As a horticulturist, I have about 80 houseplants. Some of them just need a place to stay until I find a buyer, some have sentimental value, and I just like my plants in general. The only thing I have found to keep the ferrets out of the plants is 1. Keep them off the ground with tables, plantstands, chairs, shelves, whatever. Plantstands need to be at least one foot tall for very large pots to make the pot too tall to reach. If the pot is not that large, 2-3' plantstands are necessary. 2. I keep the ferrets out of rooms that have plants I can't protect. At least, I keep them out unless they are supervised. Moth balls can deter them long enough for you to stop them from digging if you are in the room. As many of us have learned, though, there is no real stopping a determined ferret. As far as shelves go, I have glass shelves right under the windowsills so the plants can get enough light, and wooden shelves on the walls where the light naturally falls. There are metal brackets that hold an individual plant of 8" or less pot size. They have a clip to hold on to the top of the pot, and jut out in a mini shelf at the bottom. They just have a hole in the back of the metal to hang on the wall by a nail or screw. These are great for having plants up high enough not to be bothered, but take up little room and are pretty inexpensive. Hope this helps. Dani [Posted in FML issue 2130]