Hey spiny fans...due to my doubt about a pic of Dyckia cineria in the book, so I asked the curator of Heidelberg Botanical Garden, Timm Stolten to solve this topic. Then he tried to help me and just got a quick reply from Derek Butcher. Uncle Derek reminded him that exactly this subject was discussed in an old BSI article (J.Brom Soc. 45: 117. 1995) by Harry E. Luther wrote: "...When Can A Picture Be Trusted? A recent comparison of Dyckia marnier-lapostollei with Dyckia cinerea made me think at first that it was a valid attempt based on the published work of authorities, but then I did a little research that I shall describe. The problems associated with cultivated Dyckia marnier-lapostollei and D. cinerea result from the condition that they are probably the same thing. Note that I say "cultivated." This is a horticultural identification problem and not a taxonomic problem in the strict sense. Real Dyckia cinerea is probably not in cultivation, at least in the United States, unless it has very recently come in as wild collections from Caraga or vicinity. I have not seen any. I have a photograph of the type specimen of D. cinerea (Glaziou 18570 at Berlin) that portrays a plant very different from D. marnier-lapostollei. The leaves are much longer, relatively narrower with much more laxly arranged, generally shorter spines. The scape is very much more robust; the inflorescence appears more densely flowered than any D. marnierlapostollei. The specimen is only a fragment but I suspect that the overall appearance of this species is quite different from D. marnier-lapostollei as well. So what's the problem? Why any confusion? To find out, look at the black and white photo in Dr. Werner Rauh's BROMELIADS, the 1979 English edition, or in the later, reprinted edition BROMELIAD LEXICON, between pages 290-291, illustration 252. See the Dyckia cinerea? **Get our your pencil. It's really a Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. The identification was corrected in the later German edition of BROMELIEN but not brought to the attention of English-only readers.** If there are any questions about "big" Dyckia marnier-lapostollei, consider the culture involved. The type specimen, which can be seen in the photos in the protologue, appears to be in a very small, perhaps four-inch pot. Most of us now grow these things with much more root room. Was the type specimen "bonsaied"? Are our robust specimens normal? Eight or so years ago, I saw a few freshly collected plants that were at least 50% larger than what was reported in the literature. I'm sure that size can vary somewhat so this characteristic should not be cause for undue suspicion. If any one has living material that he or she is sure is Dyckia cinerea let me know. I will be glad to try to verify it..." So everything is clear...;-)

If I just did the math right then you are talking about two and a half inches of slope in 4 feet. I can see three fairly easy ways to handle this, depending on what tools and skills you have. Given access to a band-saw or similar I would start with a combination of 2x6 and 2x8 lumber (or 2x8 and 2x10 for a preference. The uphill side would be a simple 4 foot length of the narrow lumber, while the downhill side would be made with the wide lumber. The two sides would be cut with diagonal edges to make a square box that will sit on the slope with a deeper portion at the down-hill edge (which would be great for planting root crops, etc.) Option 2 would be accomplished with a shovel and rake, digging down two inches at the uphill edge of the space, creating a flat spot, fitting the frame into it, and replacing the earth/grass around the edges, leaving the uphill edge buried, very slightly. Option 3, build a box 2 inches deeper than you plan to have your soil be, put it on your slope, fill it, keeping the surface level. This will leave a small part of the uphill side of the box unfilled, but on this fairly gentle slope, shouldn't really be an issue. (If you cut the ends of the side boards at an angle you can have those sides be vertical.)

My b-day is just before Christmas, so I was lucky enough to get two gift certificates from different family members from a large book store. I went during the Boxing week sales and all hard covers were 50% off, so I got a few, here they are: 1. "Hers: Design with a Feminine Touch." (Jacqueline deMontravel) Actually my mother bought this one for me, I likely wouldn't have choses it myself. But it is interesting, here is a little more on the book: "Design your own beautiful sanctuary in any space, with unabashedly feminine style." 2. "Hand Made Home: Living with Art and Craft." (Mark & Sally Bailey) "Living with paintings, sculptures, ceramics and textiles - almost anything made by hand, in fact - will give your home a distinct personality and originality that is welcome in this age of mass production and stores full of products that are exactly the same wherever you may be." Great book. 3: "Metropolitan Home Design 100: The Last Word on Modern Interiors." (Michael Lassell) You get the idea. 4. "Scandinavian Design." (Lars Bolander & Heather Smith MacIsaac) "A ... tour of the best of Scandinavian Design." 5. "Interiors: The Home Since 1700." (Steven Parissien) This is more of a history or design school course book with many illustrations. Very informative and interesting. 6. "Salvage-Style Projects: 22 Ideas for turning old house parts into treasures for your home." (Amy Hughes). From "This Old House."

That IS a bargain! It's hard to beat F-R-E-E. I got two recently. One was Saturday when I went online to Penneys web site to order a set of dishes. It was a service for 12 that was regularly $199 -- and in the sale bill they were just $99. When I went online to order them, they were just $79! :-) Another was a bumper we had replaced on my truck recently. DH got estimates in the spring, and one body shop was nearly the same cost for a new one as to repair the hole in the old one (about $450). A few months later, DH calls the one and asks if the estimate is still good. Body shop says yes, so husband made appointment. We took the truck in. Body shop calls husband to tell him the truck is nearly done---and there was a mistake with the esimate. Bumper cost $1200 but they will "eat" part of their mistake and it will only cost us $900. When the dust settled, body shop stood by their estimate and we did, in fact, get a $1200 bumper for $450. We didn't know their estimate was wrong...just knew that for about the same price as fixing the old one, we could have a brand new one.