More on the photo front
Sempervivums are smallish succulent plants with really spectacular flowers. They look like cacti, but have no spines. I've long been interested in these plants, and this spring when I found myself working the spring garden show one booth over from Stone Crop Nursery, specialists in sempervivums, I bought five different varieties.

With my son's help - he works construction, and has brought me several loads of rocks of various sizes - I've been able to get the plants into the ground (along with the cacti that are part of his collection) and the rocks placed so that we have landing pads for feet interspersed with the planting pockets. I built in some elevation change, too, since a garden ought not be a flat plane.

As if to say how pleased it is with its new home, one of the sempervivums promptly flowered:


You can see the rest at my Flickr page.