I have alot of clay and rock in my soil. I dig with an iron rod and then shovel and screen the larger rock and gravel out. And use 20 to 50% compost mixed in. You are not going to like doing this, but I dig to 2 or 3' deep and make pits to hold more moisture. Pit size is based on final, not initial plant size. So my pits are 2.5' to 8' wide. They sort of work like in ground planters. Everything does better this way. Hydrangeas love it. Before After 8' wide by 4.5" deep bog pit being readied to support Giant Chilean Gunnera. Bottom 3.5' of the pit was lined with plastic and water connection through the compost ammended soil connect with canna (non plastic lined) and Japanese Iris (plastic lined below 10"). Baby 5' Gunnera tinctoria just planted and watered. It takes 30 min to soak excess water through. Final area leaves 11'+ for plant expansion, which will be tight. Connecting Canna and Japanese Iris bog area area just after installation in late fall. Some of the Iris planted therein. Canna, Cardinal Flower planted in prepared bog areas in this yard. Bogs are both in stand alone installations as above and shallow shelves dug into the pond margins. A large single pond sheet covers the entire pond 15'x8.5'x3' and attached bog areas.

Our company has been fabricating quartzite and marble for 15+ years. Every stone is different. Even Super White, which we classify as a quartzite/dolomitic marble combo, is going to change from bundle to bundle. Sometimes it's harder and sometimes it's softer, but if the stone contains calcite which all marbles do, it'll etch and it'll scratch. Paru, we also work with Macaubus. Every time it comes through out shop, our team complains about the hardness of the stone because it tears our tools up so quickly. In my experience, it's a true quartzite which will hold up a lot better than Super White and most other natural stones. As for being a fabricator, we always share positive and negative experiences w/ our clients when it comes to each material/color that they choose. If it's a color that our shop or previous clients have had issues with in the past, we pass that info on. When we have non-stock material coming in from outside suppliers, we have to work with what comes in. Clients sometimes forget that we're fabricating the stone, and that we have no connection to the source of the stone or how the stone was created. The best we can do before we cut into it is inspect it and point out any areas of concern. To sum it up and hopefully help when it comes to natural stone, this is coming from an experienced fabricator and this is what I have to say: If your looking for a headache free, durable, natural countertop material, choose granite. It's so heat and scratch resistant, easy to repair if by chance it's chipped or stained, and a properly sealed granite top will require little to no maintenance down the road. Yes, there are hundreds of granite colors and every color has different mineral composition and characteristics, but to be categorized as a granite, it contains mostly quartz and feldspar. which means it's really hard. If you're concerned about chips, pick a granite that has a low mica content. If you're looking for color consistency and you don't mind the manufactured look, choose quartz. It's impact resistance is excellent and the resin used in quartz makes this surface nearly non-porous. They're also making sealers now specifically for quartz. I know, I know. The quartz companies have been telling you for years and it doesn't require seal treatment, right? It probably still doesn't, but better to be safe than sorry, right? If you have money and love the natural beauty of a true quartzite, do it. Installed, it may be the most durable of natural materials. Oh, and I'll mention it again- it's beautiful. Remember that bar top you've always wanted to do under lighting with? It's expensive though, and your fabricator may charge you a little extra to replace some of the damaged tooling. If you love the beauty of marble (including Super White, and my favorite- Fantasy Brown) and you don't mind the top showing some wear-and-tear, then choose marble. It's not durable and we tell our clients that, but that's okay with some people. I have good friends that did Carrara Marble for their kitchen island in their brand new home. They did the perimeter in a dark grey quartz and had the island honed (flat finish) to help against hiding etches. By doing only the island in marble, they'd created a beautiful focal point in their kitchen, but still had a contrasting quartz perimeter for food prep traffic, and what not, and in ten years if the island is beat to hell, they can just replace the island and not the whole kitchen. Please feel free to message me with any questions about materials and colors and I'll be happy to share our company's past experiences with those colors.

It appears that privacy is possibly something that you are trying to achieve. Try to keep in mind that greenery usually means shedding of leaves or other items that could cause future problems for your pool. Code requirement will make it difficult to erect a 20' wall so that your neighbors aren't constantly watching you in your pool, I have a couple of ideas. The first was to erect a partial ramada that would achieve the privacy, provide shading, and have an aesthetic appeal. The second way is to erect a trellis that is separate from the wall and have it filled with a climbing vine that will fill it with greenery, provide privacy, and can be erected quickly usually without a permit or permission from your neighbors. Enjoy all the comments. May God bless your family.

Right now I have Meyer lemon, Eureka lemon, Fuji apple, blood orange, naval orange, avocado, cherimoya, white sapote, Kaffir lime, yuzu, and ice cream banana (which has bananas on it right now). When I lived in Venice (CA), I had pineapple guava, Manila mango, papaya, and Texas red fig trees, plus a Valencia orange. I do miss the trees I had in Venice, but I only have so much room. I also grow pineapples, but they are not trees, although they definitely make fruit.