Chalyse...you are going to have to unblock your email for us to communicate with you... Please email me directly if you would like to trade. Thanks.

Linda, Your charms will go out tomorrow from the PO. I forgot to put the note in before I taped it up. Please send me you correct addy. I seem to have something different from what is on the evenlope. Sandra, You keep the charms I sent to you by mistake. Call it a Suprise treat. Last night I had a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE IN A CUP. Has anyone done this. What a great idea if you don't want sweets sitting around the house. Didn't taste bad. Have a great day. gmom

Very nice! They all look great. Lemon Frost grows like a weed for me...it's good for tucking here and there where just a little something is needed. It's a happy little plant... Wish RS would grow for me....it's so pretty and different but just doesn't like our climate. Neither does it's mama and I like her too....:( I met Delona a few times....she was from Nashville. The plant was the AHS convention gift hosta in 2012. My plant didn't make it but it was totally my fault. CC and LS are cuties! Thanks for sharing.... Enjoy!

Good questions, Paul. I do all of my terrariums with a thick layer of coarse perlite on the bottom. If it's a bowl, maybe an inch or a little more depending on the size of the bowl, and if it's my big 75 gallon terrarium, then a couple of inches in front and three or more in the back. That allows me to /see/ how much water is standing in the bottom and whether roots have reached down into that layer. If you get too much water in there then it's easy to slip a siphon down to that layer if a huge terrarium and suck out the excess. If it's a bowl, just tip it and the water will pool to be siphoned out easily. I use my standard potting mix over top of that, which is roughly 1/2 Miracle Grow potting mix and 1/2 perlite. To that I add charcoal, a touch of lime, worm castings, and insecticide granules. In terrariums I then always top dress that with moss, dried leaves, wood, plants, and course sand or gravel so nothing washes around when watered - and it makes it look much more natural and pretty than bare soil anyway. Two things are key. Start with /sterilized/ materials. I sterilize my soil mix by baking it in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour if it's thick layers, 30 minutes if thin layers, covered with aluminum foil. Be careful of steam. Once cool, it will be free of mold and fungal spores should you choose to do a sealed system. Mine are usually open with some air circulation but it still cuts way down on blooms of unwanted molds, etc. I also wash my plants carefully with dish soap (not anti-bacterial) and if they are hardy enough, a brief 105 bleach soak, roots and all, for five minutes, then rinse. Epsicia however are a bit too tender and can't take the bleach well. It is however a standard phyto laboratory plant sterilization method that is safe for most plants. Wash out the terrarium as well with 10% bleach water and you are good to go. Always wash your hands before you mess with it so you don't bring in mites, mold, etc when you open it up. Here's a photo of the 75 gallon terrarium I had going last summer. Mostly episcia and corytoplectus cutucuensis planted in there. I hope to set it up again at our new home this next year.