Hi Chris! Yes, I would say it is pretty heavy! So far I think most of the plants are coming through winter well here. It got down to around 0 deg back in mid December. The Nerine filifolia may be done for; time will tell. If so I may try it again because it is rare to get that cold here.

I plan another project for the front of the house where it is shade for most of the day. I'm trying to figure out how to do it differently. For plants, I'm thinking ferns and maybe some hellebores. Any other shade ideas welcome!

A shade one would be great too! There are lots of miniature hostas on the market these days, and quite a few heuchera can handle just a small amount of sun too. That would provide some color. Do astilbe do well there?

Ah yes, mini hostas! I already have H. venusta and it needs dividing . Sebright Hosta Gardens is not far from me and they have lots of mini hostas. I don't know much about Astilbe but I think the nurseries around here sell it. Those are good ideas, Chris. Thanks!

This table would be half (or a bit less) the size of the one in the back yard and the faucet on the house will be right behind it so I may have to flop the hose over it. Anyway it will be a problem that will need attention in my planning.

And how about cyclamen? Violets?

Good ideas, Lynn! I have Viola labradora (sp?) all over my front garden. I probably wouldn't even have to plant it, it finds it way into everything. I like it though because of its purplish leaves.

You had also wondered about doing an article on building this? I think that would be a great idea!

Just beautiful,
There are some very nice mini heuchers, too. They would fit into a shade garden very well.
Here is some info on them if you haven't seen them before.
http://www.greenhousegrower.co...

Great idea Chris. It would make an awesome article. Go for it Connie.

Wow, what a great new series of heuchera, thanks for the link Holly. I can't believe the color changes each ones goes through. http://www.terranovanurseries....

I may decide to blog about my table garden(s) instead of doing an article, especially since I expect diddling around with them will be ongoing. Unfortunately I am pretty busy right now...

That would be interesting to read too.

The table garden on this cold, snowy day:



As you can see, not much going on.

Its nice to see we are all suffering together this winter.

With all that snow and ice I bet it really weighs a ton now!

And it looks like it is holding up nicely under all that weight.

It's a good thing I went for more sawhorses rather than less!

I'm not sure it would have withstood all the weight from the snow and ice, without the extra sawhorses. Good planning Connie.

Here is an update of the table garden, photos taken this afternoon. I still have some supporting wood and rocks to hold it down soil around the edges. I think I will plant some Sedum hispanicum around on it to help prevent erosion. I like the pink blooms.

This is the side that I see. You can compare to the first photo in this thread.


This is the side that my backyard neighbors see:


I am thinking about wrapping burlap around the sawhorse clamps to cut down on the glare. What do you all think?

Has really grown in nicely.
Thanks for the update.

I just popped in a Sedum album Murale and replaced a Euphorbia that wasn't progressing much with Delosperma 'Oberon', a pink flowered one. I expect it will die out this winter, unless I remove it and bring it in.