Oh, takadi, I see you have been sucked in by those idyllic photos of bug-eating, ground-tilling, fertilizing, weed-picking chickens in the gardening magazines. Sunset, English Garden, Martha Stewart- they all have this cute fantasy about chickens in the garden. I got sucked in too. I got chickens. They do not eat the slugs, or the earwigs, or the pillbugs, but they eat my garden. They till alright, they dig up every new plant and scratch the older ones to death. They fertilize alright, all over the patio and their manure burns the plants. They leave the weeds alone. If you want to get Silkies for pets, get two hens, build a strong, well-ventilated coop with a run, and go out there and pet them every day as you feed them their layer ration, clean their coop, check them for lice and mites, change their water, and collect the occasional egg. Take a look at this site to get more info on chicken-keeping, or buy "Raising Chickens for Dummies". It will give you the straight dope on chickens in the garden. Renee Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Chickens

Good point thanks diggingthedirt!!! The dogs head comes up about 3' high, he is a big dog. The neighbors dog is about the same (friendly but it is never on a leash). They are pretty big dogs although, I'm not a dog fan... or should I say a fan of dog owners that don't take care of their dog. The younger dog is very active, and my neighbor's is not as active. It is much older (12 or 13 yrs). For everyone out there that has commented about the "owners" taking responsability, I completely agree. It just is so hard since I've known these people for well over 20 years. We were in Boy Scouts together and have had family outing etc... the dog was his wife's idea. They lived here and owned the dog before I bought the house. My friend gets physically ill when cleaning up after the dog. He tolerates the dog his wife could not live without. And just why doesn't the wife take care of the dog... Well for one she is 8 months pregnant. I've asked 1,000,000,000,000,000.... times to please clean it up and I get nothing. I take care of all the yard work and know where the dog poops so I don't run it over with the lawn mower. But still, they don't clean. So... How do ya handle that? I don't know, but I know the dog is not going anywhere, anytime soon. As for the dog getting tangled up, it happened every day for 7 days. It didn't stop him from going in to the bed. But I'm testing right now with some scrap wood. 30" in height and the pickets about 8" on center (6" apart) It looks nice and I think that I will probably continue with this project after their baby room remodel is done. Too many projects going on at one time... I still have to finish painting the house. (and I'm worried about my flower beds hehe) goodhors I loved your story about the "plant prison." I had a good laugh. I actually used that fence, but the dog went right over it :( I guess I could try some thick fence posts driven into the ground, instead of the picket fence. Maybe more stability will keep him out. I'd maybe get a taller fence since mine is only 18 inches tall. (what was I thinking?)

Hey Terrene, You ever heard of "singing to the choir". That's for groupies, besides, over at the bamboo forum is a continusous loop of the same basic questions from newbies, over and over and over... I have made the point previously that bamboo is native to North America already, and settlers have largely cut it down for agricultural purposes. As mother nature originally intended, bamboo would be in much greater mass here in North America naturally, without this interference in the ecosystem... Like I was saying, I'd be happy to answer any critiques, but that was yesterday, and today is today, my friend... Interstingly, bamboo is a forest plant, and lives and cooperates amongst the trees. They are best buddies. And at times, undistinguishable at a distance, to the untrained eye... Regards, A Tree Hugger and Bambusero Here is a link that might be useful: Lost in the Forest...

ggg, Another shade plant that I dearly love is the old-fashioned, Southern heritage perennial--the August Lily (_Hosta plantagenia_). It is one of those traditional passalong plants, grown for generations. In fact, it is the only hosta that I care anything about growing, largely because of the nostalgia associated with the plant but also because of its many fine attributes. It's a little hard to find in the nursery trade. Plant Delights has it available, as do several other high quality online nurseries. Carried on long petioles, the leaves are large, cordate, and prominently veined--a pleasing shade of apple green. The bold, white, intoxicatingly fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers are borne in August--hence the name "August Lily." Like other members of the hosta tribe, the August Lily produces many flowers per flowering stem.