There are lots of things you can use as space fillers. The question is how deep do you need the soil to be. Different plants have different requirements. Most annuals need 6 inches but you should make sure. I have used slabs of waste blue board, craft foam, packing peanuts in plastic bags and bricks(to discourage the removal of my pots). I didn't think about the bottles since we don't drink colas. You can also get liners that are only half the depth of the half barrel. Sandy

I've been using the 1 gph drippers on my cucumbers but now that the weather has turned quite hot, I'm thinking of changing it to the 2 gph. I've been getting plenty of cukes with the 1 gph. I run the system twice a week for about 3 hours on very low pressure. The weather has been somewhat humid plus I mulch with straw so I'm not getting any evaporation to speak of either. Hope that helps.

Late nights of music after days of gardening fuel my rose posts often. Roses that I have coveted at one point or another that might do well in pots include: Jean Mermoz - Pink Polyantha Treasure Trail - Pink-Apricot Blend Barden Remontant Moss Snowbird - Creamy White HT Anne Marie de Montravel - White Polyantha mentioned above Marie Jeanne - Light Pink Polyantha Grey Dawn - Grey Floribunda Lullaby - Light Pink-White Polyantha Archiduc Charles -Cerise/Red/Pink China Indigo - Mauve Portland Lady Emma Hamilton - Orangeish Austin September Morn - Pink HT Violet Hood - Mauve Polyantha Pinnochio (but I don't think it's available now that Vintage is closed) - Pink Blend Floribunda Precious Dream - Orange-Apricot Blend Hybrid Bracteata by Moore Wedding Cake (if you like wacky roses) Pink-Green-Cream Moore Floribunda Cream Veranda - Cream Floribunda by Kordes and probably more if I thought about it. I'd go for something you have coveted for a long time, that wouldn't go as well with your planted garden color schemes, that you'll care to water and attend to a bit more, and/or that is from a breeder you have had success with or have been meaning to try. I personally think I'm going to add a Treasure Trail for a pot the next time I make a Rogue Valley order. And my mom is ordering a Jeri Jennings for a spot along what will be the "Hybrid Musk Wall" across from a row of grapes growing along part of one side of my parent's house. From what I understand, it can get fairly sizable in a warm climate. I've seen pictures of Felicia that look like a Floribunda though, so Hybrid Musks appear to be versatile in the garden. Jay

Echeveria so many to mention no idea where I would begin, they look like Hens and chicks but many leaf shapes,sizes and colors where to begin is the question. Several crassula like Grisia or Graptopetalum the list is long. Two types of succulents there are many many more