There are several species of Duckweed native to Australia and they're not classified as "weeds" anywhere here. Unfortunately some nurseries aren't aware of this and assume that having the word "weed" in their name makes them a weed. You can buy Duckweed online, lots of people who keep fish or turtles buy it to feed to their animals. There's one place here, Aquagreen, that specialises in fish and waterplants and sells a couple of species of Duckweed. They also sell Azolla. Are those "guppies" what's also called "river guppies"? Actually a Gambusia species which was introduced to control mosquitos. Like cane toads they never did the job and have become an ecological disaster. About the only fish I know that would bring them under control would be Barramundi. You'd need a large pond for them once they get a bit older.

Hallo poaky. I noticed that the images I had uploaded have disappeared due to the updating of Flickr and I can not highlight them. Sorry. It amazes me the information that the hart tongue fern live only 2 or 3 years. My have many more, and each year they get bigger and lush. Sometimes dies the oldest part of the strain but continue to develop various side shoots. The reproduction of ferns in nature is a very rare event compared to the millions of spores that are produced. But it is rightly so, if they survived only 1% in the space of a decade in the world exist only ferns. Although the conditions of light and humidity are favorable and born many prothalli immediately they become food for a multitude of other living things, from bacteria to snails, from mushrooms to caterpillars of butterflies. The prothalli survivors must continue to have constant temperature, humidity and light adequate. If at the time of maturity they are not wet by a veil of water, antherozoids fail to swim until the archegonium for creates a sporophyte. And if they are not eaten before, degenerate and die later. For us humans who do not have long lead times and spaces of nature, which in a few months we want to see our garden covered with flowers, we just have to intervene by creating artificial conditions. Keep the light, humidity and temperature constant, hold off predators who want to eat our precious prothalli under a tree in the garden is a losing battle. Re-create the right environment in a small container closed and transparent is much easier and is the system used by those who want to obtain new ferns in a secure manner to success. For those who do not have the mentality of the professor Oldbones, mythical character of Mickey Mouse, the reproduction of ferns from spores is very boring, it's like watching the stalactites as they become longer, better buy a beautiful fern to be planted in the garden. If your fern in the garden is dead after a few years depends on how much calcium there is in the soil, my growing up on a layer of pine needles decomposed between lilies of the valley and ivy. Is probably dead for water stress. The ferns are not only sensitive to moisture in the soil but also to the air, if the air is dry and even worse if there is often wind leaves lose too much water through transpiration. In this case, you can create a kind of protection built at some distance a pretty drywall stone that protects from the prevailing winds. The wall can be of various heights and with steps to support the pots with plants that love the shade. In this way also carries a decorative function My best wishes for the new fern.

Thanks to all for the kind words and compliments. The gardens have been an ever growing and changing project for many years now. When the house was first built my dear hubby refused to hire a landscaper to come in and design the area around the house. He did finally hire someone to come in, but all this man did was plant English Ivy and Myrtle every where. I was so disappointed by what had been done, that I decided to dust off what I had of a green thumb and get to work. So every year a new bed or area has been planned and then eventually planted. Debra,the best way I've found to help limit weeds is to let my plants grow close. I'm a big fan of the old cottage garden style, so my plants are always rubbing shoulders and most of the time they out compete the weeds for light and space. I also apply a new layer of mulch to my gardens once a year (usually in the spring). Maximus7116 We live in Western PA., about 12 miles north of Pittsburgh. WAY TO GO PENS!!!! It is very hilly in this area, and our farm is located on one of the highest hills in the township. The house is built right over the stables (we really do have horses living in the basement), but well insulated so there aren't any stable odors in the house. Any way this kind of gives the place an overall tree house type effect with wonderful views of hills and valleys that surround us. Nancy, Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I'm pretty much a one woman show around here. Hubby is into his vegetable garden,mowing the lawn, and working with the horses. This morning he came in from the stables complaining that the smell from the rose bushes was nearly making him sick. So I'm sure he's thrilled about the new rose bed under construction by the stable entry. At least he gives me a free rein when it comes to planting things wherever I want too. LOL Lynxe, I'll be more than happy to take some pics of the daylily beds once there are more DLs blooming. Right now I only have a few DLs that are blooming. That, and many of my DLs are planted in my perennial beds by the house. I have four other beds that are primarily for DL's and one of those is dedicated to my seedlings. I'll be sure to post some pics when the plants really start to take off. Oh....the cattails by the pond are solar lights that I got from Gardener's Supply. My 3 yr old grand-daughter is into garden fairies and anything that is whimsical, so I have things placed here and there throughout the gardens that keep her amused. Again thanks all.....I'm glad you enjoyed my pics. Linda

dicentra; Hello! Yes, I can answer your question about winters in western PA. I have lived in this area my whole life (except the 3 years hubby was in the service). I love it here and hope never to move. That being said, western PA does get less sunlight in the winter then the eastern side of the state. As we get towards February, we start seeing more sun however. I think that December and January are probably the most cloudy monthes, but of course even they have sunny days. Where I live, in lower Crawford County, we get some lake effect snow (from Lake Erie). That adds up to more snow fall then even 30 miles south of us. The last couple of winters I would consider pretty mild for us. We have snow now, but maybe only 6 inches at the most. The snow dosen't bother me to much. It keeps the plants insulated in the winter and they survive pretty well. I think we are considered zone 5b - because some things I have grown were supposed to be only zone 6 hardy. About 3 winters ago though, it was pretty cold all winter. Right now it is about 25 degrees. Friday it is supposed to be only about 7 degrees that night. The beginning of January was pretty warm though. It is like anywhere else -some winters are better then others. Everyone here is used to it and it dosen't slow us down much. Property prices are pretty reasonable where I live. Three years ago when we bought this home we paid $69,000 for the property with another $20,000 added into the loan for renovation. It's not real big at 1,700 ft. and there's no basement. BUT, the house sits on 20 acres. So we paid $89,000 total for the house with 20 acres. And they are really beautiful acres! We have about half wooded and half open. The front lawn is very large, there is a small pasture, & another former farm field down the road, which my husband keeps brush-hogged off so it dosen't grow up. One of the best features is the stream that runs behind the house. When I wake up, as I look out my window by my bed, it is the first thing I see. I sleep with my window open 3/4 of the year so I can listen to it at night! My taxes on the house with 20 acres are less then $600. Although all this sounds great, the area is very rural so you need to have a decent job. We are about 45 minutes to an hour below Erie and a bit more then that to Pittsburgh to the south. I am in an agricultural (farms everywhere) area,so I don't have to worry about any animal issues as far as what I can raise. Of course, I was raised on a farm so it is second nature. The area has a lot to recommend it but like anything, research is invaluable. Karen