Shrubs:
aronia arbutifolia (red chokeberry)
aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush)
Clethra alnifolia (summersweet)-acid soil
Hamamelis vernalis (vernal witchhazel)- slightly acid to acid soil
Ilex glabra - (inkberry holly)-acid soil - evergreen
Ilex verticliata (winterberry holly)-slightly acid to acid soil
Itea virginicua (virginia sweetspire)
Myrica pensylvanica (northern bayberry)
Physocarpus opulifolius (common ninebark)-
Viburnum tribolum -(american cranberrybush)

Good Luck

http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pd...tion-Guide.pdf

Raybo

Here is a link that might be useful: EarthTainer II WaterMizer Edition Guide Rev 1.8

Thanks for the kind comments about my fish. Sorry I haven't been around much lately...nose to the old work grindstone.

Flyonawall (cool name!) -- Yes, I'd be glad to explain sand casting and to tell you a little about how I do it. In sand casting, you're actually making a mold in the sand and then pouring your mix into that mold.

A fish is an easy creature to start out with. All you need to do is draw a fish shape with your finger on the top of some damp, compacted sand in a container (a plastic dishpan, kitty litter pan, mortar pan, etc.), and then scoop out sand inside your outline to make the contours of your fish. At this point, you can make imprints (your thumb print is good for fish scales) or add embellishments such as seashells, half marbles, costume jewelry, etc. by pressing them into the sand face down (the side you want to appear on your casting in the sand), leaving part of the item sticking out of the sand so it will become embedded in your mix.

Keep your sand mold moist by misting it with a spray bottle if it starts drying out. Then you're ready to mix a batch of cement or 'tufa. I've been using 1 part Portland cement to 2 parts sand with a pinch of fibers, because I like how much detail I get with that mix. But a lot of different mixes would work. I make my mix more on the wet side, somewhere between packable and pourable. Apply your mix carefully in handfuls to avoid disturbing your designs in the sand. Leave for about 18 hours or so, and then demold.

Since it's been so hot here, I work outside in a shaded area. I cover my sand mold containers with pieces of plywood and then plastic bags weighted down with bricks. The sand in the containers is very moist, so I don't worry about adding any more water until I demold. After demolding and hosing off the casting, I put it back in the sand mold container and spray it and the sand with water. On very hot days, I sometimes cover the casting in the container with wet towels or t-shirts. I leave the casting this way for a few days.

In my Webshots album, you can see pictures of some of the sand molds that I've made. If you have any other questions that I can help with, please ask away.

Eva

Here is a link that might be useful: Sand Molds

I use a dremel tool. I buy my bits of ebay in a small 5 pcs set. And i only pay like 7 bucks for all 5. And they last along time.

Have fun making them. It is so much fun.

Don't tell me I am the first one to make these.

So simple to make. 15 minutes.

I may decide to paint them.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: mesh tutorial

I'll post this again - hope it helps.

Robert

Bianchi-you asked how they are lit. My husband has a glass bit he uses to drill a hole in the bottom of the block. I then clean out the block from the glass shards and a white powder that is inside (probably from the drilling). I wash them out with warm water). Let them dry out by placing on the furnace floor vents... Attach the glass with weldbond, let dry, grout and seal the grout-then put them into the cherry wood frames-add the string of Christmas lights (20 count). And wa-laaa!

Becky

Mine were made from a concrete mix over various objects…I used a recipe from a book by Sherri Warner Hunter – a Basic Sand Mix, which is 1 part Portland cement, 3 parts sand and approximately 1 part water. I’m still very much a beginner at making concrete structures, but I’ve got both of Sherri Warner Hunter’s books, and they have been very helpful to me.

On the 4 that look kind of like "button" mushrooms - I put the mix over a regular sized light bulb (light bulb covered in plastic wrap).

On the more elongated ones, I used a 6 oz yogurt container – and put the mix over it, putting enough mix on the "top" (which of course is the bottom of the container), so that the top is more rounded, rather than flat. Oh, and I didn’t try to "unmold" it…the plastic container is still in there.

