I was using Finish Quantum power ball and salts from SOMAT as i have hard water. I began using finishing rinse aid as well as a no name brand but I don't notice the difference. But one thing that has happened is that the lower basket on RHS has rusted and now a prong has broken off. The rust showed up before and Miele replaced basket in first five years (of ten year warranty) but said no more. When this happened again four years later, I called Miele and while I was told when I purchased the machine to use FINISH, Miele is saying it has been reformatted and is causing the problem. That or the rinse aid. OR combo. I will be buying Miele Ultra Tabs from now on and being in Canada in a rural setting, I will have to get them from the co directly. (Note I have an 18 inch d/w). I do hope there is a way to cut the tabs in two as I really don't need that much detergent given size of loads.

Beautiful gardens and flower specimens on this thread! Lovely variety. Some 15 years ago, I began creating individual gardens and borders of ornamental trees and shrubs. After reading books about 'gardening as one ages' -authors Sydney Eddison and Isabel Zucker, e.g. - I was even more convinced to follow their sage advice and am glad I did. In that process, while crouching under large rhododendrons one sunny day, I decided I wanted a place/space where I could go and sit and be enveloped by the nature of the plants and trees I planted. So I built 'The Philosophy Garden' and can now sit inside its embracing quiet. In a few more years and faithful use of the deer repellent, it should have more height, more depth of cover. Without planning, on the 4th of July, it bloomed red, white and blue hydrangea blossoms. Cityline Paris - there are 3 in this 40' x40' garden. The Deutzia Chardonnay Pearls is spent in front On a side border of flowering shrubs, in front of the Autumn Wine Ninebark (dark leaves) is a Harlequin Glorybower, Clerodendrum trichotomum, planted last fall. It has a bud on every stem after spending its first winter under 3-4 feet of snow. Out front in my hellstrip garden for bees, bugs, butterflies, and birds, the lilies are blooming and mostly leaning toward the South. Other than an amethyst lily that comes later, all the lilies are nameless, welcomed guests that I've picked up along the years. This year the milkweed has happily spread, but no Monarch yet. And the guests... Bumble on Walker's Low Catmint. Jane - who, thanks to T2D, now wants calycanthus 'Hartlage Wine'. :)

@mamapinky0, I've never used the Supreme stuff, but I've seen the name before. The Chinese Tide. I do have experience with. There was a ShopRite (grocery) store, that carried the stuff, super cheap too. Anyway... I remember, it had a very pleasant, lemon scent to it. It didn't smell chemically whatsoever, just very clean. However... I do know it was low-sudsing/froth... and the clothes came out with no scent whatsoever. It has a really weird, consistency. Like... thin, flour or confectioners sugar. Nothing like American Powder's that for sure. But it is definitely P&G made, not some knockoff lol. Oh... and it took me hours to figure it out, but... with some online help, I realized it was Phosphate Free. I was pretty shocked by that... honestly.

I put mine straight into the garden, but there’s always enough leftover to pile up and let breakdown. If I can plan it right, I like to pile up the leftovers where I want to make my next bed; it gets the soil charged up and ready for planting. I‘ve noticed my roses esp. love a deep layer just before summer; it helps keep the roots cool and damp. They do need a bit of extra nitrogen if you put out chips out freshly chopped. There is a bit of nitrogen tie-up while they break down. (That’s probably why the arborist said to let them sit.) I sprinkle organic fertilizer, plus blood meal for nitrogen, then a layer of cardboard to suppress weeds, then 4-6” of chips, and water it all in well. The chips will settle down to about a 2-3” thick layer. 😊