Hi How do you tell one type of "moss" from another?? Since "moss" is by far the oldest terrestrial plant the have evolved into countless species If you think orchids have a lot of species check out moss sometime .Some can't even make up their mind if they are a moss or a fern or just plain mildew lol. For fun google "Lichen" some time Give you a 100 bucks to positively identify onelol When I went to Costa Rica and saw my first "wild "Cattleyas the first thing that hit me was the number of different kinds of plants living either touching,sprouting vining what have you nearby . I climbed a tree and counted 30 different kinds of plants that were NOT part of the Catt. Not a one of which I could identify as a species particularly the "mosses" lol The one thing I did not see is a Catt growing alone in fact was always the minor part of the group. Did note that "green "plants nearby the Catt seemed healthier while brown and gray plants suggested the Catt was stressed if not downright unhealthy.. Not a single one of the orchids that I saw were growing anything like I grow them. Maybe mother nature made a mistake?? lol gary

Re: the bird damage. I stumbled onto the following while working out some topiary ideas. Some of you might want to try this to see if it diverts the birds. Totally unexpected, interesting discovery. Materials needed: Regular poly fill used to stuff cloth animals Sewing machine Waterproof glue Weed barrier cloth...the type with a sort of black suede finish on one side which is the outside of the following form. I assume that you can figure out how to sew a ball shape. Weed barrier cloth is easily stiched on a sewing machine. Sew a ball shape about 12" high, leaving the bottom open for stuffing. Glue each seam with the waterproof glue. Set aside to dry for several days. Turn right side out, stuff with fiber fill, place a heavy flat stone or brick in the bottom for weight and sew the opening closed with thin brass wire. All this is easy to do. Now...using sharp scissors or knife, poke about ten holes in the ball and using a crochet hook pull some of the stuffing to the surface in wisps. Set the ball(s) in the moss garden and watch what happens. Happy birds which love the stuffing and are not so intent on your moss. An additional surprise to me. I was working with a combination of polly fill, potting soil and milled peat moss for stuffing. Experimenting as always, I added sieved dry moss to this mix in a pail, got all very wet, squeezed out the moisture and stuffed my weed barrier cloth forms with this. Set them in the shade, kept them watered and the forms grew moss. Just an idea you might want to play with. These creations last for many, many years.

Irene, your arrangement of the Cheshire Cat. rabbot and Alice is darling! What a great idea to use them with a Mandavilla vine. That makes it a 'story book' garden for sure. The cactus is another of the same kind as the Madonna form, which has grown so much now it doesn't look the same. The seeming hole in the 'steeple' of the 'church' bird house has a piece of colored glass in it to resemble a stained glass window.. A dear friend who lived a few doors up made all the birdhouses I have plus two wooden benches I have in front. Then she had a terrerfic garage sale and also gave me a bunch of stuff when she moved.

I ordered it, but from a different vendor than zinc door. It was final sale there and I didn't want to chance it if I didn't like it in the space. So I ordered it from ClaytonGrayHome.com. They had no restocking fee, so I will just pay the shipping if we don't like it. I'm usually not that impulsive, I need to see something quite a few times before I buy, but I have been looking forever, so fingers crossed! Thanks Fori, I talked to a store that carries it in California and he indicated that it was a good brand (but what else is he going to say, right?) Hopefully it'll hold up over the island. Gpraceman- That was my thought originally as well, but I couldn't find anything I liked with a pop of color. I didn't want a small glass pendant so I was thinking of a light with a fabric shade, which is how I actually came across this. We are going to have one wall with blue-grey grass cloth on it, so I hope that will be enough color for the room. Nan57- You're lucky your attic is above! What a great idea. I'm wondering how contractors feel about moving lights. Our ceilings aren't repaired yet, so maybe I'll have to figure that out before they fix. Isabel98-Thank you!! SO glad to hear that!! Kam76, It's expensive-out of my price range, but I've been under budget with some of my other choices so I'm hoping it's worth it. I saw it from $622 to $650. But Arcadian home, and clayton gray home both had coupon codes I found on the internet (for 10 and 20% off respectively) Thanks BlackChamois! Me too! Thanks again everyone! You are all awesome!!