Wow! Love the farmer and his wife! They are adorable. Thank goodness you have posted your mom's art on her behalf! Keep that woman a workin' in the garden! I suppose she painted those cute faces on them herself too. *sigh* My painted faces would leave much to be desired. The face on the pot lady is so cute! I love her hair too. Thanks so much for sharing! P.S. Make sure you share more pictures of your mom's work!

Hello everyone. I popped back in here this morning to see how many others have shown their potmen. I love the different looks, but kyponder's is still my favorite. It looks more like the first one I ever saw in a Southern Living Magazine years ago which was was my inspiration. I like her's better than I like my own. I've saved her picture for something to refer to next spring. I still have my pots on the back porch waiting for next spring, because like msbeaniac, I'm going to build mine in the flowerbed instead of trying to move it after it is put together. When I built my first one I assembled the legs and arms in the living room and waitied til I had the torso in the flowerbed before attaching them, then I glued the top and bottom of the torso together. I stuck a piece of rebar through the hole in the top of the torso and then put it through the hole in the head to hold the head on. I'm interested in learning how some of you attached the heads to your pot people. Gramadelie has a link to her pot person in her post and it didn't come through as a link. I hope it's okay to post it here to make it easier for others to see her cute potman. Linda Here is a link that might be useful: Gramadelie's pot man

Well, I looked it up. It seems that sulfur is the most common product for dusting the rhizomes. Other recommended products are lime, "bulb dust", and bleach. Here's more than you ever wanted to know about iris dividing and general cultivation: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=821 http://www.farm-garden.com/perennials/bearded_iris http://www.gertens.com/learn/howtos/alphabetical/ah/dividingperennialsinthefall http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/load/peren/msg0807001617668.html http://guernsey.osu.edu/master-gardeners/midsummer-care-of-bearded-iris http://www.irisgarden.org/irisculture3.html http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_divide_iris.html

A pot inside a pot full of gravel inside a hole dug into clay is still in a hole that could fill up with water. Put the pots with plants in them on top of the clay soil and fill in around them with gravel. It's a bit like making a tiered garden—some pots are set an inch or two above the base soil; the next group is set atop deeper gravel; a few are set on a still deeper gravel layer. The edge of this area is made of small boulders and cobble. More boulders/cobbles are used to create an abrupt level change, but most of the gravel will be a mix of sizes between 1 and 3 inches. You don't want even sided levels. You want gravel slopes that meander down the sides of this area. You can use rounded gravel, though crushed gravel looks more like scree. It's more important to have the color of your gravel, cobble and boulders be similar. Since most alpine plants are growing in thin soil over a layer of scree, you can even use a mix of pea gravel and potting medium. Check the cultural requirements for each plant. Because the pots are surrounded and sitting on gravel drainage will be excellent. But you are worried about too much rain, and it sounds like you are using plastic pots. You can increase drainage and air infiltration by drilling 1/4" holes in the sides of the pots. Make holes about an inch apart on all sides from top to bottom. I know, lots more work, just what you wanted. It may not be necessary, and is just a solution I picked up from an orchid grower. The fact that your plants will be in pots and surrounded by gravel may keep the voles at bay. Animal activity is not always predictable. Deer are my biggest problem. They sometimes eat deer-resistant plants, and if there is a drought even the reliably resistant plants will be munched on. Sigh. Your list of plants is really nice. I looked up most of them, though I could not find them all. Best of luck. Gardening is all about optimism. - Mary Anne Radmacher