At first I thought I was okay with the new format but as I began to use GW outside my pre-defined pattern I saw what others were complaining about. Eventually I did find the forums list, but you're right, it is completely unorganized. Definitely the new changes are a disadvantage for those of us who use the forums regularly. (And Melissa is right, many of us ARE the experts; at least we are experienced and fairly knowledgeable.) I find myself wondering if Houzz actually cares, though. For us GW is a community. I've been on GW for more than twenty years. I'm not the only one. Many of us have formed lasting friendships here, both online and in the real world. On the other hand Houzz is a commercial venture, I would even say a high quality one. I quite enjoyed Houzz myself long before the GW takeover. But I think Houzz has very little interest in supporting interest-based friendships. They want to make money, which is perfectly understandable. As far as I can see, our choices are Houzz/GW or Facebook or Nothing, and take them as they are. There is nothing else out there. Veldfire tried setting up an alternative years ago after Spike evicted him, but that seems to have fizzled, at least as far as I know. Long ago Spike tried to get GW users to pay for the service but most would not, so he sold it to iVillages. They turn sold it to Houzz. Am I missing a link in the chain? Not sure. I don't think that anyone considers the old text-based Usenet groups a viable alternative anymore. Some will choose Nothing. A lot of people have done just that. But so far at least, not me. Rosefolly

I hope I'm not a troublemaker! I was patient with the first post since it showed up on my dashboard, but it never showed up in the index. The first test I did showed up. I edited it to the content I wanted to talk about and that showed up. Then a couple of minutes later, it disappeared. That's why I thought I might be being trolled. Sigh. It wasn't important. Just a discussion starter, but this is bad.

I may be confused (it happens), but this is what I posted under Dick's header on the subject. It may actually be what you were asking about. So sorry for the repeat if I'm babbling on: I don't know what your soil chemistry is, but around here one of the better natural fertilizers is Cotton Burr Compost, which you can also use as a mulch (which I do). It is more pricey then pine bark mulch but adds nutrients to the soil instead of depleting them. A lot of people were using mushroom compost, but the product they sell has already had the nutrients leached out of it by the companies who were growing mushrooms in it. It may sound good, but isn't as good as Cotton Burr Compost.....Just a suggestion to start with.............Maryl - (see link below) Re: Cotton Burr Compost

So pretty! I don’t have them here. Not that I have seen any kind of butterfly in my yard for a while. Can’t wait for Spring.