The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. "What is REAL ?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have been carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." "I suppose you are Real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made me real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always." The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams I know, I know. It's about relationships, not landscapes. But I think the Skin Horse understands a thing or two. Perhaps the obvious answer is that you can't mechanically engineer age. We tend to buy a home, live in it for 3 or 4 or 7 years, and move on. For most of us there's no sense of legacy or history. We manufacture a stage set, not having the patience or the time, or dare I say it the love, to tell our own story in the places we live. Engineered "age" would always be engineered. It wouldn't be real, and I would know it. Exquisite form, craft, material, design can be appreciated in themselves and more so, if they function beautifully in their setting. They gain "age" as they have their own stories to tell. I guess I'd want to change the question. I'd ask what the Rabbit asks, "What is real?" Very, very "fuzzy" thinking this morning No practical use whatsoever. Wellspring

hi dig hole.. insert plant.. refill with what you dug out.. do not lift the soil level with soil ... add a nice mulch ... under large trees.. we dont want to encourage them to grow into planting holes... hence native soil return ... and we dont want to bury the roots too deeply at any given time... compost applied generally to the bed.. is just feeding a massive tree that doesnt need it.. so just apply a bit around plants ... but that will also encourage the tree to come there .... frankly.. unless you have some barren soil .. which a soil test will tell ... not much in your garden needs to be repeatedly fed .... and trust me.. feeding plants under trees.. just causes all kinds of tree issues .... any course mulch would just be pleasant for both the tree and the garden .... and over the years.. will break down as compost... this isnt a veggie garden... so forget about the tilling and soil amendments .... and fertilizers .... and victory garden .. and all those other tv shows .... good luck ken of 1500 hosta .... trust me.. been there.. done that.. made every mistake.. TWICE.. lol

jaybird.. I remember seeing that tutorial before! I promised myself I wouldn't go buy anything more this year. We just bought a new taller tree for this house. But if I'm going to do this mantel thingie I'm going to have to go buy more stuff. Lots more. I guess I'll start with the thrift stores, $ stores and then on to the more expensive places. :) Jim, I see how buying through out the year helps spread the cost, but for some reason I just don't. I think.. I can get that later closer to Christmas....then I'm right back where I am now. :) I had wanted to do 2 huge windows in addition to my fireplace mantel but its looking less and less likely that is going to get done this year. Oh well... I'll plan better for next year! Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement. Today I'm concentrating on cleaning the house and getting ready to do those garland things.

Here's the linen color headboard and variations on a theme :) I switched over to a damask on the valance, tried the light curtains around the inner windows and on the outside of the nook (like the height better in virtual), tried dark panels around the bed, and! dark panels around the bed, lights around the windows and also framing the nook. Sheers are over the windows and the simplicity is soft and perfect (can put inexp rollers behind them for nightime privacy). Doesn't take away from the bed at all :) (I hope you don't have dust allergies with all this fabric!) #1 Linen colored headboard, silver sage all ceilings, wood floors. New silver finish ceiling fan from RH. #2 Linen colored headboard, silver sage all ceilings, wood floors. Damask on headboard valance. New chandy from RH. #3 Darker panels around the bed, with green in them -- offset with a lighter color in the bay. #4 Darker panels around the bed, with green in them -- offset with a lighter color in the bay. Closed. #5 Darker panels around the bed -- offset with a lighter color in the bay. Closed, grayer panels. #6 Darker panels around the bed, with green in them -- offset with a lighter color in the bay. Closed, darker panels. #7 Light curtains around side bay windows, dark panels around the center window. #8 Light curtains around side bay windows, dark panels around the center window, and light panels framing bay. Wall color lighter and more silver sage.