Disclaimer: I am not a garden designer. But I do, like you, live in the Pacific Northwest (WA). When you were developing your garden, it sounds like you were thinking of the new area as a place to experiment/be creative/have some fun. I understand why you want a basalt birdbath, they are beautiful. Would you consider instead a ceramic birdbath?. When I searched for "birdbath ceramic garden" at houzz.com, some stunning examples came up, including one made out of two pails and a garbage can lid. A rock garden can be quite easy to maintain. I helped my neighbor build his 5 years ago, but have not yet built one for myself. Here are some suggestions to think about: 1. Consider making the garden larger than 6' x 5'. 2. Dig out some of the soil, and mound sand at LEASt 18" deep. Alpine and rock garden plants do well in our area in sand beds. (My neighbor's large rock garden is up to 5 ft deep!) 3. Add whatever kind of rocks you like and can manage, but be sure they are partially buried and look like something you could imagine seeing when you are hiking in the mountains. A garden near here has rocks small enough for one person to move, but looks natural, as the rocks were placed with thought and sufficiently buried. 4. After planting, add a couple of inches of grit as mulch. You may have to look around to find the kind of rock mulch that'll give you a color that you like. For example, my neighbor uses granite mulch (white/black), but he is red/green colorblind, so this increases the contrast for him. (I've seen brownish 3/8" crushed basalt that I'd like to use for my garden.) 5. Start with some woody plants to add structure and winter interest. Locals love 'Chief Joseph' ponderosa pine, as it turns a beautiful yellow in the winter, and grows quite slowly. Or how about a sculptural manzanita? Add miniature conifers (growing not more than 1" per year) in blues and golds and greens, and little shrubs like Kalmiopsis. 6. Plant ground covering subshrubs like crowberry, shrubby penstemons (e.g. Penstemon davidsonii or P. cardwellii) and dryas. These can add masses of texture or color and look decent in the winter. 6. Add perennials for summer color. Lewisia cotyledon hybrids are beautiful! How about columbines? Pacific coast irises? We found that the beargrass that grows in our mountains does well for us; it has shiny green leaves year round and sends up those dramatic blooms. 7. Add bulbs for spring color. There are quite a few natives that are beautiful but underused. Camas? Brodiaea? Erythronium (fawn lilies)? I like to grow west coast natives, as they relate to my environment, but others like to grow plants from the Alps or the Mediterranean or from South Africa or the Himalayas. Whatever is used, plant in groups or use mat-forming plants so that there are blocks of color and texture. Well, you may already know lots about growing alpine and rock garden plants, or you may want to do something quite different from what I'm describing. Here is a link that might be useful: This OR nursery has links to their How-To Pages on rock gardening This post was edited by IshCountryGal on Wed, Jul 24, 13 at 3:56

I am hesitant about removing all the larger leaves because this is what I have done to another plant - I took off several large leaves at once - and it went down hill from there. I think I will just probably wait for new growth to come in and for the plant to follow its natural course. When the time of these older leaves is up, they will go by themselves. I ordered the least expensive timer from indoorgardening though I am still not sure exactly how it works. I guess I will see when it arrives.

Hi, I posted about dark purples a few weeks back. I actually misspoke, for I really was interested in mid, clear purples. I say that b/c I had some suggestions for Black Ambrosia, which is interesting b/c that one was about to bloom for the first time in my garden the next day! Now having seen it, I would definitely call Black Ambrosia more purple, not almost black, though really deep. It smells great, too. From a recent visit to a nursery, I saw a clump of Shaka Zulu--prettiest purple by far of several hundred plants. Really nice. Most responders to my post listed Strutter's Ball as top purple. Point of View is a really large red flower that towers and holds its color well. When it's still dark red by mid-afternoon on a 90 degree plus day in Georgetown, SC, it's a good performer. I have Chicago Apache, too, and like it, though it's not bloomed this year yet (it was just moved). My favorite "hot" color: Burning Inheritance. Awesome color! Mike in Coastal SC, Zone 8

I've used more flour than usual because during the first of the panic shopping, even bread or hamburger buns were not available in the stores. I used to bake all my own bread, buns, donuts, sweet rolls, etc before I got involved with that cursed Weight Watchers, so I went through a lot of flour. Now I'm still going through a lot of flour, I've already used 10 pounds of the 50 pounds of bread flour I bought, so mine is just in ziplock bags, 5 pounds per bag, and the bags are stored in plastic buckets with secure lids. Right now it's about 30 degrees and tonight it'll get back down to the low 20s, I ought to sit that bucket in the garage and let it freeze in case of any "invaders"... Tomorrow, though, I'm making the gluten free lemon bars, Amanda will be here for her Mother's Day visit and she loves them. So do I, they are better than the regular ones I used to make, so thanks to Nancyofnc, for that recipe! Annie