I got Niagara Falls in late 2012, so it was mostly dormant then. Which made 2013 the first year to see it rise up in the spring. In July 2013 it had bloomed and set one seed pod In 2014 it emerged looking like it had spread out a bit. I'm liking it and another Olga ruffled greenie, Manhattan. The picture I saw of it last year on the alphabet was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. Deep lavender pink blooms, ruffles, looked like the Queen Mother! This year, Manhattan looks good, but the fire ants have invaded it after all the rains. So when they are dead, I'll repot it to keep the roots from aerating too much. Both of these seem very easy to grow ... so far anyway.

I had my wedding reception at the Red Coach Inn. We were married by the Falls on the American side. That was 2001 and while the park area next to the Falls on the American side was nice, at that time the American side was practically a ghost town. Very little to do - very few shops or restaurants open at that time.

Okay. I used my transplanting shovel. The blade is 11 inches long. I can’t say I noticed any resistance when I stepped on it. It penetrated the soil almost the entire depth. At that depth though, I could feel the shovel hitting rocks. The soil is wet gumbo right now. I had a hard time extracting the blade. On the tree side I didn’t feel any roots. On the other side I could hear a few snapping sounds that I assumed were roots from a Russian cypress. But they didn’t offer any resistance. I sliced through them easily. Other hostas are growing around the perimeter of the cypress with no problem. But I would happily get rid of it if it is the issue. I guess what I discovered is that the depth of the soil is 10 inches before hitting a base of rocky soil. Should that be a problem?

Does anybody have experience with Compass Materials product? I am about to purchase the engineered hardwood flooring from Flooring Liquidators. Manufacturer is Compass Materials, Item: Niagara Falls (Ivory) with UV Coating. I cannot find a review out there. Your input would be appreciated.