You really inspired me to check this out, Rebecca! Very interesting concept that I guess could closely identify with permaculture. I am attaching a website that I found that lists a few vegetable companion plants for forest gardening. At the top of the page, at the end of the list, you can click on "resources and links" and you'll get some ideas on where to look for plants. There is a lot of other information on this website, too. For native plants, I highly recommend Prairie Moon Nursery on the web. Some plants you may be able to find at local nurseries, depending on where you're located in the state. I grow a lot of native plants myself, because the focus of my garden is urban wildlife - butterflies, moths, bees, birds, etc., for which I grow several larval host plants. I then raise the caterpillars, feeding them the appropriate food, and release them when they have reached adulthood. My yard is small so I really don't have enough space to meet the qualifications for forest gardening, but I do try to feed me and the critters while I'm at it. I do love the idea, though. Although this webpage doesn't directly refer to "forest gardening", I think that the idea is also used for "intense planting". For books, I found recommendations for the following: How to Make a Forest Garden, by Patrick Whitefield (once again, from the UK, but an updated "how to" book) Creating a Forest Garden: Working With Nature to Grow Edible Crops, Martin Crawford The elite book on the subject is probably going to be Edible Forest Gardening (2 Vol. set) by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier. Check out on Amazon if you're interested: "Edible Forest Gardening" It's kinda expensive - $94.50, and that's with 37% off. You may find it less expensive elsewhere on the web, perhaps Abe's Books. The authors are American, and at least you would get the American perspective on the issue. I also found an article in Mother Earth News, entitled Plant an Edible Forest Garden, by Harvey Ussery, August/September 2007 issue: "Mother Earth News Article" This website, containing info at the Veganic Agriculture Network, on forest gardening, and has a list of nurseries that have available and suitable plants for forest gardening. Once you develop a plan of action, including what plants you'd like to grow, if you come back to the forum, we can help you with whether or not you can probably find them locally, or if you will need to use a mail order source. "Nursery Listings, Etc." I for one, am very interested in your progress, and would appreciate updates on how things are going for you and your lovely garden. So excited for you! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Avant-Gardening

bizy Finding termites in your yard or flower beds is not unusual - especially if you put down a nice fresh batch of mulch that they will gladly munch on. If you turn over any large rock in your garden, you are likely to see mites muching away at the mulch around the rock. They key is to determine if they have penetrated into your house. Since your home is fairly new, and assuming they did spray the foundation before it was backfilled, I would be a bit surporsed if they made it into the house in a year. It's not impossible - but unlikely unless your builder buried a big pile of wood near the foundation (not unheard of either). The first thing to do is look for the key signs of the mites - the brown mud tunnels that you will see on the inside walls of your foundation or on wood studs. I don't know what kind of access you have from your basement - you want to check along the foundation walls and at the interface between the wood framing and the foundation. Look around the entire foundation interior perimeter - particularly in places where there would be lot's of moisture. If you can't see from the inside, take a shovel and dig on the outside until you get to the transition point of the foundation top to the first floor joists to see if you can locate the mud tunnels. Swarming of the mites inside the house is also a sign - but it does not sound like you are at that point. If they did make it into the house - then you need to call in professionals who will drill holes and pump pestisides into the infiltrated areas. They will drill through concrete slabs to makes ure they get every possible area around and below the foundation. This can run up in cost pretty quickly. If they did not make it in, then I would call a termite company who should offer perimeter pestiside pumping. It should only cost a few hundred dollars (not 1500) and they will pump the pestiside around the foundation perimeter with holes spaced every few feet. They are basically injecting your soil with pestiside that should leach all the way down the side to the footers to create a barrier. I would then go on line and look for termite traps - which are basically tubes that you stick into the ground with pieces of wood in them. The tubes have large covers with a removable cap that allows bait (dry wood) and poison sticks to be inserted. You check the bait every few weeks and if termites make it in, you replace the wood with a food that contains a delayed poison that the termites will eat and then bring back to the nest. They feed themselves by regurgitating - so when they pass the food around it will kill the termites in the nest, hopefullty getting the queen. We also found termites in our last house - in the flower beds (they had not penetrated). I had heard that a few of our neighbors has some termites that did get into their house - which is what prompted me to take some proactive measures. However - these houses were 6 or 7 years old when they started having termite issues inside the house. I puchased all of my termite kit supplies on line for a few hundfred dollars. It's very easy to drill holes and install the tubes and bait. The pro's wanted thousands to install the same thing I could by on line. best of luck.

Check with the folks on the trash to treasure forum. They usually have great ideas.

Is the lace made from cotton thread? My suggestion would be to go to a shop that specializes in Counted Cross stitch OR (Michael's and JoAnns and Hobby Lobby would also carry this product) and look at the flosses they have. I think, if it's really Battenburg lace you could do repair with DMC Pearl Cotton ( It's NOT a pearl finish!) it comes in different thicknesses (8, 10, 12) the higher the number, the thinner the thread. Good Luck! Sue