For the stems on those 2 types, I took a piece of Styrofoam, and whittled it into the desired shape, stuck a long nail into the bottom, and then covered it with the mix. After a couple of days curing time for the cap and stem, I attached the stems to the caps by inserting the stem into the cap and pushing the mix all around it. After the concrete had fully cured, I painted the stems.

The taller lavender one was made over a glass bowl (covered in plastic wrap), with the mix over it.

The stem on the lavender one is a bud vase with the concrete mix over it. And the cap just sits on top of the bud vase – it’s not attached.

And here's another type I'm working on. As a base, I used this metal thing - it's something from some type of light fixture. Thought the result might look a little like a portobello mushroom.

Justin: This area used to grow sheets of spagnum moss on the soil so I'm hopeful...

Rick: Good idea--I've seen what you're talking about and it's simple enough for non-plumbers, like me. It also won't interfere with the darmera that I want to plant in the pond. I'm focusing on foliage instead of flowers (for the most part) with a lot of large leaves and texture and a limited color range in this garden to encourage the feeling of contemplative space. A lot of splashing would interfere with that. I don't remember hearing splashing when I visited L&L's garden--I'd like to capture that "holy" feeling that they created. (Don't know how else to describe it). Any ideas on how to keep raccoons out?

Sereneseen: I didn't soak them. I just covered them with plastic sheeting and misted for a couple of days then stacked them on my shady front porch for three weeks to a month for curing. When I do a batch of 20, they take up almost all of my worktable space that's easy to reach without stretching too far. BTW--insider tip: Once each summer the big box hardware stores put Windsor block on sale for $1 each. The price of concrete has gone up because of Katrina and higher shipping (fuel!) but they may still put them on sale this year--it gets a lot of people in their stores. We have a 100' x 2' retaining wall to do in the backyard and are actually contemplating Windsor block (gasp! shudder!) I'm not not fond of the look (putting it mildly) but it would be expedient and not too much more expensive than making block. If we do it, I will make capstones to try to mitigate the utilitarian sameness of it. I just don't think I'm up to making 200 sqft of block!

Again, thanks for all of your kind words everyone--people seem amazed when I tell them that I learned everything I know about hypertufa on the internet. You guys rock!

Deb

It is a good place to hang out. It's a pleasant spot for conversation or to sit and read a book. Large rhodies, a maple and some burning bush euonomys separate it from the rest of the front yard. We've been working on growing a privacy screen to separate it from the neighbors'. We just recently planted some golden bamboo (eek!) in the corner behind the column.

Paws, the blocks are hypertufa cast in 2 x 4 forms. I take them out when they're still pretty wet and leave them for a day or two before smoothing the lumps and rounding the edges and corners. They look similar to a stone I've seen called tumbled granite. Some I cast with styro wedges in the mold to make a wedge shape to go around curves. When they're cured, I fit them together like puzzle pieces and mortar them together. I've been working on this for two years now and stubbornness and having to look at an unfinished project are the only things that have kept me going ahead (oh, and a little taunting from CDNDavid :) )

Cindy, thanks! The column is hollow with the plumbing inside. There was a standpipe on a wood post in that spot that looked terrible with the wall, hence the column. I made the column and then DH drilled a hole and did the plumbing. I gave it a thick mortar base (underground) when I was putting in the blocks and filled the spot below it with drainrock.

Lazydaisy, I'M going to be the batty old woman who stands and waves at people who drive by to look at my folk art monument! Seriously, it would be hard to sell and move...I've put so much of myself into it. BTW, that green coily thing is the latest in hypertufa but I'm not telling anybody anything...it's going to make me a fortune!

Deb

Here is a link that might be useful: Grot instructions

I'm making 7, 5 for the girls to do at the BD party, one for me and one for my little DD (she has to do what the big girls do.

