I am with Laceyvail - don't use weedcloth in a garden! If you google weedcloth on many of the forums, you'll see lots of opinions that agree with this. Roots of woody plants from below and weed seeds that have blown in from above will root into the fabric and you will come to regret putting it in. It keeps mulch separated from the soil, so the soil doesn't get new organic matter and as the mulch breaks down and organic matter blows in you have new growing medium on top of the landscape fabric. It's an all around bad idea and the nightmare is when you decide to get rid of it . . . DH did this once many years ago and it both didn't work and was misery to remove a couple of years later. It does have its uses - to keep drainage material from washing out from behind a dry-stacked stone retaining wall, to keep soil in a basket where you want to plant annuals, or under a walkway to separate layers of soil and drainage material, but you will come to regret ever using it where there are plants growing in a garden. Instead of using landscape fabric, I mow down everything to ground level and sometimes will dig a few weeds that I know to be stubborn, put down heavy cardboard and then a heavy layer of medium fine mulch on top of that to a depth that settles to about 3 inches. That's enough to prevent most weeds from sprouting and to keep most of the already present weedy plants from coming up through. I let that sit for a few weeks to a year and then plant. If you are in a hurry to plant, though I can't imagine that this is a great time to plant in most areas of Colorado right now, you can use some type of contact weed killer (they range from gas flame weed torches to strong vinegar to Roundup.) One more quick comment - since you are planning to redo the whole area, now would be a perfect time to add any soil supplements like more organic matter to help hold moisture and nutrients.

Amanda, Sorry t take so long to get back to this, I've been thinking on it and I think your issues are a lot different to the ones Bernergrrl refers to. By the sounds of it you actually have a degree of flow in progress already, if you used to have a natural stream and it's the disruption of this that has caused the damp patch then I think it should be quite easy to create a mini environment that has a lot more to offer than wet feet! If as you say you already have clayey soil you may find that as you dig you meet more of this. One way to make a pond before the days of fibreglass pre-formed pools and butyl liners, was to "Puddle" clay, this literally is to line your excavation with compacted clay, so I would guess you would not need a liner. Also if you have a lot of ground water in the area, a liner can have problems with the ground water rising beneath it. I would guess you should go at least 24" deep at the deepest but that you should do the inverted hat style, ie a wide brim and a deeper centre. This gives you lots of scope for plants and wildlife. Once you get established, the larger insects within the pond take care of the mosquito larvae. I wouldn't bother with fish, that's a whole different ball game, fish eat everything damsel fly, dragon fly larvae, spawn, newts, frogs etc. then get busy on the plats so you end up with a big fish bowl. You mention that the damp patch extends into your neighbours woods. Is this where the natural stream ran to, if so that should be ideal as you can create an overlflow channel that drains off there. It may be that you are seasonally dryer at some stages, it's quite easy to top up with tap water, but check what chemicals get added, or whether you have hard water, even so normally it just takes a couple of days to settle down again. Get to the library and read some books on pond planting, remember you are planting firstly submerged plants like Canadian pondweed (Elodea canadensis), Myriophyllum aquaticum(parrot's fether), Myriophyllum spicatum(spiked milfoil) and a host of others to oxagenate the water, check with what you have locally that is not considered invasive. Next you have deep water plants like your water lilies, nuphar, Hottonia, Orontium, Aponogeton, that all grow from the bottom of your pool and float their leaves on the surface. You also have floating aquatics, like stratiotes(water soldiers), Trapa(water chestnut), Hydrocharis(frogbit) etc. Then you have your marginals, ranging from those that like to be in water with their crowns covered to those that just need to be near water and have a constant supply of moisture, there are literally hundreds of these, try and avoid any that are going to be a self seeding nuisance, and you sould please your wildlife. You can add non natives as you want but again watch out for those that may escape and become a nuisance. Again, the overflow area and run off channel can be planted up as a bog, making the most of the feature. I read a good few books before building my pond. I work at home, and my office window looks out onto the pond, believe me it's alive all year round and is great fun. I do about 2 days maintenance on it a year, usually thinning out the faster growing plants, or collecting seed before dispersal, other than that it's entirely self maintaining, a lot less work than the equivalent patch of grass! Hope this helps! As for Bernergrrl's mud, I think that's a harder situation. Again, is this a sump?? has it been there for a long time, is there any flow, sounds like a whole heap of rotten vegetation has built up. Best to excavate it out and get some oxagenating plants in there, mixing soil and grit in will help a little but won't cure it. Give us a bit more description of what the surrounding area is like and waht has caused this?? Cheers Greenmanplants

Frivolous, that's rough. I feel for you. Impatiens do great in hanging baskets, by the way. I have more shade than I would like and those impatiens baskets are a colorful Godsend. There are some very pretty coleus. They aren't all green leaves, so you might want to check on them. I'm no expert on flowers, but I know there are some irises that do very well indeed in wet conditions. I don't see why you couldn't put them in pots if you think you'll be in your current location for a while. How about some rhodies and azaleas? Plant 'em high. Tulips, grape hyacinths, etc. do well in pots, and the upside is after they die back, you can plant around them. They will take as much sun as you can give them though. Pansies are so hardy and they will take lots of abuse. So colorful and pretty. Terrific in pots. They do pretty well in shade. If you go back to that garden center, you might ask the person on duty about native plants that would do well under your conditions. Perhaps there is a native plant society in your area? Do keep in mind the hanging baskets. If there is any spot that gets even a little sun, (a fence, garden wall, even some area under a tree that gets some sun, you can hang a basket.) Good luck. Mary

Cacbeary- I may be a little late with this posting, but, better late than never! I don't think it is sick at all for your mom to place a stepping stone at your father's grave. Everyone grieves differently. I think it is a terrific idea. I also think it is better than a bunch of fake flowers that you buy at Walmart. No offense to anyone who does this, I do this, too. Not everyone can have a stepping stone at their grave. Its a very lasting momento. I, for one, think it is very sweet and a suggestion that I may make to people who want to commerate their loved ones. It would also be great for kids to do and then as they get older it will always be there. I'm into it. Kelly