I have no plants or fish in the pond. No filtration - should have been done from the first but we didn't know anything and our pond person didn't mention anything about such a thing. Last summer was the worst, didn't have many issues before and what little we did just added a little chemical and it was gone. We have a 60 MIL liner and rocks. The split between for the bubbler and just into the pond is all hidden under the bubbler rock. We had to have enough water force to make the pond run nicely over the first waterfall and if we didn't do a splitter the bubbler would spray into the air to high... The rocks have been so lovely until this past summer. The pond was put in in 2004. To say we are still learning is an understatement. HAHA I'm having problems getting onto photobucket to show pictures but will get them on here ASAP. Thanks

You will see, if you read this entire thread, that there is no such thing as the PERFECT TREE (or plant either, for that matter). All have good points and bad. You need to do adequate research and then decide what you want and what you can live with. Of your list, I can speak to three from personal experience. A Natchez Crape Myrtle would be a nearly ideal size for your home and the amount of space that you have to give it. They, of course, bloom (white) in the summer, have nice fall color, and if pruned and trained properly are at their glorious best in their sculptural leaf-bare selves in the winter. Their bark looks like a giraffe's skin before it peels, and the trunks, as they get larger take on the look of human muscle. Your own organic sculpture. They grow fast (a five gallon plant can easily reach 15 or more feet in three years) and are very drought tolerant once established. On the down side, they require consistent pruning, especially in the first few years, but this is not extremely time consuming. Simply choose three or four (or whatever) trunks that you like and keep limbing them up until the lowest limbs are above your head level. Remove other trunks and suckers that inevitably come up around the base of the tree. If the higher limbs fail to branch at a good height, cut them off ONCE and then remove all but two or three branches that form at the cuts the following year. Do not EVER just amputate limbs, or worse, trunks, because someone tells you the tree will bloom better unless you just like the look of a tree that looks like an upside down witch's broom. Give it some fertilizer to make it bloom, and congratulate yourself all winter on the beautiful structure of your un-maimed tree. (Sorry. I just can't help myself. Crape murder is a personal pet peeve of mine.) Anyway, the other downside of Crape myrtles is the blooms can damage the paint on cars parked below them. On very hot days, the blooms just seem to become one with the paint. (Position the tree away from the driveway. End of problem.) And, they create a fair amount of bloom litter over concrete. Careful positioning can solve this, or just be willing to sweep. River Birches are beautiful, multi-season trees. Their peeling bark is a big plus, and the grace of the trees swaying in the breeze is one big reason they are so popular. They are fast growing, and in this case, they tend to be brittle because of it. Expect alot of limb drop in high winds or ice storms. Although most people think of them as small trees, at least some of them can surprise you and get to be quite large. Be sure you know what you are buying. Also, in very moist soil, they can become invasive. I have planted several Red Maples over the years and have a very hard time getting them to establish. This may be because of my incredibly tight clay. I don't know. Check around with folks in your area before plunking down your hard earned money. Most maples are notorious for having very...

I actually have some, hopefully, good news to report. Our nephew, (my sister's son who is quadraplegic and lives with her) took our advice. He spoke with his executive director at work who set him up with a financial person, who offered several options. The best one, the one that he is taking, is to buy my sister's house. His banker is looking into taking advantage of any savings, such as his being disabled and also a first-time homebuyer. His mortgage payments will be much lower than what they are now. He has been paying the mortgage ever since my sister was diagnosed, so this will help tremendously. While he would have preferred to find and buy his own house, this is the best short-term solution. It keeps the roof over his head and his mother's. It places the house in his name, so creditors can't take it from him when she passes away. He has good credit and has not co-signed anything with his mother's name. (God bless her, she just never could manage financial matters very well.) We talked a long time yesterday. He has had so much on his shoulders (his other two brothers have not been much help, especially financially.) We are very proud of the way he is handling the situation. What would be a perfect world would be if my sister could beat this cancer and get her life straightened out. But for now, this is pretty good news and will ease some of their stress caused by financial difficulties.

I tried some samples today. None that are really my favorite. From left to right are : BM Desert Tan, Monroe Bisque, Saybrook Sage, and Decatur Buff (this was going to be my choice for my great room and kitchen but it seems darker than I thought - maybe because of the white next to it). I like the greens but am liking the color that's darker on the same color strip of Saybrook Sage(can't think of the name right now). Tell me if you like any of these. The picture turned out dark, sorry.