Color suggestions on tesserae welcome... think 10 year olds

Receipe for hypertufa - different looks:

Hypertufa Mixes

1) GRANITE LOOK -I
1 part perl/verm
1 pt cement
2 parts peat

2) POROUS TUFA-LIKE
1 part sand
1 pt cement
2 pt peat

3) LIMESTONE LOOK
1 part sand
1 pt cement
1 pt peat

4) GRANITE LOOK II
3 parts perl/verm
3 pt peat
2 pt cement

5) SANDSTONE LOOK
1/2 part sand
1 part cement
1/2 part peat

Approximate quantity for #1:10 quarts per part
All parts measured by volume

Treatment of Trough
Brush with stiff wire brush to remove shart edges and smooth look of poured concrete
Score sides with chisel or knife

Allow to dry slowly in a shaded spot 3-4 weeks or in big plastic bag with humidity under sun.

Here is the design:

The colors will be: green, red, clear, black outline, yellow and gold.

Outline complete:

Close up of first section:

It is laying on a gray towel so the clear look gray also.

Comments, questions and suggestions always welcome. ~: )

Ok, next comes a weird pic. I am breathing LIFE into my project. Ok, not really! All those little bubbles will go away with a gentle application of carbon dioxide. The easiest way to do this is to EXHALE over the epoxy. Looks weird, works great. You will see the little bubbles just pop and disappear.

Just keep doing this until no more bubbles appear. (I did this through a piece of pvc pipe over my larger project so I could move around easier. Yes, I got lightheaded because it took awhile! There is a way to do this using a bunson burner. I haven't tried that though.)

Some little bubbles up close:

And a close-up after the bubbles are gone:

That is basically it. The project will take a several hours to dry. It says in the literature how long at what temp and humidity level. The hotter the better. A couple other little things in the next post...

First, arrange everything you need AHEAD OF TIME! I learned the first time around that not having something when you have epoxy ready to go is NOT GOOD!

What you need: Your project
--two-part epoxy (resin and hardener)
--measuring cup (I used a tablespoon for small amount)
--container to mix in (straight sided)
--something to mix with (needs a straight side to scrape container sides, I use a plastic picnic knife for small amount)
--a piece of stiff cardboard or a throwaway paintbrush (I have a craft paintbrush that is getting stiffer and stiffer, but I keep using it)
--rubbing alcohol (the only thing that will clean up wet epoxy)
--a rag for wiping your hands, etc (to wet with ALCOHOL, not water)
--something to time for two minutes (watch or clock with second hand, kitchen timer, etc. Not in pic, I used clock on wall)

Measure EQUAL AMOUNTS of resin and hardener into your mixing container, (I quickly wiped out my measuring spoon with alcohol-rag), and begin stirring. Time stirring for TWO MINUTES.

Be sure to scrape sides and bottom of container frequently. Use kind of a whipping action, like hand-whipping egg whites. Mixture will get frothy and even have little bubbles float into the air.

POUR mixture onto your project. You can pour it all in the middle on a small project, pour it all around on a larger one. You can see all the bubbles in this pic:

To be continued...
(I just don't want to accidentally delete this whole thing before I post it! So I'll do it in a few parts.)

I think the experience come when we have worked with the product and tested.

I would like to share information i have about tufa

Hypertufa mixes:
A) Granite Look-I
1 part perl/verm
1 part cement
2 parts peat

B) Porous Tufa-Like
1 part sand
1 part cement
2 parts peat

C) Limestone Look
1 part sand
1 part cement
1 part peat

D) Granite Look-II
3 parts perl/verm
3 parts peat
2 parts cement

E) Sandstone Look
1 half parts sand
1 part cement
1 half parts peat

Approximate quantity for size #1:10 quarts per part
All parts measured by volume

TREATMENT OF TROUGH
Brush with stiff wire brush to remove sharp edges & smooth look of poured concrete.
Score sides with chisel or knife

Allow to dry slowly in a shaded spot 3-4 weeks or in big plastic bag with humidity under sun.

Expose to several rainfalls or treat with a strong solution of water and permanganate of potash (1/2 oz. of crystals to 3 gal. of water) fill with solution and let stand 24 hrs.

