My goal at the moment is to cut back my collection by at least 30 plants overall, preferably the large-sized ones which I am no longer enamoured with or plants which have been doing poorly. I have been gradually switching over to more miniature and compact-growers over the past couple years and that has noticeably increased the space in the GH, but nowhere near enough. I have been tossing, giving away or selling the excess orchids, but need to be more strict with myself and dump even more. The ideal GH environment is where there is room to walk down the aisles without having to turn sideways and where plants are not crammed up against each other -- which increases the likelihood of disease and pests. Of course, I will never reach that goal, but it is a good direction to be aimed in. It is very difficult to part with plants, even those you really don't like anymore. They kind of stick to you and make you feel guilty when you want to unload them, and then you make all kinds of excuses and promises so you don't get have to get rid of them. But, there comes a time when you have to sit down and think about the direction your hobby is taking. I found, in clearing out a small wall area of the GH two years ago, that I had an ideal environment where I could grow Tolumnias like weeds which I had never realized before; in the before, I had merely killed them. The few big, mostly Cattleyas, which had been in that space didn't give me near the enjoyment that these mini Tolumnias do, both species and hybrids, and I still have room for at least a dozen more.

When I bought my house 24 years ago, my kids were babies and we had no money for landscaping. The house sat on an acre of dense woods all around, except for the leachfield which was purely sand and had an odd steep slope to it that my kids would use over the years as a sledding hill, toy truck ramp, ski slope, skateboard hill and anything else that prohibited the growing of grass. My then-husband didn't have any interest or ambition concerning gardening or landscaping (just other women) and I was busy raising my babies so the yard remained devoid of anything other than trees, rocks and sand. Fast forward ten years and I got rid of many of the trees, stumps, rocks, the sandpit, and.....the husband. While a single mom of 3, I had even less money than ever, but I had no one to tell me what I could or couldn't do anymore. I wasn't into roses yet at this point but I got to work getting a lawn going, planting perennials that were given to me as divisions from friends, composting, and learning how to operate lawnmovers, chainsaws, leafblowers, etc. I got really strong, both physically and mentally. I pushed a wheelbarrow chock full of rocks up that steep slope, over and over again, until I had enough to make a stone-lined bed for my lilies. When that bed looked wonderful it inspired me to build more, until I soon had many rock beds full of blooming beauties. This being the Granite State rocks are free and plentiful....all thats needed is a truck, a wheelbarrow and a strong back. Just this fall alone I have added yet another 5 rock beds for roses and lilies. I have to buy loam by the truckful because the soil here is too rocky and sandy by itself....but the wonderful thing is that my now-husband is very much a part of my gardening vision and passion. Even though he is a great help to me, he enjoys bragging about his 'Wonder Woman' (as he calls me) when folks stop to admire our little acre of Eden. He says I look my sexiest when I'm digging or hauling rocks, my hair all in my face and up to my neck in mud and mosquitoes. So I accomplish more than having a show-stopping yard and a place of peace and refuge....my husband is proud of me...my kids, now grown, brag about their mom and how strong and fearless and rose-crazy she is....my mom who has Alzheimers and lives with us can sit outside and enjoy the scent of roses and lilies....our neighbors and folks passing by get a little 'lift' to their day enjoying the garden beds by the roadside... and friends of ours can rid themselves of all those darn rocks in their yards! I know that its just a matter of time (and coming soon) before there is absolutely not one inch more of space for me to add anymore gardens. I have managed to cram more plant material into an acre (and still manage to have a few trees left, although the lawn keeps getting smaller...LOL) than anyone would ever have thought possible. I guess I never really planned anything out, it just evolved over time as a mad gardener's addiction to planting and building garden beds....in any available space that had a bit of sunlight. I never really had a vision in my mind, just a passion in my heart that couldn't be denied. And my heart led the way. One garden led to another, and one rose to another...and another. Sometimes even I am amazed when I look at old photos and see the yard as it was so long ago. A long time ago, an acre seemed like a lot of land but now that I have mostly filled it up, it is feeling crowded. But in a wonderful way! I am surrounded by hundreds of roses, lilies, 2 water gardens, shade gardens, berry bushes, statuary, arches and pergolas....and LOVE. I guess that was my vision after all. Celeste

I've been trying the "buried pot with a few holes" system for 2 summers now, going on the 3rd summer. These pots (some 5 gal pails and some larger) are buried in a garden under an ash tree. Last summer showed quite an increase in # of leaves. The weather was unusually cool (no warming here) with normal precip. I watered that garden once a week like a regular garden. I also should mention that I used the native soil with a little leaf compost. This garden gets dry and has those fine ash roots. So far, I'm pleased with the results and will update you as the hostas sprout. Peggy

The Citristrip was good and wet when I took the plastic off. I use pieces of cheap plastic drop cloth, since one big piece is easier to manage than a number of shopping bags. After scraping it off, i scrubbed it with a soap and water solution and a scotchbrite made for paint removal. I know it didn't attack the stain, as the stripper was till orange despite having been on there about 16 hours. Around here, 1/2 gallon is $20, but it takes about 3 quarts to do one door, thus $30. I found one quart wouldn't quite cover one side of a door. Applying it too thin is a waste of time. We'll see what we decide for a finish. Our powder room is right on the foyer, and I wanted a rustic old door in that spot. It's going on barn door rollers, and I'm trying to find an 'interesting' handle to roll it back and forth. The foyer is small- 6X8, so I don't want to go too dark. It's surprising how light the wood dries- you'd think I got much of the stain off, but when wet, it's very dark and blotchy. Yellow pine is terrible for staining, so I think they used a very dark opaque stain. I imagine these doors came out of old mill houses, and were probably the cheapest door available at the time.