Robert: The spinach is just growing in topsoil. As for the timbers, the pictures make it look like the timbers are flush with the ground, but they are buried at this point and have about 6 inches of soil/clay packed over them. With the weight of the greenhouse, timbers, and soil I didn't feel the need to also drive anchors into the clay... lets hope that I never have occasion to find I was wrong! Julia: Exaco Trading has roughly an hour's worth of Riga assembly videos on Youtube that cover just about everything. They will also mail you a video in advance of receiving the greenhouse. There were some slight variations between the Youtube videos and the DVD, but the vast majority went together the same. I did have one or two issues putting it together where the parts did not match the directions (the door handle is one example that comes to mind) and I was able to talk with Alan at Exaco to walk me through the updates. Alan said they were working on an updated DVD to reflect the parts changes. For the above mentioned door handle, the parts list and the video both show a small metal door handle with some additional pieces, and what was received was a rather large plastic "loop" handle with no additional pieces. The variations were minor, though. Just make sure you open up all the boxes if you cannot find the instructions in English! They send the original instructions (printed in German) with the DVD packet, but I found an English translation at the very end when I opened the last box containing the window kits! Oh, another tip I'd suggest is to have some duct tape (or other easily visible tape) to mark the UV-coated side of the polycarbonate panels when you are removing the film prior to installation. Once you remove the film, it's very difficult to tell which side of the panel has the UV coating. I did not get the sun shade cloth with mine. I am planning on making my own based on another thread found here that should work fine with the automatic openers: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/strucs/msg081228458217.html?1 The shade panels will go on the inside and will not cover the vents.

Thank you so much for your warm comments. Reading them is the ideal way to wind down after all the hubbub. A2Z, the key roadside plants are 'Nearly Wild' rose, penstemon, shasta daisies, catmint, thyme, salvia, scabiosa, catanache (Cupid's Dart), 'Pawnee Buttes' sand cherry, and echinacea. There are also some oriental poppies and Siberian irises. I am adding more shrubs such as a groundcover honeysuckle, dogwoods, 'Summerwine' ninebark and 'Drift' roses. Next year I will also try some rugosa roses or something along those lines. The garden really is a mishmash collection that allows survival of the fittest. I am certainly not attached to any particular plant out there, and the whole thing just evolves over time. I would like it to be more shrubs and fewer perennials though, because deadheading it and cutting it back are daunting tasks. Next year I will sink some time into adding shrubs. (There are more photos of this garden in the first 'combination pics' thread from June). The clematis on the arch are 'Perle d'Azur' (2005) and 'Comtesse de Bouchard' (2007). I selected them for their later bloom so that things would be interesting in late summer. The arch is metal and was from one of those junky-type antique stores. Yes, I think it's 5' wide. Some day relatively soon it's going to collapse. You should see it sway in the wind. I have to cut back the clematises in order to preserve the opening in the archway. Otherwise they would join hands and seal the whole thing off! It's very pretty in the winter too - I cut about 2/3 of the clematis vines off but leave enough for some winter interest. We put sunflower heads on it so the birds have an easy place to eat (away from the cats). Mollie, the tour was organized by a local arts center. We were on the tour in 2007 and they had been asking me again for a few years now. I hope they don't ask again anytime soon. I need a enough years to pass so that I can forget about how stressful this was! I think I'd rather help out by being on the selection committee or contributing in some other way. I did learn things! The coolest thing I learned was all the types of native bees that live here. That was the highlight. I also learned that I need to use my compost, particularly in the greenhouse which is ailing this year. So yesterday I put down a 4" layer of compost throughout the whole greenhouse. Another visitor suggested I use straw as mulch in the raised beds, and I'm definitely going to do that. I hate spending money on mulch so straw is perfect and cheap. Oh, and back to the bees, I learned to use sunflower stalks as wintering habitat for them. DH did once consider making the sculptures as a profession. But the idea didn't resonate with him, I think because the sculptures don't have a function. The bicycles are a much better fit for him and use all the same skills. But thank you for the vote of confidence! Thanks again for being by my side (virtually) through the whole thing. I am still looking forward to regaining all my energy and it's great to have an 'empty' to-do list!

Oh absolutely, Melissa. For me, this was really the first year I consciously attempted to plant particular food plants for insects - a rather good wheeze since it excuses my untidy allotment, gives me a reason to grow very easy flowers, cheaply from seed and fully justifies leaving numerous weeds about the place....and I am pleased, both aesthetically and ethically with the results (apart from the tattered broccoli). Having a green manure moment too. This has actually been a desperate summer for our butterflies - an absence of many common types such as the common blue, skippers and gatekeepers - although s couple of fritillaries and hairstreaks have been brought back from the brink. Not the Wall butterfly or the Duke of Burgundy though- butterflies of my childhood, practically vanished.

Very Cool! Your GF is not alone in her dislike/fear of reptiles. They have always gotten a bad rap in most societies. Even in India (where I am originally from) where most animals are worshiped as Gods themselves or as vehicles for Gods, snakes are killed just because they come close to where people live when in fact it is the other way round. I would love to have them in our yard - will keep the rodents in check! Thanks for posting Shyamala