Funny you should mention it. When I flipped it over, I thought "Hmmm... this would make a nice fountain". Heck, a little bigger and it would be a tub. I'm under the impression that you have to add acrylic or something to make it waterproof or the constant water contact will ruin the tufa, that's why I held back.

BUT, once I get familiar with the mix, I that'll probably be one of my next steps. Right now, this huge boulder like planter is probably the only truly magestic thing in my landscape. Everything now seems so humble. I am thinking my very next project will be create some border rocks to keep it company and bring it in tune with the rest of the landscaping. That section is pretty big, so it'll be a pretty sizeable project. It might take me 2-3 weekends.

After that, I'm thinking of creating some lanterns to hilite it at night (similar to the ones posted on this forum -japanese like-), so I'm going to have to research how to isolate the electrical portions from the rain and moisture.

Then I'm thinking about doing the fountain and a few moai statues.

It's kind of funny, cause I don't have time to do these things during the week, so the way the process went with this piece was:

After my last project failure, being that it was only my second project, and my second failure, I was about to give up. Today, however, I woke up feeling quite confident, heck, I was even talking trash. I was even going to take on quite a big project. Pretty agressive for someone who hasn't had any success at doing this, but here is the plan:

This is an area in my front entranceway. Pretty sizeable area with only mulch and a huge tendency to gather weed. I think it's time to add something in the area outlined in yellow, and what better idea than a huge bolder-like planter. It's a good project to take on, because the less it looks like a rock, the more it looks like a planter. You can't lose!

So, time to creat the mold. Lessons learned from my first project: You don't necessarily need a square mold, and it only has to be strong enough to support the weight of the tufa mix.

Because I will be creating the tufa outside the mold, I imagined the area flipped upside-down and created the shape accordingly:

A few planters to secure depth, covered by some chicken wire should do the trick. To insure my cement doesn't just fall through the chicken wire, like it did in my first project, I'll cover it with some garbage bags.

And that's my mold. Pretty simple.

OK, if all goes well, that'll be my mold. My only concern is that the tufa mix will be too heavy.

That's the form. Opened my drain holes. My mold held quite niceley. It doesn't look so much like a giant boulder, but it'll make a nice planter. I'm hoping people will think I just sliced a boulder in half and made a planter. Yes, they will have to be naive ;-). I used about equal parts of White Portland Cement, Peat Moss and Sand. Gave the sand and the Peat moss a slight advantage, going for the 3:2:3 proportions, but I wasn't exactly accurate with my measurements. I also added a hint of yellow and teracotta dye.

I did a lot of chizzling after 48 hours, and went real hard with two BBQ wire brushes. They are now completely destroyed, and since I used my gloves for the cement handling, they are stiff, so I couldn't use the when chizzling and my hands are now full of blisters. Well worth it if you ask me.

Here is the final product, truly rewarding!

From up front:

From on top:

You can't really appreciate it, but the color has a hint of tan in it.

As far as size, I'm about 6 feet tall, and this is about as large as I am from the waste up. Two strong guys couldn't lift it, so we had to use a trolly to move it from the garage to the designated area, about 5 feet away.

Rebel One, here’s a picture of a pane of glass (in an old window frame) that I used 3 different size marbles on:

Goldenpond & Purplemoon,
Bottle trees are still my absolute favorite! ;)
My Blue Bottle Cedar Tree:

You are a bog gardener after my own heart! Here is the method I've used to create a bog for carnivorous plants as well as native orchids, cranberries, and a bunch of other great plants. It's actually the hand out I give out on the occasions when I've spoken on this sort of garden.

