D'Ann --- You might consider "poured-in-place" concrete rather than 'Tufa. It holds up much better under foot & is easy to mix. Just dig out the shape & depth you want, right where you want them and then simply fill the hole up to just above ground level with the concrete. In fact, for a project like this, buy bags of "Concrete Mix" instead of "Cement". It will already have the aggregate mixed in & you just add water. Mix it a little on the dry side and it will be very strong and easy to form. You can finish the stones off by pressing leaves into the surface, adding marbles or even some pieces of small tile or broken ceramics. All in all, a great & very easy way to make excellent stepping stones. You could also apply some acid etch stains after they cure to achieve a range of colors. Sounds like a fun project your tootsies will appreciate for years to come. Have fun! All my best --- Tango

I will say it right now - I'm not a gardener but I want to be. I have always liked growing things but I did not have a clue WHAT the names of everything was and what it would look like in 2 months and so forth. Then at a 1/2 price book store I found a wonderful book with drawings that I could relate too. (see below). Are there other books for zone 5 out there with these types of garden idea??

One book I have called Water Features for Small Gardens has a very small section on bog garden design but I can't recommend it soley for that section. It's a better general water feature info book. One of the best resources I have found is Botanique's web site. This info really "spells it out" as far as siting and construction. I went deeper than Botanique recommends, used old carpet as a pre-liner/root barrier, used packing peanuts as my inert porous filler on bottom and a 50/50 peat sand mix, everybody does it a bit differently. Gardening With Carnivores is ok, lots of pretty pictures, lots about hybridization, lots about cultural requirements, LOTS about starting a business (selling to the cut flower trade, weird), a small section on constructing a bog garden. My favorite boggy book is still Book of Swamp and Bog. No it doesn't tell you how to build a bog garden but it is an amazing resource for the ecology and interrelationships of eastern bogs and wetlands, and it's a fun to read, field guidey, nuturalist type book with great pen and ink illustrations. For a "true" CP native orchid type bog the Botanique info is what you are probably looking for. They also have wonderful (expensive but worth every penny) plants. Good luck! Have FUN!

eld6161 - No way is the trip to the Canyon 277 miles! LOL, am just imagining DH driving a 500 mile "day trip". The shortest route is about 80-90 miles. Diane's suggestion of a Pink Jeep day tour up there sounds wonderful, although I wouldn't want to be in a jeep for that distance. Maybe they use closed vehicles? But one advantage of this is that then you don't have to worry about parking at the South Rim Canyon Village, which can be annoying. You can easily see everything on your own, though. The concierge at your resort will be able to give you all sorts of suggestions as to how to do this trip. Another side trip I remembered - which is only a couple of hours, max - is to take the road going south out of Sedona, across the valley, and up to Jerome. Jerome is a mining ghost town, but it's been repopulated by artists and others and it's fun. Interesting old streets, a couple of decent eateries, and boutiques. And, of course, a spectacular view looking north across the Verde Valley past Sedona to the Mogollon Rim. Beautiful on a clear day toward twilight as lights begin to come on in the various towns below. Yes, also, to Diane's suggestion for the Sedona Airport, which is on a mesa in the center of town. Drive up, once again take in a stunning view, and, if you like, go to the cafe. We always stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge on the mesa, and usually had breakfast at the cafe. Be prepared for the whole place to be very New Age-y. When we discovered the town, around 1977-78, it was just a tiny unincorporated dot on a map, not the famous destination it's become today, and there was no New Age business going on there. It was all about nature and native Americans and the actual Old West. Now there is an overlay of vortexes and crystals and various ceremonies (which the rangers tend to frown on), which add a sort of amusing element.