ltd123, I do lots of foam carving and if you don like the mess then you can use a hot knife. It will only work on EPS foam not urethane foam. HereÂs some pics of my foam carving projects: Cartoon Trees Theming for Water Parks - 3D Trees Themed Water Park Attractions - Six Flags 'Ship Wreck Splash' Water Park Carvings - 'Ship Wreck Splash' Artist Carving 3D Foam Ship Wreck For a Themepark Themeing for Water Parks - Six Flags Over Georgia Skull Splash Water Park Props - 'Skull Island' Water Park Attractions - Skull Splash Roof 3D Foam Props for Water Parks - 'SKULL ISLAND' Six Flags Sculptures for Water Parks - Three Dimensional Skull for Six Flags' Themed Waterpark 'SKULL ISLAND' Water Park Theming - Bell Tower for Six Flags Water Park Themeing - Bell Tower Water Park Sculptures - Carving Bell Tower Three Dimensional Signage - Calloway Park Sign Three Dimensional Signs - 3D Sun Carving 3D Water Park Attractions  Mermaid Playground Themeing - Toddler Town Facade House Facade 2 Giant Clog Canoe Theme Park Attractions Theme Parks Exhibits - Cartoon Snake Slide Exit Amusement Park attractions - 3D Pirate 3D Sculpted Pirate Ship Amusement Park Sculptures - Octopus Sign IAAPA Booth IAAPA Themeing - Eel Slide Exit Theme Park Props - 3D Pirate Amusement Park Props - Pirate Head Sculpture Chipmonk Head Sculpture Softplay Corvette Soft Sculptures Playground Sculptures - 3d Shark Faux Marble Sign Tree Houses Tree Bases Robin Cat Relief Carving Skull Chair Movie Prop Moon Relief Sculpture Parrot Window Relief Sculpture Alien Window Relief Carving Picnic Basket Props for Water Parks - Cartoon Birdie Cartoon Bird Foam Sculpture Cartoon Butterfly Professor Window Foam Relief Carving Treasure Chest Window Relief Sculpture Snake Window Flat Carving Alien Robot Flat Sculpture Clay Dragon Maquette Lion Window Low Relief Lion Height Restriction Sign Low Relief Sculpture Snake Head Slide Exit Sculpture Pizza Pooch Head Movie Props - 3D Space Pillars Space Medallion 1 Space Medallion 2 Skunk Softplay Dinosaur Chipmonks Clubhouses for Kids Octopus Slide Exit Dragon Slide Exit

Another update, The black plastic sheets worked and were durable, we removed them in October, in November I sowed green manure/ winter rye which grew nicely. now I start digging, turning the soil and planting a rose with perennial border, about 4feet deep, in the front of the alottment. I went forscented roses, mainly teahybrids, a dwarf shrub and some scented polyanthas, all of them with healthy foliage, I don't intend to spray. perennials: some Calamagrostis for structure, Geranium at the front, some Phlox and Salvias, odds and ends that I collected for a while, I only hope zhe Phlox wont clash with the roses ;--) finally getting there, the border will probably need some editing, but the rough direction should be ok. happy gardening to you all, bye, Lin sheets in mid October, sulphureus Cosmos in the background (the role of plastic ran empty before the whole garden was covered...) And that's from Sunday, after digging, didn't manage to snap a pic of the newly planted bed from today ( not much to see anyway...)

sabradees- Just interested to know what your final solution was re: paths / rails. I'm a totally blind gardener and I've been doing some searches just to see if there are any other blind gardeners out there. Built my own garden paths in two lg beds this past spring. Much smaller scale than what you are doing, but I've been very pleased with the results. I was following sq foot gardening principles, which suggests 3' wide paths between gardening areas. This concept has helped me create smaller garden beds, some of them irregular in shape, which I can access from any side. What did I use? Newspaper under cedar chips. Disadvantage has already been mentioned ... I'll have to renovate these paths every 2 or 3 years. Enchanted Places has it exactly right. Scent, strategic use of a "landmark" plant or structure (like a seat), are wonderful ways to help orientation. I suspect that your DH can get around well using available clues in the landscape, so the special issues are more for your Mom. Here's one idea that I don't think was covered: Use rails on both sides of the path. Sometimes, when my blood sugar dips very low, I can get pretty confused. My mobility is v good; I average 2 to 3 miles per day with a v speedy Guide Dog, go hiking, etc. But, when the blood sugar takes an unexpected dive, I can get "lost" in my own house! Somehow ... if I can find one wall and then another immediately opposit, it triggers "hallway" in my fuzzy mind, and I can find my way to the fridge and the orange juice! Same thing happens when I'm gardening sometimes (somehow always when I forget to put the juice box in my pocket). I've been known to get "lost" in a relatively small patch of grass because I couldn't for the life of me figure out where in the heck the front sidewalk disappeared to ... it was right here a minute ago. I've been to some state / national parks that double rail some or all of their walking paths, and its very helpful. Might be cost prohibitive, but it might help to use them in certain areas. Thank you for providing these things for your loved ones. I, too, am fortunate in having a life-partner who helps me in so many ways. God bless- BA

Lucille wrote everything I would have written. My elder daughter is divorced (remarried to a wonderful young man), and while there were times I could have gladly wrung the ex son-in-law's neck, I have remained friendly with him and his family. Ex son-in-law didn't always get along with his own parents (volatile relationship, unfortunately modeled for their children), but had great respect for my late husband, and DH made himself available during the split, whenever ex-SIL wanted to talk. Maybe if they hadn't been married it would have been different, but I don't think so--emotions are the same, and in our case a child was involved, so we made extra effort to remain civil and friendly.