Hi there,,well, the only time I have to worry about anything getting my chickens is at night, but they are closed up in there coops very securely so nothing can get in. I have 3 dogs and 2 big cats. None of them bother the chickens at all. It depends on your pets. Mine have been around them for about 6 or 7 years. You can also keep them penned up around their coop if you don't want them to free range. I do not feed them organically anymore due to the high prices of the feed. I buy regular chicken feed but I also give them watermelon, yogurt, peas, corn, black sunflower seeds, berries, scraps from the kitchen, etc. My chickens stay in the yard, they don't wander off into the woods or anything. They even stay out of the road. They dont travel like Guinea hens do. Guinea hens will travel up to 1/4 mile away from home. I lost all 10 of mine in one season. If you go on the "farmlife" forum, there are alot of people over there who own chickens and have good ideas.

Robert, thank you so much for going into detail about the roses that did well for you in SoCa. I am really glad that I have already some of them (Charles Darwin, Jude the Obscure, Sister Elizabeth, Yolande d'Aragon), and I will think of the others that worked for you when you were gardening there. Yves Piaget is especially appealing to me! Thanks for posting more great rose pics! Seeing your photos forces me to try 'Munstead Wood' and I really like 'The Wedgewood Rose'. Wishing you lots and lots of fun with your "old" and new roses in England. Christina Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams

Thanks much guys! -LL, that is a blue(ish) "Glory of the Snow", Chionodoxa forbesii. I looked it up and it is hardy in zone 4, maybe 3. They would look fantastic in your fairy garden area!! How are your daffs doing? -Hey Spogarden! I think I am good on both of those, but thanks so much for asking! You may already know this, but the big Plant Expo at the Spokane Community College is on the 14th. Didn't know I had QUITE so many primroses until I started taking all of these pics! Got some of the double ones on a sale rack for a buck each a few years ago. Then when the stores put the no longer blooming plants on the sale rack I tend to snap up a few! Thanks for looking ;-) CMK

Thanks everyone. I was literally sitting down in my front yard staring at the mowed down perennial garden with paper in hand thinking....what am I going to do with this!?!?!?!?! (i'm sure all the neighbours wondering what I was doing just sitting there staring....roflol) Then it HIT ME...ROCKS. Then I was off and running once I had the vision!! I was looking for a way to create interest in the gardens as I knew that I wanted to go with a simple planting structure. Heck when it sat empty with no plants I loved it. Love when the rocks get wet to show all their pretty colors. Up in Northern Ontario I heard that they can fine you for taking rocks. I'm not from there, but have been up that way before and its absolutely gorgeous, lots and lots of rock. I'm pretty sure most of our rock in garden centres here gets shipped from up north. Lots of quarries up that way. I have two bullmastiffs and the other one that is not in the picture is the devil and she's 5 years old!!!!! Big ole brat she is...don't know how many times I've told her OUTTA MY GARDENS...she is nosey nosey nosey and I've given up hope that she is ever going to calm down you'd sware she was only 4 months old!!!!! She recently chewed into a milion tiny pieces 5 out of my 12 plastic solar lights.