Hey guys - thanks for the comments! It's great to come online and see more interest and questions. But before we get to that, look who popped its head open on Monday: I wasn't expecting anything to be blooming this year - what a special surprise this was. Relatively tiny blossom, but beautifully intricate and elegant. jcjcjcx - Well, in my experiences with soil, it's been kind of 50/50. On the one hand, it starts plants off really well. But on the other side, it doesn't ever stay in its pot, its lighter and more prone to tipping (if using a small container), and if not tended can cause a great deal of rot. Here are a few of my experiences: I was experimenting with some different pond marginals in the 3rd year and a few of those included cannas. I potted them in a long container full of soil and a few pebbles so they would be some-what weighted down. A few nights later, the wind picked up and the first thing that got knocked over was that pot! All the soil coated the pond's bottom and the rocks clogged the main drain line. We had to blow it all out of the pipe using the reverse side of a shop-vac. The combination of big pebbles and muddy soil made a substantial clot. And it was months before the soil finally got cleaned up! A year later, i experimented with some lotus seeds. I had scarred the seeds in the appropriate way and had some really nice shoots developing from a few healthy seeds. I started them off in a rich soil mixture with abundant water and when it came time to move them to the pond, i left everything as is because i didn't want to shock the plant. They were doing great for a month and i even had an airborne leaf at one time! But then within a few days the plant yellowed and died almost like clockwork. At the time, i thought it was just the luck of the draw. But after pulling the pot out and examining the tuber, it was pretty apparent - the soil suffocated the plant. It turned anaerobic and the plant shriveled up. When soil becomes so saturated, no water can penetrate through it enough to deliver new nutrients. Later on, it came time to buy a lily so we headed down a couple cities (everything is right next to each other in Southern California, haha) and found a beautiful purple lily. 45.00 plus tax - not an easy investment for a non-working kid. But at the time, the beauty justified the bill. So we brought it home and enjoyed its blooms for the few days it had bloomed. And being the naive kid i was, i assumed that you should leave it in the pot it's been growing in (as not to shock it). Well, i knew within a week i was wrong. It yellowed up, and stopped sending new growth. And when i brought it out of the water to check out what was wrong, the whole thing 'shlopped' out of the container smelling like putrid death. The tuber was pretty mushy and the growing shoots off of the main shaft had almost been frozen in time - brown and tightly rolled up. This was a tough blow seeing how i had just paid $50.00 for the thing. Fast forward to today, i almost had the exact same problem from the exact same place! (funny huh?) I bought the lily two Sundays ago, with the intent of 'doing it right this time' and replanting in a clay mixture. I didn't have the materials to make it happen that day though, so i set the whole pot in the pond and waited for the next weekend (i thought a week wouldn't hurt). I finally got all my materials last Sunday so i went to work repotting all my lilies. I took my Star of Siam out (the one i got from that place) and within a few minutes, 3 of the 5 pads broke off! I looked to the base of the breakage and low and behold - the beginnings of rot! I had blamed my fish for one of the pads busting off earlier in the week - but it was a weakened plant instead! I immediately pulled all the soil out and washed the roots till they were spot clean. The soil itself was black and full of that ammonia smell and i could easily see why these plants weren't making it past a few weeks. Right now - 3 days later, my Star of Siam shows no signs of further rot damage and even has 3 (or more) healthy leaflets starting at the base. But what i don't understand is how the pond stores can have these robust lilies that look great at the shop, but croak in a new home... All conspiracies aside, soil has been nothing but trouble for me. So what did i do differently this time? Well, after reading up here on various posts, more specifically, the "Water Lilies" thread, i found a curious suggestion from a member to use regular clay cat litter for your plants instead of soil. It's pretty ingenious! It stays put when you drop it in the water, it'll be constantly aerated and water will always be able to move through it (since it's more like a tight gravel than a solid soil), and when it comes time to change the soil (if you even need to) you just pick up a new bag of litter and you're done! I bought a large bag of Johnny Cat Original litter from my feed store, 2 bags of Jobes tomato spikes from Lowes, 4 metal drip pans from my local auto place, and a few bags of black Mexican beach pebbles (to weigh down plants). Everything i've planted this time around seems to really enjoy it's new home. It finally feels i found the solution to all my lily woes! And who knew it would be kitty litter? naturelover2007 - The books state zone 9 as the lowest available growing zone, but I'm pretty sure you could easily overwinter it inside - its amazingly hardy and has given us endless green (not exaggerating!) Brenda - thanks for the facts! I always wondered what was with the aerial roots and it makes sense that they're shoots off of the mother plant. But it's fascinating how far those things can travel. I think i found one 6 feet away from the main plant interwoven into the border rocks. Dianne - It's always in those first months that you build a pond. You imagine that the hardest part is digging the hole and building the pond, but it's only half (even less than half) of the battle. It's great to hear that you didn't fill it in though! Do you have any pictures up in the gallery of your pond? I wish you luck with your waterfall addition - should add some beautiful relaxing sounds for your yard! Thanks for taking the time to reply! Thank you all for your kind words - as the pond matures this season (well, what's left of summer), I'll be sure to keep you informed. We just planted a black-stemmed bamboo screen to help enclose the pond in a more natural setting (instead of a pink block wall) - and i think i might experiment with some miniature Juniper plants in the stream beds (i saw someone do it, now i want to!) Thanks again fellow ponders! Mike.

