I think it sounds like a place that has a lot of life!

I can definitely go take a photo for yall! It's a fairly new bed,i planted some semp's,Angelina,john creech and of course there's a stump behind the bed so i put some S.'sarmentosum' in the back close to the stump.This bed gets less sun & is more of an experiment to see how the plants do in the 2 different beds.I'm wanting to use the bigger,smoother river rock instead of pea gravel.Most of the plants are ground cover plants,i planted with space between them.If i put the river rock down lightly it won't stop it from spreading & filling in the gaps will it??I thought i would use big rocks on the smaller rocks as a border.I have noticed with the big rocks as a border on soil the ants will lay eggs under them,maybe because of watering they find protection under the rocks.I also have a lot of spiders in big rocks,going to try putting big rock on smaller rock to see if it makes a difference & see how it looks.It rained last night & this morning so will get pictures as soon as i can.

I started out just planting a ground cover in a spot that grass won't grow etc... not sure what happened but the hubby had to add more compost to make the bed bigger,he just laughed.



These are the only picture's i have taken so far of what's in the bed.I hadn't moved any semp's to this bed when i took these,but i will get my pictures.I've had a hard time holding my camera & focusing it & then pushing the button to take a picture recently.You know if it wasn't for that i would have taken lots of pictures.I love pictures.

I remembered i have this one.I did amend the soil a little more on the end with the semp's.I have a few of these semp's that have put out a good many offsets if anyone wants any if have lots.I don't know why the produced so many babies.I just thought about it but most of this should be on another thread or maybe even forum but i can't retype this.I have to stop now.

What are those yellow spots between the soil?!

Pia, it looks like a slow release fertilizer to me.

Looks great Jojoe! Your plants all look healthy! I like the idea of big rock on little rock!

Good eye Pia, I had to go back and look to see what you were talking about.

Jelinda, the plants are looking wonderful. I really like the way you experiment to see what will work best. That's the way great things happen.
Now you have me curious as to why the ants want to live under the large rocks.

If your refering to the "little tan balls" thats between the 'John Creech' & 'Angelina' it's a slow release fertilizer we use all over the yard for the grass,young bushes etc... It had just been put out that day & it hadn't been mixed in the soil yet,that's why it's so obvious. I do mix a little into all my beds.Usually i use Osmocote (is that spelling right,to lazy to go look).

Also i meant to say,I'm have HUGE problems with ants .I had noticed the worm casting in the 1st. bed i started and now ants.Worms good,ants kill worms.I also have to be careful not to get bit by ants,1 ant bite causes a chain reaction because of a nerve condition.If anyone has Diabetes you know the condition i'm speaking of.I'm going to go get some granules to put in the beds and all over the yard today as soon as i can.I even noticed ants in my free standing metal bird feeder when i went to run a squirrel off of it .Still trying to figure out how that little huss got up that metal pole They are all young & playful so much fun to watch but they are wearing out their welcome.

Jelinda, ants love living under the stepping stones in my gardens, and for some reason, they make huge mounds around/over my aster plants. I recently read somewhere on ATP that they don't like cinnamon, so I'm going to try sprinkling some of that on their hills and see how it works.

Do ants cause much trouble to Semps? I thought they were good because they ate Aphids?!

Pia, they don't eat aphids, they farm them for their nectar they put out (aphid pee). They are very protective of their little aphid farms. They move them around and take very good care of them.

I agree Jelinda, time for you to put a stop to the ants, can't have them biting you.

I have had them live around/under some of my larger semp colonies.

I have my plants on the roof, so I don't get ants thank the lord! <3

valleylynn said:Pia, they don't eat aphids, they farm them for their nectar they put out (aphid pee).

I love how you get to the point with this, Lynn.

valleylynn said:They are very protective of their little aphid farms. They move them around and take very good care of them.

Sounds like a very caring cult...

Aphid slavery

Greg, all the little aphids have to do is eat. The ants do all the work.

Greg, you do come up with some good ones!!

Don't you think it could be more analogous to a dairy farm where we keep cows for milk than it is to slave labor?

No, 'cause it ain't pee...
(Lynn's word, not mine)