Creating an artificial bog garden

Strange as it may sound the first step to building a bog garden, dig a hole! The area can be whatever shape you like about 18 – 24 inches deep and slightly raised from the surrounding bed area to keep runoff from entering the bog (this is explained shortly). Locate the bog garden where it will get full sun at least half the day, preferably afternoon sun.
The worst part is done! Now line the hole with rubber pond liner. Don’t worry if there are sharp roots etc. that could puncture the liner. A few leaks do not matter.
Begin filling the bog with the following combination: add 1 bale (4cuft) of sphagnum peat, mix in 100lbs of silica sand and a big mess of conifer needles (white pine is my favorite). Add rain, distilled, or dehumidifier water till saturated. This is the second hardest job because peat is extremely hydrophobic. Repeat above until the bog is full and fully saturated. Sculpt the "dirt" such that it is low in the center and higher around the edges. Because it is saturated and all the air is worked out, it will not settle.
If you wish to plant a Fen type garden (ph neutral and slightly more nutrient rich) add 50 – 100 lbs of calcium rich lime in place of the conifer needles. Most species of Cypripedium will prefer this to the bog garden. I made the mistake of using crushed oyster shell, it added too much salt…so don’t use this for calcium!
Time to plant! Place plants that like more water near the center of the bog where it is low and plants that like less water around the edges. This works well because the edges dry out far faster than the center. Be patient! A bog garden takes at least 2 years to become well established as a mini ecosystem. Don’t pull any weeds that you are not sure are weeds! Some really good stuff can come to your garden from peat bales. But keep seed heads of sedges and other more aggressive plants trimmed so more tender plants will have a better chance of survival.
The cardinal rule! NEVER EVER EVER WATER WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN RAIN, DISTILLED, OR DEHUMIDIFIER WATER! TAP WATER WILL KILL A BOG GARDEN IN A SEASON AS WILL ANY SORT OF FERTILIZER!
Plants suitable for bog gardens and sources

There are a number of plants that are suitable for bog gardens, many are readily available others far too scarce. Listed here are some of the plants I have had success with and enjoy in my garden. Remember when looking for plants, be sure to buy from sources that propagate their stock or (in the case of orchids) are from documented salvage operations. These are plants that were removed from habitats just before the bulldozers come in to build the next strip mall. This list is NOT exhaustive and you may have luck with plants I have failed with or think I’m crazy for planting "that".

CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Sundews, Drosera filiformis, D. rotudifolia, and D. intermedia
Sarracenia Species especially purpurea and those that produce best pitchers in spring.
Venus Fly Trap Dionea muscipula. I’ve found it reasonably hardy here (my plants have survived -5F)
UNCOMON PLANTS
Bog rosemary Andromeda and Heather/Heath Caluna species.
Sedges and rushes especially corkscrew rush and cotton grass (sedge).Be careful some of these can get out of hand!
Gentians, great fall flowers. Patience is required to get them established.
Blue and yellow eyed grasses and smaller members of the Iris (Iridaceae) family.
Call me crazy but no bog garden would be complete without Poison sumac (yes it is in my garden). Most wonderful fall color, but don’t touch!
Orchids
Cypripedium or lady’s Slippers, C. acaule (pink) for the bog garden, C. reginae (showy), and C. candidum (white) for the "Fen" and C. pubescens (Yellow) and it’s relatives for a partly sunny spot in the Perennial bed.
Fall blooming Spiranthes or Lady’s Tresses, Small, fragrant, and a great companion to fringed gentian. These self seed in the bog!
Platanthera species, the fringed orchids, especially P. ciliaris (yellow) and blephariglottis (white). There is also P. psycodes (purple) but it is NOT an easy plant to grow!
Calopogon tuberosa, the grass pink. Showy and easy, Epipactis gigantea, giant hellborine, great if you can find a source, Dactylorhiza spp. (European) a good garden candidate, and Bletilla spp. A great garden subject needing no special care.
Sources

See the web sites for the above at www.orchidmall.com click on sources!
If you have questions feel free to contact me at: fbess7600@msn.com.

It does take some patience to get the garden well established but once it's there it takes minimal work to keep going in the form of limited weeding and watering with only rain or distilled water. Judith, You may also be able to grow additional plants that will not survive Cleveland Ohio winters. If you'd like some sources drop me an email and I'll send them off to you, they are part of the above post but I could not figure out how to separate them (they all ran together when I copied and pasted!)

Happy Bogging!