Hehe Quirky, well good, I'm not slow after all. SteveGA -- my Father-in-law didn't know what was going on until after it was done. It was a birthday surprise...she told him she was hiring someone to come mow down the overgrown brush on the unlandscaped areas of the property. They only go down to the cabin on weekends and she paid the landscaper to come in during the week prior to his birthday. He had no prior knowledge, it's her I'm a bit peeved at for not thinking it might be a good idea to at least let me know what she wanted to do. I really don't have any problems with it if they had decided to go a different way. I tried a more minimal approach so that the cabin would blend in with its natural woodsy surroundings but I think that style was lost on her. What's there now is certainly going to be beautiful but moreso what you would see in front of a big new subdivision or shopping center. I wouldn't think Knockout Roses are a smart choice for under a tree canopy but hey, this guy was a "professional" so who am I to argue. Not that they won't live but I wouldn't think they'll bloom too great without much sun. He also moved the Hosta I had planted in a shade bed near the house out into a part of the front yard that actually gets hot afternoon sun. I guess I should be thankful he didn't throw them away, and I know some Hosta can stand more sun than others but I have a hunch they won't do so great there. Will have to wait and see the results next year. Maybe I'll sneak over there and move them back under cover of darkness lol! Danielle

Yes, Laura, it seems everything has gone up so much. Will it ever stop? When I'm at the feed store, I usually buy something other than alfalfa (soybean meal, cottonseed meal) because I can usually get spoiled or torn bags of alfalfa of some type for free. Usually horse feed or fish pellets. Sometimes they have torn bags of wood shavings which I use in my compost bin as a brown. They usually have a pile of bags somewhere to be towed away, and if they say ok, I select from that. It's all good stuff for the garden, so I'm not picky! Sorry to hear they didn't come thru for you on the mulch. Maybe the next truckload they gather. Keep calling them! I certainly hope my guys come thru for me tomorrow. More and more people are calling them, which I guess is good, but not good for me! Thanks TCLynx! You're probably right that they like to get rid of the stuff they can't sell as quickly as possible. They are not always willing to give it to me, it depends on the person helping me, but I would say 8 out of 10 times they are happy to get rid of it as long as I bought something from them as well. It never hurts to try, and it is good for everyone. Anna

Been there on the granite issue. While it is helpful to know how many square feet you have of countertop, there are so many ways of figuring the total cost, the bottom line is more important than how they got there. Some that charge less per sq ft charge more for cut outs, edges, etc. So price wise, the final number for the same job with the same granite is a fairer comparison. Kevin, to be fair, paying a higher price does not necessarily give you a better job, either. When I got prices, I got one of my highest estimates from a large place that was recommended by someone here who knew from working in this area that the place was good. I got other quotes, including one from a local building supply company that sourced out the job, and the final charge was 1000.00 less. When I called to find out who did their stone work, I found out it was the same company that gave me the highest bid when I went to them directly! I ended up with quartz rather than granite, but did learn that price and quality sometimes have nothing to do with one another, and other times you get what you pay for. It is silly, though, to just go with a more expensive place because you ASSUME they will be better becuase they charge more. 1. Know the companies reputation, and look at their work, get recommendations. 2. THEN compare prices of reputable companies based on the final price for the same job, with the same specs, including edging and cutouts, with the same granite. 3. Find out if one of the reputable companies with the best price for your job actually has slabs that you like. 4. GO FOR IT 5. If you still have problems, come back here and you will find help and sympathy. :) Sue