Larry - you can check on Orchid Forum here, AOS.org site or just search for light requirements for orchids. But - serious growers of orchids - have greenhouses - with heat, cooler, netting on the top, automatic watering, misting etc. Or basement with metal halide lights. There are some orchids that can be grown under fluorescent lights humidity provided. They are low (duh) light requirement. Jewel orchids, phalenopsis and paphiopedilum work with violets in my personal limited experience. 2 shoplights though. It is my second year and my noname paph is reblooming now. I tried Ludisia - which supposedly the easiest - didn't work. Macodes - which is picky - grows well under one shoplight together with AVs. Good luck Irina

A suggestion 1 Abies balsamea "Nana" or "Prostrata" 2 Chamaecyparis pisifera "Plumosa Nana" 3 Chamaecyparis obtusa ? 4 Chamaecyparis thyiodes "Top Point" 5 Cryptomeria japonica "Vilmoriniana" 6 Podocarpus lawrencei "Blue Gem" Henk

hey let me tell you something very important .... 99% of gardeners.. will drop everything to help teach new peeps their passion [ dont even get me started on the other 1% ...lol ...] ... see the link .. there is a bonsai club in SD .... join it ... they are masters of growing things in pots ... and they are local ... even if you arent really interested in bonsai per se .... you will learn a lot about growing things in your city .... us peeps on the WWW are willing to give you lots of help.. but when it comes down to the nitty gritty .. they are just opinions or theories about how it will all work in SD ... and let us know after the next monthly meeting how it all goes ... good luck ken PS: look like the next meeting is this sunday.. go figure on that .... Here is a link that might be useful: link

Yeah, I use concrete edgers but with an irregular top surface to make it look nicer. I get the most formal look with the edgers going all around the garden bed although of course deviating from a perfect circle. A less formal look can be had with the edgers only as part of the perimeter. My best looking has a cut root flare as part of the perimeter, the cut root flare also serves as a stand for a pot for annuals in the warm season. I will certainly use such design elements (and more, e.g. small rockeries in the planting strip) around the boulder, but one vital consideration is that those design elements have to be in proportion with the boulder (i.e. those design elements have to be small for a 1 cubic yard boulder) hence miniature conifers and hence the edgers can't be too wide either or the entire aesthetics won't work. I am positive that in a practical sense, the edgers can't protect the miniature conifers from the mower or the string trimmer, i.e. I will have to literally manicure at least 1' of lawn around the whole thing even with the edgers in place. I think I have a 50-50 chance to make the whole thing look good, and that is if I can overcome my fear of rodents inside the artificial boulder, LOL Edit: I don't have any rodents in my front and backyard BTW and want to keep it that way :-)