I know I am in good company, but I'm wondering if I need to start going to GA - gardener's anonymous. Unfortunately (?) Home Depot is 2 blocks from my office, so I've started stopping on my way to work. And finding excuses (do I need one? NAH!) to go to other plant nurseries.
Can anyone ever have TOO many flowers?!
I hope my husband doesnt divorce me when he sees what I picked up this morning on my way to work.
At least I'm a happy camper and active in the yard, right!? :o)
Any one else wish to "stand up and confess"!??
My Name is Val and I'm an Addict....
Haha Val, I too am a plant addict but for PC terms, I'll call myself and 'enthusiastic collector.' I used to go to the nursery a mile from work all the time but now my tastes have changed and I'm no longer very interested in what they sell. I've only gone once this season. I still have added a fair amount of plants this year including 29 new shrubs and 50+ new perennials. I'm wiped out and luckily mostly everything is in the ground. Only a couple stragglers are left. My wife is usually dismayed at the disappearing lawn. Don't worry Val, you're at home with all of us =) we will support your habit.
Can anyone have too many ants? LOL. I had gotten tired of looking at the field behind my trailer and right at the end of my yard just growing up and nothing being done with it. So this year I am adding Daylilies in it and will eventually make it down to the end of the yard. And then who knows, I might just keep adding and have s whole field of flowers. Kathy.
Val. Don't worry, in a few years you will have filled all the empty spaces in the yard, will have crossed many genera off your list of what you can grow in your yard (because you killed them repeatedly). This helps. Then what happens is you get more interested in propagating from seeds, cuttings and such, which is cheaper! My plan is once I retire and have more time, I can get more involved with trading and growing cuttings. This will not be a very expensive hobby. Oh except I might need a greenhouse...
I purchased a greenhouse about 5 years ago.I am not retired and may have to keep working just to support my habit. lol I will say that the biggest expense (after the initial setup) is the heating bill if you run it in the winter. In Zone 8a you probably have pretty mild temps in the winter and that won't be as big of an expense as it is here in 6b. I bought it to house my Tropicals in the winter months. And to get a head start on the growing season. And because I have wanted one for years. Some might call it an obsession...I call it my Bliss. :) My biggest problem is that the 8'x24' is about 4 times smaller than I need. lol
My daughter has threatened an "intervention" if I don't stop buying and trading plants, lol.
This message was edited Jul 16, 2015 9:47 PM
Wow, that's a pretty large GH Nanny. I think sometimes when you get a GH, you end up housing others' stuff...LOL
Actually it is all my stuff. lol My banana trees are too tall to fit in there so they have to go into the garage. Along with some of the larger pots. You would be surprised how fast you can fill a greenhouse up!
I am not in denial. I am not in denial. lol, I have always enjoyedm plants and have way too many,
Haha, my garage used to not have window but now it does have a few in the door. I still don't think I would be able to store anything in there. That's where my dahlias go over the winter but I don't think there'd be enough light to keep a plant alive.
My garage has 3 windows on the S side and 2 on the SW side plus it has 3 bay/garage doors with windows, so it gets enough light for the plants to survive. They don't always thrive, but they hang in there til Spring when I can move them outside. I am very thankful to have a place to store the big pots,Dahlias and Cannas. Really it just enables me. lol Don't tell my DH that, though.
I'm loving all your comments. I KNEW I wasn't alone :o) But really, I have discovered that i really enjoy my morning "walks" thru Home Depot's Garden center before work...even (shocking!) If I dont buy anything. Of course I want to buy one of everything, but my gardens are filling up fast. So I TRY and temper myself. But sometimes you just GOTTA have it. My husband (and daughter) are ready to run an intervention. I said "I'm having a mid life crisis and I could be buying sports cars and diamonds!" He didnt buy that one.
I have NO place for a green house, tho I have THOUGHT of it :) Annette, you are lucky...and yes, it 'enables' you, but you are a happy camper, right?! Thats what I keep telling my family: I'm happy, I'm active, it's good exercise..it keeps me out of their hair! And the bonus is the yard is full of flowering beauties (and/or will be soon!)
Jeff, Lawn disappearing!? That's what my husband said! There must be an epidemic going around! I'll have to try the "enthusiastic collector" on my family. I know what they'll say: Try not to be so enthusiastic, and stop collecting! HA HA
Kathy, having a whole field in the back of your property could open up huge possibilities! I'm running out of land to plant
Pistil: Say it isnt so!? Some of my plants will die!? Lost a few last winter. Surprisingly, since alot of my plants were new last year (as were the gardens), I did pretty well overall. It IS interesting to try new things and see what grows well and where. It's a bit distressing when things dont strive tho.
Hostages: you just keep saying that..."I am not in denial"
I am, and freely admit it!
Have a great weekend my friends, I'm sure most of you will be out in the garden! I will be!
Val, right now I am trying to keep the grass and weeds out of the new bed. We have had over 20 days of rain since the first of June and everything is still very wet. I jus pull alitlle at a time as now we are in the HHH and can't take that very well.
Also would like to ask prayers for my Mom she suffered a stroke yesterday. She is stable but has a long way to go. Thanks in advance.
Oh, Kathy, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. Sending love and prayers your way and hope her recovery is more speedy than anticipated!
I don't think much of grass. Grass actually takes time away from gardening because I have to mow it.
Oh man! I missed that part about your Mom, I'm sorry to hear that and I hope she feels better real soon.
This message was edited Jul 17, 2015 9:20 PM
Thanks everybody. I really appreciate it
My husband is definitely sending me mixed messages....He comes in from mowing the back lawn (where I have taken alot of lawn and turned it into gardens in the past 14 months). He tells me that my back garden bed (all along the back of the yard) is "not straight" and I have to string a line and make it straight. NO problem....I was planning on moving out the front of the bed to take more lawn anyway! :o)
Then I have a little "nursery" area on my deck where I have some WS'd and other seedlings/small plants that I have potted and am giving some TLC before they go into the ground, so they can get bigger and grow strong roots. My husband told me he had an idea for a shelf/table extended from the deck "rail" he was going to make me, and that night, proceeded to make it. I didnt expect such quick action! Now he can have the patio end table all to himself.
I love it!!
Wow valal that couldn't have gone better if you had planned it yourself! lol
I KNOW, right!???
And the best part is HE thinks it was his own idea. Brilliant!!!
How nice you have an enabler in the family...
Yes, Pistil, overall I enjoy him very much :)
You know Val, your crooked back garden has me thinking that I should probably string a line to make my one garden straight. I tried to spray the grass to kill it so it'd be in a straighter line but it didn't work.