Thanks t-weed, and like I said... Here I go again Will the Fescue burn in the heat even with an irrigation system? Also is it as thin as they say? The only variety of Zoysia sod I've been able to find around here is Meyers, is that a good strain? Ive read about Empire, El Toro, Jamur, Zeon, etc... but have heard that Palisades tops them all in denseness and ease of cut. There seems to be plenty of farms in your state(Tx) that provide these but none across the river. Do you know of any? All that I've called deal mostly in Bermuda Tif-this and U-that. One online company sells (Empire?) plugs, 3"x3" for $200 plus another $200 for delivery, basically what I could get the Meyers sod for here. I'm at a loss as to which would be better. I know 3x3 plugs would grow better/spread faster than the normal 1x1, but is Empire a better strain RE: shade, denseness, etc...? There is one lady who was trying to push the Turfallo Shadow Turf I had looked at earlier.The price has come down somewhat to $125 per plug tray(72 plugs ea) which would put my price at just under $1600, for BUFFALLO GRASS! This is becoming very frustrating! Maybe I'll just pour some green-dyed concrete and be done with it. Thanks again to the weed and all others who chime in on this one, especially if you have info on Zoysia sod distributors in Oklahoma.

Sharon, do not really think you want a dahon holly for shade tree. I can probably scrounge up a small one for you here off our property. Probably have a half dozen mature ones. If you really want a shade tree, come look at the oaks I put in here when we moved here in 1993. Mango's do not make bad shade trees. You can also see two of those that I set out after we built in 93. bernie

Hi Richie/Abi here. My hubs Gary tried soapmaking one year for his Christmas craft project. I think he got his ideas from a book from the library. He wound up making and giving these great soap rounds with loofah in them. He bought the soap supplies from a craft store like AC Moore. (check their class schedules, they may offer a class). My mother and grandmother used to make soap every year for laundry washing and housecleaning! They taught me how. It involves rendering pounds of animal fat and combining with LYE and a lot of cooking. It smelled horrid and hurt like the dickens if you got splashed. They always cooked it outside on a fire. I always begged to be sent to summer camp that week. The stuff sure did get stains out though. /Abi

I'd agree on Ligustrum for the top two. But is the third definitely from the same plant? Or just a look alike. The leaves on number 3, although opposite, are arranged differently. They're not all in one plane.