Hi bunkers, I guess I'm not the only one who's been hovering around the edges of this one! I agree with stevation about the photos! I don't have a clear picture of what you're trying to do. Are you looking for something to plant along the edges of the swale---or in it over/around the cobbles----or none of the above! I lived in the hilly area just north of Parker for 20 years and there was a flood plain that ran across the lower part of the neighbor's property just below me. One year we DID get a 100-year flood in the Parker area, and it was amazing! The gully filled up to the top and over the banks and in a wide swath across the road. When the rain stopped, the kids had a ball---briefly! All the houses were above the water line, so no one had structural damage. And in a couple hours it was all gone! And, even though we had some really hard rainfalls at other times, that's the ONLY time I ever remember seeing water in the gully! There was probably some at times, but not enough to make much difference. Unless this is an area where you have reason to expect wet conditions outside of flooding rain conditions, I think you need to plan for more typically Colorado xeric stuff! Even most of the xeric stuff will love an occasional good drenching! And unless we get a VERY unusual year--like 1965, when it rained daily for a week and THEN we got a "catastrophic" downpour, when we had the flood that washed out all the bridges into downtown except one and large sections of I25 going down to the Springs--you're not going to need to worry about too much moisture! I don't remember for sure, but I think that was a 500-year flood! (Still have the newspaper pictures of it---and my own!) But even after THAT, except in the very localized Platte basin, everything else dried out again in short order! If you can, post pictures, or try to give us a better idea of where/what you want to plant, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: 1965 Denver flood!

Instead of spending $$$$ on stickers you could just cut circles out of Contac® paper. They make removable Contac® too that is activated with water and just peels off. I think they call it 'shelf liner'. There is also the sticky removable type too. It really does just peel right off when you want it to. I use it on my kitchen and closet shelves so I can vouch for that. Circles would be easy to cut, out unlike the vines and leaf designs, wall applications they sell. Or just use plain, solid color, wall paper, and wallpaper paste to make the circles for the wall. Since you say you can sew, consider doing the circles on the duvet by sewing on applique circles instead of using fabric paint. You could buy a plain white duvet and either iron on, or stitch on the circles. Instead of trying to build the base cabinets, I would look for some nice solid cabinets on CL and remove the doors. Ones like these can be bought for a song. Top them with some cheap bookshelves. (CL to the rescue again!) Bolt the shelves to the base to that they don't topple. Paint the whole thing white.

So many good suggestions - thank you. I am glad I'm not alone. I printed out the recipes posted by Nicole, Glenda and the one chi83 mentioned from Ina Garten. I noticed that Ina's recipe calls for an 18 x 12 pan and then the recipe says that it makes 20 large brownies - I normally get 16 brownies from my 9 x 9 square pan. If she cuts hers into only 20 brownies they must be huge! That's a real treat. lowspark - what a neat idea - a muffin tin. Never thought of that one or warming up the dry brownies and making a brownie sundae. I'll have to try buying several boxes of the same brand and then experimenting with the cooking time to determine the best one. I tend to buy whatever is on sale. I have tried the Ghirardelli's mix and it is really good. My son is stopping by the house tomorrow after work to celebrate his birthday and he asked for comfort food for dinner- a baked ham and mac and cheese. Since he doesn't care for icing I think I'll make 2 batches of brownies - one for our dessert and one he can take home. That way I won't be too tempted to eat them. I have to admit that I had no trouble eating either my overdone or underdone ones in the past. Thanks again everyone. Maire

I do try to be helpful, and I try to write with the idea that more than one person will read what I say and hopefully gain more enjoyment from the growing experience because of something they learned. I enjoy nurturing plants, and look at nurturing people who also enjoy nurturing plants as a natural extension of my own growing experience. If I couldn't know I was helping, my efforts would be for naught & I'd quickly lose interest; which is why kind comments like yours are always appreciated. Thank you ..... and I enjoyed your story. ;-) In reference to the part you italicized ...... I always figured it's pretty hard to push someone up a ladder unless they were wanting to climb. ;-) So from what I gather from your linked post is this: • I should definitely repot my plant to a slightly larger container and not just pot up. It hasn't been done in at least four and a half years. You can repot or divide PLs for best outcome. If you repot, it might not need to go into another pot, but the root structure of PLs doesn't make them top candidates for root operations related to repotting. You can also simply cut the leaves off each plant and most of the roots, divide the plants and repot into the same pot they came from. They'll recover quickly & take right off. Of course, you have to look at a bare pot for a month, or just stick it in bright indirect light outdoors somewhere & ck on water needs every few days. • When repotting, I should remove all old soil and prune any large roots, upward traveling roots, and "j-hooked" roots. When I do this, where do I clip? As high as possible? This is the part that scares me the most! Honestly, IO'd divide thios plant and save the root pruning learning experience for plants that really need it as part of their care regimen. • I should find a general potting soil (I'm thinking Miracle Grow brand because, as a beginner, it is the only thing I know of that has a seemingly good reputation) and mix it with Natures Helper and Perlite. If this is correct, what should my ratio be? MGs reputation is more a result of its advertising campaign than its performance record. If I were you, I'd seek out a source for pine bark in an appropriate size. If you can find it, you can use perlite and the MG potting soil as small fractions of the soil (added to a large fraction of pine bark) to make a very good soil. A good soil can eliminate over-watering concerns and make a sound nutritional supplementation program monkey easy. See pine bark from 3 different suppliers at 3, 6, & 9 o'clock, and finished soil in the middle: When I refill the new container with the soil mix, how far up should I fill it? There are a lot of stem cuttings that are visible. That's probably not the correct terminology but I assume you understand what I mean. Should I clean this up? Should I bury these any if at all? The soil level should be .5-1" below the pot rim, minimum; and the plants should be planted so the crown is above the soil line to prevent crown rot. Lastly, if I remove all of the old soil, will I need to pack in new soil to fill the void at the thickest part of the roots? I'm sure some of these are silly questions but I truly have no idea what I'm doing and this plant means a lot to me. I want to do what's best for it. I use a wooden dowel rod, sharpened in a pencil sharpener (same tool as you can use as a tell to show when plants need water) to work soil into the voids between roots. See the 2 tools on the right. They serve the same purpose, except I favor the white one I made. Al