Here is the rest of the story. The customer told me that her two Marine sons were serving second tours of duty, which had been extended, in Iraq. To keep her mind occupied she decided to plant a shade garden and had read about fairy gardens. I suggested that her wee friends, in this climate, are probably happy and secure hiding high in the Live oaks nestled down in Resurrection fern which covers the branches. Then, of course, there are the long strands of Spainish moss upon which to swing in the breezes. We then set about selecting Azaleas and various ferns for her shade garden. She was interested in variegated shrubs for contrast. The nursery did not have a good selection of those on hand. So, I jotted down some suggestions for her. Many of the plants one associates with fairies will not grow here. I suggested that she begin an Amarylis collection (perennial here), gingers, Ligularias and blood lilies (Scadoxus multiflorus). All do well in shade and compliment shrubs. She really had not Searched the subject of fairy gardens and I encouraged her to do so. There are times when you give a person just enough information to make their own journey of discovery. This was such a situation.

A bit off-topic, but -- the plant from your first picture was my favorite flower when I was growing up in Europe! We kids called them "little dogs" because when you squeeze the little flower on the sides, it opens up its mouth :) Do kids here in the US do this? Now thanks to you and bubbleoffplumb I know the plant's English and Latin names, which is awesome. I've never seen this flower here, so your picture made me smile :) It's an odd feeling when being a responsible gardener means pulling up the plants that you loved when you were a kid! I must say, learning that Lily of the Valley is a terrible pest here was my biggest gardening heartbreak! :)

When we were researching breeds, we seriously considered Boxers, but we went with Great Danes (and later English Mastiffs, as well). Boxers and Danes are very similar in temperament, as they are both "working" breeds of German origin, but we went with the lazier, less active Dane. I'm sure we would have loved having Boxers, too, given how wonderful the many we've known have been. Boxerpups gives you some wonderful advice, and I'd suggest you follow it carefully. Finding the right breeder is the hardest part. Good breeders do thorough genetic testing (not just vet checks), so find out which genetic problems are common in your breed and expect that your pup's parents would both be tested for those issues and certified by the appropriate organization. When you contact a good breeder, expect to be grilled. Don't be offended, be glad. In fact, if they don't ask you more questions than you ask them, walk away. Good breeders care deeply about where every pup they produce ends up and what happens to it for its entire life. They would rather keep an entire litter for life than let one pup go to an irresponsible owner. The breeders who don't know what they're doing are the ones who will be anxious to make the sale. Don't respond to newspaper or Craigslist ads for puppies. Those tend to be the worst breeders, who will sell their pups to anyone who has the cash in hand. You can find responsible breeders through breed clubs, but don't assume all breeders registered with their club are good. Do your homework and find someone you can really trust. I'd like to echo ae2ga's recommendation of books and DVDs by Dr. Ian Dunbar. He is the originator of the trend of puppy training and the founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Trainers used to insist that it was important to wait until a puppy was at least six months old before initiating training. Dunbar recognized how ludicrous this was and began his Sirius Puppy Training program. He has both a DVM and a PhD in Animal Behavior. His methods are consistently positive, and I've found them much more effective than the punishing "corrections" advocated by some trainers--even for controlling very large, powerful, and stubborn dogs. We've had 11 very large dogs over the past 25 years, each well over 100 pounds, and we've never had to do an "alpha roll" or use any other harsh techniques because we started early and consistent training with Dunbar methods. Back when I was competing in obedience in the late 80s, I attended a Dunbar seminar and have been a huge fan ever since. When we were breeding (we only have rescues now), we would send each puppy home with a copy of his Sirius Puppy Training video. Check his web site for upcoming seminars--they are well worth it! Since you are doing your homework now, I especially recommend his book called Before You Get Your Puppy. His site has a bunch of other free advice books and pamphlets for download, too. Here is a link that might be useful: Sirius Puppy Training

I suppose you could use those liquid ones. Now the idea in Brissie it's "You wait till it rains "" then you add fertilizer between showers isnt that what most people do, I know we dont get a lot of rain but I find I can feed my bamboo and hibiscus that way, even though we seem to get most of our rain during the evenings. I never water my grass ( not lawn ) its couch so never fertilize it either and it is a wonderful green at present..Do you really need to feed your lawn so it gets plenty of nutrients over the Winter as it does not grow then. You may do better to paint the weedkiller on the leaves of the offending grasses that way only it dies.... Cheers..MM.