You Know you're a gardener when....

You stand outside at 8:30 in the evening, it's dark,cold and really windy and you're filling up walls of water to protect the Tomato's. I was watching my Grandson 'Jalen' tonight and his folks just picked him up at 8:15, but Iowa has frost warnings out so I still had to take care of a few things outdoors this evening after he left. He would have loved helping Grandma fill those Walls of Water, but it was too cold and windy to have a 3 year old outside this evening. I'm soaked! But it was worth it! LOL!

you know you're a gardener when ....

You almost cause an accident gasping at someone's tulips in their front yard (while YOU'RE driving! My best freind did this one)

ha ha !!! You really gave me a chuckle! My mother has been pulled over for 'gawking' at someones yard, the local police thought she was drunk, after they pulled her over they realized she was a 'gawker' and let her go with a warning. She no longer drives so were all safe now - LOL!

You know you're a gardener when......
Your mother takes you by a house that she gawks at everyday when driving your brother to school, stops and knocks on the guy's door to ask what a certain plant in his yard is. Poor guy had two crazy ladies stalking him : )

When you plant out your maters, peppers, eggplants, and herbs around Mother's Day, and it's on the cusp of the last frost. You can't sleep all night, because your mind is on those little baby veggies, so you have the weather channel on one television, in eyes distance, and your glued to your PC with your local forecast, the sun is barely up, and your out in your garden in your checkered boxers, sweatshirt, ski-cap, cup of Joe in one hand, flashlight in the other, your heart is beating soooo fast, hoping they survived their first night in their new environment. Repeating this process for about a week or so. Your new neighbors are off to work, they catch a glimpse, wondering, "Who's this freak that just moved to our neighborhood." That freak, would be me, and it will take place once again in about 3 weeks.

YOu know you're a gardener when...

Your neighbor ISN'T and has her boyfriend MOW DOWN THE TULIPS! Every year! And you want to cry (or beat her with a trowel! LOL!)

They aren't living there this year (living at BF house) and when he came to mow my heart stopped! Thank Goddness he left them this time- first time they have been able to bloom in YEARS. (if he had mowed them- I would have been out there that night digging those babies up)

Heather

Hotpepper Dan,I'll come over in my ratty bathrobe and clogs and help you check!

Golgi, I love it. Your always welcomed at my house, and I'll cook breakfast.

You know you're a gardener when.......it's 2:34am and you tell yourself, "I've GOT to get to bed!" but instead continue to whittle down that list of iris so you can fax your order in before you go to bed.

That was me last nite and if I don't get to bed soon it will be me again tonight with fall bulbs, but instead of ordering them I'll be searching for sources of specific cultivars based on observations made the last few weeks.

You know you're a gardener when...

You spend your entire WORK day emailing back and forth with your best friend about gardening stuff and yard projects... and now we have entered the realm of adding pictures.

But you wouldn't know anything about that would ya desertsweat? HA! :)

You know you're a gardener when you sit on your back porch and thank the good Lord that He has let you see another spring and your special friends are back!

When you're 3 year old knows more latin names than most adults and your 2 year old knows the names of atleast 3 local nurseries... and which plants you bought where!

- when your family members run out in to the garden in search of you whenever you are needed.
- when you spend hours on end forgetting what time it is, or even ignoring/managing the mosquitoes that prick you.
- when friends visiting you glance at the garden first [to see if you are found hanging around, before ringing the doorbell!
- when your spouse frowns on seeing new plants arrive from the nursery [happened to me y'day!]

When you can't find your keys and your husband silently gets up, finds a flashlight, and proceeds outside to see where you tossed them down on your way from the car to the house... and FINDS them out there... after you are protesting that they must be in the house because YOU would never do something like that. :)

When it's dark out, and your husband calls to you to tell you it's time to come in before you get hit by a car because you're in the road, along your ditch, pulling up the last of the clover;

When it's dark out, and you're still pulling weeds out of your yard, and you HAVE to stop because you can no longer see what's a weed and what is not.

When you'd rather save your money for your new watering system, than get your hair cut

when you have 10 permanent little black halfmoons under the tip of your nails....and no amount of orangeclean in the world can clean them up....

when your five year old is peering out the window, and you ask him why, and he reports that he's waiting for the passiflora caerulea to bloom.........

when your riding with someone and you scream 'STOP THE CAR!" to pull a wildflower out of a ditch.....

When hubby won't let you go to the store alone for fear of what you might bring home.
When he answers the phone "wait a minute, she's out in the yard SOMEWHERE".
When you run out of room and start planting in the neighbor's yard.
When the tiniest tips of bulbs showing in the spring is better than Christmas.

When your neighbor tells your husband "Your wife is killing me. Kathy said she is putting us to shame and I at least have to fix up the side of our house that Jamie can see." Oh yes, he ripped out all sorts of nasty old shrubs and made a quite pretty shade garden since, and I quote "you're the one that has to look at it." Oh, and when said neighbor's wife (Kathy) is nothing short of elated when she hears that you said her garden looks pretty! You would think Betty Crocker complimented her baking! :)

A garden song:

I'm a gardener and I'm OK.
I sleep all night and I plant all day!
I dress in grubby clothing, and hang around with slugs.
Oh I'm happy in the garden With dirt and plants and bugs . . .
(to the tune of Monty Python's "I'm a Lumberjack")


This is the perfect spot for this song!! I was looking at another post here at dave's and this song was part of a link!!!!!

