I've posted mine before, but here it is again. I definitely suggest hen & chicks or sedum that can really take being dry. Otherwise you are a slave to them and if you miss a day or two of watering, they're done for. I didn't line mine - just planted directly in them, no drain holes, but did cut a hole in the toe and planted it also. I leave mine out all winter. I never water mine - they only get the occasional rain and once in awhile the hose hits them if I happen to be watering something else near them, which hardly ever happens. I've never done cowboy boots - only work boots, but I'm thinking it would be neat to fill them with dirt and cut holes up and down the sides to plant sort of like a strawberry pot. Arlene Here is a link that might be useful: Garden shots

It's that whack a mole thing goin' on. (grin) Daniella - now the preform with the little stuff in it (sans the fish) sounds like a good idea. I swear, I'm goin' back for those rubber lillies. I thought they were hysterical. I wanted to throw them in some "perpetual" puddles around here, just to see if anyone said anything. (grin) That and the face on my tree sticking its tongue out, pretty funny. (grin) Too funny about the Xmas fern! Ha - yep, next time, just leave it and see if it goes. The asparagus ferns are used everywhere like evergreens in CA - I fell in love with them because they're just so fluffy looking. And they DO take full sun, no matter what anyone tells you. They need alot of water if they're in full sun. They stay soft and fluffy when they're happy and get lots of water. When it gets tight on water, they get spiny (self defense because they have bulbous wet roots that animals will chase in tight water times.) But if they're happy, they are fluffy and will actually climb as well as have long trailers. They take a lot of abuse, too. I'm going to get a bunch of them and put them in pots on my back deck. Full sun, fluffy green. Eh - they'll be pretty without a lot of fuss. I'm gonna buy those monster FAKE bostons for in front. (grin) Was too hard last year keeping them watered and happy. So get a couple monster fake ones - put them in some iron stands - viola! (grin)

Thanks folks. This gallery side seems to have died recently. Dan, I'm thinking of moving that Eskimo Pie since it kind of deteriorated a bit last year and I've heard it's hard to grow. I would put it in a bit better light to see what happens. Since I like the coloration there, I was thinking of putting a reasonable size Great Expectations there. What do you think? Margaret, I'd love to see pictures of your garden. I see you are in zone 7 - the tropics to me. When I moved here from costal zone 7 or 8 I found that many of the plants I'd grown before couldn't take the winters. I have only a couple of T roses now and the fancier climbers didn't work at all. I'm happy with the much hardier Explorer Roses. I don't prune them until spring and then it's mostly what damaged or dead or in the way of something else. That John Cabot needs to be tied up properly, maybe this year. The William Baffin is right in the line of fire where snow and icicles fall off the roof. I'm happy that some of it survives ok.

Paint the table! You won't rest until you get cow print on something, so go for it! Maybe you could get a couple art canvases and paint them with spots as well and hang them on the walls to give the cow table friends. I'm thinking brown spots instead of black though! When I first moved out at age 18 my room mate collected cow stuff. I started to add to it, and the next thing you knew we had cow in every nook and cranny. My mom even hand painted round ornaments with cow spots for our tree. (Still have these, couldn't bear to part with them.) Needless to say, I can't look at much cow now without my head starting to spin. :-)