Thanks hoovb and Jenn! You both have lovely gardens, so I take that as quite a compliment :-) If I have a chance this weekend, I'll try to take some pics of my different gardens and post a little walk through. This particular area was sort of an unimproved area that had become very overgrown, and there was no hardscape or real plan. It was our 2011 project, and it's nearly complete. You can see a little peek at my greenhouse, which I'm really excited about. Waited 30 years for that baby! Patty S.

I just received an order of succulents from Daniel's Specialty Nursery in Lakeside, CA. The prices were modest and the plants received were outstanding. You must do your own homework as to hardiness. I highlight the botanical name and do a Google search. Dave's Garden or some other site usually shows up and gives a hardiness rating. Gardening with succulents in our part of the world challenges succulent success with high nighttime temps and high humidities, so many succulents rated as extremely cold hardy will rot immediately when our summer kicks in. Sedum adolphii, S. potosinum, S. reflexum, S. forrestianum, Delosperma cooperi, D. nubigenum, Echeveria runyonii, and Graptopetalum paraguayensis have all performed well for me in San Antonio. There are also some relatively small and "friendly" agaves - Agave celsii ( recently renamed A. mitis), A, bracteosa and the tiny A. geminiflora, A. "Sharkskin Shoes", A. leopoldii, and others. There are many aloe including Aloe aristata, A. saponaria, A. vera, a. humilis, A. grandidentat, and A. brevifolia that do well for me. Manfreda species seem all to do well. Some of the sedums and all the rest are available from Yucca Do Nursery in Giddings, Texas. The list goes on but this is a good start. The key for success is excellent drainage, a challenge in Houston unless you are in one of the sandy soil areas. Daniel's Specialty Nursery http://www.gosucculent.com Yucca Do Nursery http://www.yuccado.com

Aaaack....I think I underestimated the size of my alleged favorite plant. This is the one in the original post. I still have 3 + months of growing time left in my area before it actually gets a tad cold and I'm thinking I under potted this Takanotsume. Do y'all agree? It can't handle too much sun without wilting anymore (though it recovers without issue with some watering) and I'm beginning to see roots at the bottom. Buds everywhere, too, and I haven't even begun harvesting yet since I didn't plant this seed until May. i have never repotted pepper plants this size since my "normal" was SF, where 80 degrees is considered a heat wave and everything grows slower, lol. I'm thinking I just lift the plant out carefully and simply plop it into a 10 gallon? I don't think I should mess with the roots like I normally would. Or should I just not risk it and move it into slightly lesser sun? Arrrgh....

FWIW - I avoid the use of superlatives when discussing soils because they're certain to invite disagreement. One of the most important qualities of the gritty mix is that it doesn't support retention of any significant amounts of water in the spaces between soil particles screened to suggested sizes, and particle size ios a common theme throughout soil discussions because particle size has a significant impact on water retention and often delineates between desirable and undesirable water retention. We know that introducing any significant volume of topsoil to the gritty mix or other mixes that are very porous introduces perched water, which detracts from one of, if not the most significant properties the gritty mix has to offer, which pretty much makes moot the point of making it in the first place. Too, I'm not sure what sifted topsoil is? Here in mid-MI, virtually all topsoil will pass through an aluminum insect screen; and FWIW, the overwhelming % of discussions I've had re the impact of topsoil in container media have almost always arisen because the grower is trying to be rid of the problems it causes, not to say how well it works; this, because it clogs pores that would otherwise be filled with air and causes them to become filled with water. If I had a gritty mix that I wanted more water retention from, I'd simply increase the amount of Turface or internally porous material in relation to the grit, not add small particles that ensure the soil holds perched water. If I wanted to increase water retention and was willing to sacrifice some aeration for that increase in water retention, I think I'd add some of the Turface fines back in. This because they are internally porous, unlike topsoils particles, which means that to achieve the same increase in water retention you would get from topsoil, you'd need to include a much smaller measure of fine, internally porous material. Less fine material means less sacrifice in air porosity; or, a better way of increasing water retention. Al