Lazygardens: Thanks for information, this is the sequence of what I am going to do -- when I wrote on the way I am going to kill my existing lawn I did not mean the steps in sequence, just overall steps :) Also, I am planning to cover the seed with about 1/8" of the top soil to get a better soil contact and protect it from birds. Am I making a mistake here ? Is there any DIY method to compact this top thin layer. I am doing a trial seeding of only about 400 sq feet and don't want to rent a roller just for that. Biglumber: I am actually torn between Ephraim and Sodar (streambank) for the new lawn -- Ephraim gets a lot of praise in 'Xeriscape Colorado' book (chapter 5, grass): http://books.google.com/books?id=m0QyikM-wAwC&pg=PP1&dq=xeriscape+colorado#v=onepage&q=&f=false I am leaning towards Streambank for following reasons: 1. Streambank is a native grass, Ephraim is introduced. 2. Streambank is strongly rhizomatous, Ephraim is weakly rhizomatous and only with sufficient water. 3. Based on what I've read Streambank seems to be more drought telorant, Ephraim needs more water but probably not by much. 4. Ephraim goes dormant much faster during hot dry spells. Ephraim pros: 1. Cheaper seeds (half the price of Streambank). 2. Easier to establish. 3. Lawn seems to be of better quality, AVSeeds recommended Ephraim over Streambank for lawn, but I am not sure about the qualifications of the person I spoke with. Can you post a picture of your Ephraim lawn, I (and I am sure many others) would love to see it :) Bpgreen: In one of your post I've read that you got a better results when seeding Streambank that you put in the freezer before planting, this is also backed up by some USDA document I came across when researching. I am assuming you were referring to fall seeding rather than dormant seeding, is this correct ? Thanks everybody for your help ! Davie.

Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive. Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring: Abies balsamea 'Nana' Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Picea abies 'Tompa' Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice) Picea pungens 'The Blues' Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis' Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb) Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well: Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant... The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year. I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine. So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.') Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D Holly

Hi JLynn, If you mean would I be willing to hang onto some plants you could bring early until the swap, yes, Id be glad to do that, but am I missing something in the translation? You say youre in Cheyenne monthly, but Im in Denver. What am I missing? Do you get down to Denver? And are you thinking of the Spring Swapif it happensor the summer/fall swapwhich Im going to do my best to make happen? If youre able to get something down here, Id be glad to give you some of my unrooted groundcover sedums if youd like. That way youd at least get something back for whatever you bring. And if its more than a month from now, I may have some Dendranthema/Chrysanthemum (whatever genus theyre using these days) Sheffield Hillside Pink, or some Hopleys Purple ornamental oregano, rooted that I just stuck when I was cleaning up my plants. Or I could give you some of my seeds, but I could find something. Just let me know if youre thinking of some way to get things down to Denverand about when. Wish you lived closer, Skybird P.S. Do you know windwhipped is up there in Casper with you!

ladynimue -- I, too, am an older parent! (I had my eldest at 34 so I'm now 38.) I don't know where you are (and I'm not prying -- please don't read it that way) but 'round here, "older" is normal. The other mothers with whom I spend the most time all started in their mid-late thirties / early forties. One of my friends is going through perimenopause and she lets us have a good laugh about having within the past few years finished nursing and now hot flashes! Another just turned 45 and is pregnant. I do not think you'll be odd woman out here, ladynimue. Based on my experiences both in living here plus when we were househunting and the parents we met then, you should fit right in! I also wanted to tell you how phenomenal we are finding the medical community(-ies) to be here. Our "home" hospital in CA was Stanford -- a v. (internationally) well-regarded hospital. Well, they certainly failed my younger (now 20 months) son. He was ill from birth on, and his pediatric team kept brushing us off, blaming my concerns on my PPD. ("You worry too much." "You need to calm down.") We moved out here (to CO) and within a fortnight had his well-baby visit. I started my spiel about his issues when the ped. immediately stopped me, saying "something's clearly not right here." Finally!!! After we got to the root of it, I became crazy-angry, both with the Stanford pediatricians but mostly with myself. (Mother's guilt -- I should've somehow divined what was wrong with him or somehow persevered with others, which I realize now. But at the time, with a two year-old, PPD, an ill newborn and selling our house I felt lucky to feed my older and nurse my younger without crying hysterically.) My younger son is part of the Child Find program (it's federally mandated, locally funded); it helps children with issues (whatever they are) get better. He has physical, occupational and speech therapists who all come to our house every single week. I'd say within two months of that well-baby visit he was enrolled in the Child Find program and progress was underway! (He's now doing great -- not yet caught up, but moving apace and, more importantly, he's healthy!!!) I mention this because good friends of ours back in SF whose son is on the autistic spectrum are on a two year waitlist to see a speech therapist (through the same program, different name there). If we'd had to wait two years goodness only knows where we'd be! (Clearly we'd just do it privately but you get my point.) Also, about three weeks after we moved out here I came down with Shingles (although we didn't know what it was at first), centered in my inner ear. It paralyzed my face and that's what got me to the MD tout de suite. I didn't know an MD, just called the local hospital, explained my symptoms and they responded with "how quickly can you get here?" Within thirty minutes I was seen and within ninety minutes I was having a CAT scan (to rule out stroke or tumor, although they did discover I have Grave's Disease, another thing about which I'd been complaining to my Stanford MDs only to be told "yeah, everybody's tired all the time -- it's called 'motherhood.'"). Later that day they determined it must be Shingles (although I didn't yet have any blisters). Because of it paralyzing my face my eyes were in trouble (Shingles can cause severe and permanent damage to the eyes): the MD's office called the MD's personal opthamologist (I mean the one she goes to see) and had them see me that day as well. I'll tell you, I have never felt so cosseted! (and my MDs office also made an appointment for me with my MDÂs endocrinologist  again, I didnÂt have to worry about "who should I see?") Whenever I recount this story to any locals (meaning folks who live here in CO), to a one they say "I know, I get superlative care here, far exceeding whatever I received where I lived before." My son's progress and the immediate and thorough care I received are merely two examples. I just wanted to tell you another thing we love about CO. If solely for my son's sake I am forever grateful we moved out here. But the truth is, we love all of it! -Brooke