RickyÂs Swap and Grunt - October 22, 2006 Okay, hereÂs how this works First send an e-mail to rickyg at fawnridge dot com (youÂll have to replace the Âat with Â@ and the Âdot with a dot and take out the spaces, duh.) Put the words Âinvite me in the subject line. That will get you past my spam filter. IÂll reply to your e-mail with the invitation. Print it and bring it with you to get through our security guard (we live in a gated, guarded, community.) On the invitation, youÂll find a link to the directions to get here. Type it into to your browser for a detailed map. Everyone is welcome and everyone will go home with plants, I guarantee it! What you should bring (other than the plants you are swapping and the food weÂll be eating): A fold-up canvas chair - weÂve got seating for around 15, so if you donÂt want to stand while you eat or sit on the ground and share your food with the insects, bring a chair or two. Zip-loc bags for cuttings - but leave your clippers home!. I will be more than happy to snip for you. If you need shade for your plants, feel free to bring a pop-up tent as weÂll be in the sun for the most part. And wear a hat! What to look for in the garden There are almost 1000 species of plants and trees in our ¼ acre. But donÂt just look at the focal points; consider the design elements - pathways, line of sight, textures, contrasts, etc. Okay, look at the plants. There are over 300 Crotons - almost 200 distinct varieties, 60 palms and another 25 trees. Three water features and pathways throughout the garden, even if you walk barefoot (I usually do.) A word of caution - the rock bridge over the main pond is not the safest way to get to the other side of the garden! The garden completely encircles the house, make sure you get to see all sides of it. Schedule: You can arrive, setup, and begin swapping or exploring any time after 10am on Sunday morning. Lunch will be at noon and I will offer several guided tours after we eat. If you would like a cutting, please wait until you are ready to leave so they stay as fresh as possible, especially if you have long ride home.

I was reluctant to buy our first house which the realtors called Hidden Hollow. It was a small cape on 5 gorgeous acres 45 miles from NYC. I grew to love it. 22 years later we were ready to move and I found our current house on a day when DH was traveling. I fell madly in love with the house and the land. DH came to see it and picked it apart. There was an oil stain on the garage floor and assorted other "problems" that he could find. Finally he said that since he had kind of pushed me into our first house he would sacrifice and purchase this house. The house is now called "Billy's Sacrifice." I made a sign. He truly loves the house now. The sign is hidden in the trees.

Genius!! I am taking notes for when we build our in ground pond. BtW thats a good photo of your yellow headed fishie.. He's so pretty! ~Sjn

To me tall planters are a bit off for the site but big ones for sure and try to fill with seasonalplantings to enjoy the fire pit as laong as possible . There are some really cool prfab bridges you might want to check out to avoid the machines . The path IMO should be done with the same stones as the firpit too many different things make for poor design nad aldo the steps the same stone it ales a bit more work but really the best way to handle stone work in different places .