You know you are a gardener when...
-You offer to rake the neighbors lawn just for the free grass clippings and leaves.
-You find yourself correcting the current gardening 'advisor' on the television.
-You can spot a specific plant out of the corner of your eye while traveling down the highway @ 65 mph but missed noticing the crowd of people you just passed. (no I wasn't driving).
-You are thrilled when someone offers you a load of manure...delivered.

When you get all teary eyed cause your family bought you a new wheel barrow for your birthday. How considerate!

When "a pile of dirt" is at the top of your Christmas wish list.

When your daughter tells your friends who call that mom is out hoeing around, and they understand that you are in the back yard.

Cheri'

Keep em coming! These have been really fun to read!

When your 2 year old wakes up from her nap-- and still half groggy- she knows to go looking for you in the backyard!!!!

And your 3 yrd old!!

And your 11 and 15 yr old.....

And your DH.....and all the 4 footed friends!!!

You stop at three stores on the way home from work, run out into the garden, and can only look confused when hubby says "what's for dinner?" since none of those stores carry PEOPLE food!

You watch the Finale of the Batchleor (whatever--! LOL!) and you spend more time trying to ID the flowers on the tables than listen to show! LOL!!!!!!!!

...on one of your first nights at the new house, you get up at 3 AM too anxious to sleep and check out the rose garden to be sure the deer aren't eating everything!!!! They did later on...

When you run out at dusk to cover the 6 by 8 portable/tent type greenhouse with a blanket so you little ceramic heater doesn't run all night trying to keep your plants warm. At that moment you forget about the rope tying off the greenhouse to a stake in the ground then trip over it. Thud! Luckily no bones broken, just sore for a few days and even luckier no one was home to see me on the ground looking so ridiculous.

When you overhear your son tell his grandmother when she asked what we purchased at the grocery store....."Oh, we don't buy food anymore....JUST PLANTS!

ROFL......now THAT's a good one, Brinda!!! How old is this son, I'm wondering?

He is my youngest, 10 years old! And I have to say, out of my 3 kids....he will be the gardener in the family. He has known the correct names for many plants since he was really young! LOL His Nana (on his dad's side) is a big gardener so she taught him many things about plants and gardening! Here is a pic of him on Sunday when he helped my take 18 pups off a banana tree. LOL

gotta love a gardener in the making! cute story and pic!

You know you're a gardener when...

-the backyard wildlife (birds, rabbits, etc..) think you and your dog are Grazers, not Hunters, and no longer have any fear of you both
-it is impossible to find a clean pair of white sneakers in your house... EVER
-you cannot pick-up, move, or even touch a pair of gloves without your dog running to the back door with a wagging tail

You know your a gardener when.........


you pack two friends in the front of a pick-up, drive 35 minutes to a great plant shop, fill the 8 ft pick-up truck full and the front of the cab, barely seeing anyone but the driver and then head to another plant shop, just in case they have something you REALLY need!

Here's another......you see a volunteer from last year and you carefully Plant around it! I've had some of the best volunteer tomato's. Keep em comimg!

You know you're a gardener when:

When you are happily working away in the garden when you suddenly realize you have been grinning like a fool for the last four hours while planting, weeding, feeding. Happens *all* the time.

You stop at your favorite nursery and have to struggle to find enough room in your vehicle for all your purchases, knowing you still need to stop at the grocery store. And when you arrive at your car with the groceries, some passing fellow yells, "Hey, Bob, check this out! She thinks she's gonna get these groceries in here!" And you do. And they applaude.

When horticultural rapture becomes medical bills and you know it is worth it.

When you buy a truck because you will always need mulch, lots of it.

When you pray you will get a big pile of doo for Mother's Day.

Brinda - thanks for the photo. I don't know diddly about 'nanners but I'm thinking 18 pups is VERY good increase! Thanks for letting me know his age.....was curious how long I have until my DD (3 yrs old) starts telling folks the same thing. LOL

I just LOVE this thread....thanks for starting it momof2d

This is a great thread. It's always nice to come here and read all the good information from everyone......and this thread is a plus. Makes me smile and giggle too....and sometimes really LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!

Brenda, we didn't know diddly about nanners either a couple of years ago. LOL And now I'm not sure we know a lot, just how to butcher them. LOL

When taking pics and you ask your son to move over, you are blocking the clematis vine. He is more concerned with the 5 lb bass being in the center of the shot.

You know you are a gardener when....

You spend hours happily writing E-mails back and forth about the pros and cons of various types of animal poop (actual experience in the "Coleus" Forum)

You wait expectantly for the neighbors to finish raking and bagging all their leaves and grass clippings and setting the bags out on the curb so that you can run over and grab them and dump them out into your own yard while they watch, totally perplexed.

I'm marking this thread as one to "watch!" Thanks for making me laugh today!

Jeremy