I think the important thing is not to put too much flesh on your garden bones too early in the process of trying to understand it. I think that you have to remain conservative at first and build in the essence or mainframe and keep looking and looking and looking and reading until you see your own vision. I can now feel my own vision starting to take shape. As an example, I thought that I just had to have a stone lantern, but since they are very expensive I put it off until now I no longer think that I want one because the sight of one now is becoming to cliché and they are not an icon of my culture. I also want a teahouse but not a literal one. I want the reason and essence of the teahouse, modified to my Missouri esthetics - it will now be a BBQ shack in the spirit of meal taking with my family and friends as opposed to tea taking. It will have the same basic backbone and shapes sans the overemphasized and upturned corners, with a large overhang, and will be completely screened from Missouris mosquito. And I would like to figure out a low table that middle-aged Americans can sit around without going into spasms. I want to understand stone placement and large plantings en mass for balance with the final goal being a truly pleasing "Missouri" garden that a Japanese master gardener can recognize and appreciate as authentic to the spirit of the Japanese style which I believe is just one manifestation of a more universal truth. I have come to the realization that I want no "overt" Japanese notes. There will be few human structures such as a teahouse and gate, but they will morph into a modified western version similar to American Arts and Crafts in style. I think authenticity should be in mainframe and not necessarily the accoutrements. If one centers on the accoutrements then you may wind up unhappily chasing authenticity

Oh, yes I completely understand what you mean. I do like having less squash bugs and borers, though. And so far I have not had any problem with my vegetable flowers bearing fruit...there's no way the praying mantids could possibly eat enough butterflies and bees to keep those numbers down. When I relocate them in my garden, I put them in the squash and cucumber area, and some in my corn...haven't had any luck with them yet in the corn, I still am plagued with corn worms in my ears every year, but I have noticed quite an improvement with my squash and cucumbers.

From the desperate folks do desperate deeds department: I wouldn't want to warrant that defeating those fasteners will allow you to lift the cabinet bottom, but if you think it will and want to try it, you might try cutting the panel around them with a slightly larger hole saw. Use a high quality one with a drill bit you can remove from the arbor. With the bit still in, cut a hole in a piece of 1x scrap stock. Fasten the scrap stock to the cabinet bottom over the area to be cut, using drywall screws or something similar (you'll have to patch the holes later). Remove the drill bit from the hole saw and have at it. The scrap will stabilize the hole saw so it won't run amok without its drill bit. How to re-secure the cabinet bottom later will be left as an exercise for the reader. :)

Kee Thirteen if you PM me your address (continental US I hope!) I will mail you a few things that I had waiting for a seed exchange this spring that has been cancelled. No need for an exchange.