I read this thread feeling commiseration, sadness, joy, and respect. When I had my first garden, boy was I lucky; my grandfather never used a chemical on his property from the time he bought it in 1947. It was "virgin" in the sense it had never had a house built on it prior to that. It was pretty much partial prairie abutting a deciduous forest. He kept the back half prairie and the front half forest. With a large forest preserve not too far away, a vacant lot of 10 acres to one side, and several acres all around us that were undeveloped, we didn't have critters that had no food. They mostly left our garden alone. He taught me what to do, helped me create my own flower garden when I was three, and taught me to love being in the garden as much as I loved perusing seed catalogs on front of a fireplace in January. He welcomed every bird, snake, spider...even paying the neighborhood children for live snakes. He figured it would keep the snakes alive and might even help keep something from eating something. He did this all without fencing, pesticides, herbicides. He gardened about 1/2 acre, working in it every day for a few hours before work. We had apple, pear, peach, and mulberry trees, raspberry and blackberry canes, blueberry bushes, and grapes. When he passed away, I inherited the house. It took me a few years to come back "home" and when I did, I picked up where he'd left off. It had been about ten years since he'd gardened by that time. I started and kept a smaller garden, only working about 25'x50' space and keeping up with the fruit trees that were still growing. Other than a slug or two, and maybe a cabbage moth here or there, I saw few pests. The birds watched over my garden, as did the snakes and frogs and spiders. I grew the bird sunflowers every year as a thank you. I had no soil issues and never saw a powdery anything, a blight, or a wilt. Everything worked together to make it and exceedingly easy experience. When my sister took over our grandfather's home, I came to a large urban area. Now, I garden in containers. What I find amazing is the number of pests and problems I have. I hadn't a clue what they looked like! I am constantly looking up pictures to see if it matches the next malady. Initially, I felt like I'd never gardened before. After a particularly bleak 3rd year when I lost all tomato plants and ate maybe 3 tomatoes for a whole summer of work, I stopped for a year, thinking I couldn't do this. It was just too hard to maintain about 6 self watering containers. Each environment is different and brings new things with it. And each, a new learning experience. As someone said up-thread, it gets easier with time. And, as several others have said, it's really about the process, not just the result. After a year off, I decided to come at this again from a different perspective, admitting that I didn't really know much about containers and was trying to apply my organic soil methods to containers. I've since learned a LOT more than I thought I'd ever need to to be successful with containers, and still have a lot more to learn. But, each day when I wake up, the first place I got (after the bathroom, lol) is my deck. I look at everything, make sure it made it through the night, and marvel at how it grows. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Wow--lots of good information. Westelle, I think the Central Valley may be comparable to our conditions here, so your listed plants are ones that will go on my list. Dicot, since our garden is on steeply sloping land, even with clay soil drainage is good. I let mints romp around in parts of my garden as well, but would Menta varieties grow in such dry conditions? I have a low-growing plant from a friend which I think is a catmint: I like it and am planning on taking bits of it to transplant to other areas for a low groundcover. I doesn't seem to interfere with daffodils coming up through it, is fragrant and pretty, and carefree. Do you use groundcover thymes? T. longicaulis is creeping and very handsome, there are the forms of T. serpyllum, and T. pulegioides is another good one. All these are fragrant, and well suited to droughty conditions. Thanks to both of you for your suggestions: they're really helpful. Melissa

Can you post a picture - it's hard to visualize what you are describing. Do you mean that you need to add some depth on the top of the front of the firebox opening? Also, I assume you are aware of your local building code requirements with regard to clearances from the firebox to any combustible material, like wood framing (assuming that's what you used). I've seen wood framing get charred right through a layer of stone and cement board. If you don't know how to post a picture I'll give you my e-mail address and you can send it to me.

I'll remember that. There's no need in me letting the Jap Beetles get established when they show up. And they will show up since I'm the only one provide real food. We use malathion around the perimeter of the house every year. The house is very old. We must manage the brown recluse spider that likes to make our home their home. We still live with them, believe it or not. I know where they are pretty much. We need to bomb. It's the only way but I hate those chemicals.