plan" at all. I started by taking the things I had brought along from the last house and just decided where to put them as I had time to put them in--and as I was able to get the #@$%#& rock out. And thatÂs how I still add things as I buy or start somethingÂor get it at the swap! :-) I think maybe youÂre thinking too much again! Just relax and enjoy it! Of the books you mentioned, I donÂt have that bookÂyet, but Jim Klett is really knowledgeable, and the Sunset book is an excellent "encyclopedia type" reference book. But in that one you need to know the zones are different, and z5 is zone 2 in Sunset. If you donÂt know that youÂll be totally lost in that book. (Jim Klett is at CSUÂthe two books you have listed are the same.) I never have been a big fan of Lauren Springer, but thatÂs just personal preference! My favorite basic perennial book is the Heritage Perennials, Perennial Gardening Guide. It has lots of pictures and basic information about a whole lot of perennials. When I was selling them I used it a lot to show people the pictures and to find info about things I hadnÂt run into yet. I sold a lot of the books too. I donÂt have the Fourth Edition yet, but each edition gets better. http://www.perennials.com/gardeningguide.html But, again, get a few books for reference, but spend most of your time actually "doing." ThatÂs the best way to learn, and the funnest. Skybird

I do old books searches (such as the time life series excellent by the way) now at amazon (used to be biblio find but amazon bought them out) and have a nice collection of older books on the subject. Some on ferns, terrariums, light gardening (indoor - part of time life series) rock gardening (time life series) they are much better then what I can find currently for the most part. (I just went to Amazon, and tried to do a search, didn't do so well, they have changed much. I know also that my nyc local garden club or horticultural society also had a library of these older books.) Here are links I've compiled over the years. (not edited) many wonderful sites. Best Sherry Number one Dutch Vivarium site: http://www.vivaria.nl/home/intro.html Special projects from above: http://www.vivaria.nl/photogallery/photoprojects/photoprojects.html Great site: http://www.victri.net/tanks/vivarium_2005-06-20.html Amazing vivarium site, and how to, nicely videotaped? http://imageevent.com/audiomaster/tincvivarium His first project (from above): http://imageevent.com/audiomaster/40gallonhexagon/ Fantastic driftwood (and I thought the wood I found at Cresent city CA and in redwoods was fantastic) http://www.amazonmoosey.com/swampwood1.htm other wood source (moss on as well) and other products http://www.blackjungle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BJTS&Category_Code=WFWH Amazing strange and highly unusual woods - twisted, viney so on... extremely unusual from around the world: http://ecoterrariumsupply.com/index.php Garden Web Forums (small membership fee but well worth it) http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/ http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/e_tank0412a.php#2 http://www.greenchapter.com/view.php?pg=0&tp=0&id=28&vp=pic_100.jpg&vs=11 http://home.att.net/~a.j.calisi/moss.html http://www.kingsnake.com/ http://www.museumrock.com/sculptural_fountains.htm Backgrounds: http://shell.world-net.co.nz/~jenniefield/ http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_other_netmax_styro.htm http://www.back-to-nature.de/aquaristik.htm http://www.chamberlain.dk/?eid=2&seid=&overskr=Background http://www.rockandwater.com/ http://p088.ezboard.com/fboroniaaquariuminteractivepagesfrm14.showMessage?topicID=3.topic http://www.geocities.com/~amazingaquaria/fiftyp.htm http://members.tripod.com/~Tropic_Cove/aquariums/totgb.html http://www.urdls.com/ http://www.blackjungle.com/ Orchidarium http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/terrarium/msg010323113138.html Vivarium: http://imageevent.com/audiomaster/40gallonhexagon Very very large vivarium: http://www.poison-frogs.nl/e0302.html Collection of vivariums from various members from around the world: http://www.wildsky.net/vivarium/evivariu.htm How to make from same sourse above: http://www2a.biglobe.ne.jp/~wild-sky/vivarium/nfrraz050127.htm A variety of vivariuns and other things, parts work some out of date, but useful: http://home.earthlink.net/~kenuy/pVIVARIA.htm Great site, many photos.... how to: http://www.poison-frogs.nl/e03.html Loads of information of all types: http://www.amphibiancare.com/frogs/articles/tropicalterrarium.html http://www.blackjungle.com/gallery/talltank/page1.html Rubber 'lining' for use to safely seal wood so on: http://www.sanitred.com/WaterFountain.htm Source for bowls so on and other products from UK, but have ready made vivariums, so as to get ideas from (unusual shapes as well): http://www.paraquatics.co.uk/paraquatics%20online.html?target=dept_30.html&lang=en-gb Planted driftwood/rocks: http://www.poison-frogs.nl/e0302.html http://www.tropica.com/default.asp Plants (bog so on) and many other things ie substrate material: http://www.azgardens.com/newterra2.php Moss: http://www.mossacres.com/acc_retention_gel.asp Interesting use of 'laterite' for backgound: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Kumar_Imagination.html http://www.mistking.com/ Misters: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=8&pCatId=9738 Reptile page/wood so on: http://reptilecity.econgo.com/?BODY=cat/c17274.1.esl&SID=334bf4a308b0 Ferns: http://www.glasshouseworks.com/fernpage.html Misc: Aquarium and many other types (bio) entered in competition: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2000.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=2&id=36 Heating pads for reptiles, misters misc: http://www.pro-products.com/ Lights: http://www.arcadia-uk.com/en/230compactlampreflectors.html Misc products hydroponics you never know what you'll find - fine site: http://www.growhere.com/insectcontrol/wettablesulphur.htm Mosses, algaies and many other things re to aquariums: http://groups.msn.com/LyreTailsAquarium/plantsandalgae1.msnw Amazing and some strange plants: http://home.att.net/~a.j.calisi/plants.html Think I posted before (getting late) huge aquarium/terrarium and many others: http://www.greenchapter.com/view.php?pg=0&tp=0&id=28&vp=pic_100.jpg&vs=11 Links to many other links: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/aquarium_all_links.html