Here we are II

Cool pic! what are geocaches? That's great that you rode the bike trails, that would probably kill me, LOL.

Hi Don,

Welcome and nice 2 meet ya,,,,great pics,,,,,you both look so cozy on your bench and gorgeous flowers! I'll be addin' ya to our maps.

Kelly

Check it out here! It's really fun!

http://www.geocaching.com

um, kylee, sounds like fun but we have no cash for geocache-ing in immediate future. You sure get around, girlfriend! Maybe next time you're in the city we could meet.

Hi Don,
Glad to see you again. Hope you and your honey can make it to the Roundup next May. We missed visiting with you last year. Your flowers are magnificent!
Ron and DW Peggy

Oh Kelly, We live in Waukee, Iowa. Just about 15 milles due west of Des Moines (about where the "i" in Clive" is on the map I suppose) We grow Lilies and Daylilies, Iris and Hosta.

It's actually not that expensive, as far as sports/hobbies go, PrairieGirl. You can get a low-end GPSr on eBay for around $75 (or Target for not much more), and except for your trade items, there is no other cost, except for gas for your car. And you don't need to trade things if you don't want to. We seldom do. For us, the fun is the hike...the journey getting there...just finding it. :-)

Late as ever (this dial-up is slower than I am). Single-56-early retirement from social work counseling due to illness :(.
Loads of human family!)
Plant interests-daylilies, iris, ferns and secret shade gardens succulents, dry river beds, peonies, Japanese Maples , moss. ETC.
Have started crossing daylily seeds, first plants in the garden this year-a gazillion seeds in fridge crisper.
Read, craft, play with furkids (currently 2 toy poodles and wonderful kitty.
Things I am working on-trying to get some kind of landscape form in the garden-other than "OH!" an empty inch of dirt-plunk in a plant.
Etc. and whatever.:) Been around for a number of years.

Hi Don, and Marcia, good to "cyber meet" you! Don you & honey remind me of me & my honey! Except I'm a little fluffier than your honey! LOL! Geocaching looks fun, your blooms look great!

Marcia, your gardens sound interesting, I'd love to see pics some time! DH and I love "fur-kids"!

I'll post a pic of DH and I as soon as I get a good pic!

Marcia,

Nice ta meet ya,,,,glad u r joining us.

Kelly

Hi Marcia - We've already met in cyber-space, but I would love to see your gardens and fur-kids too! Kylee - I will seriously look into it more, but not until this summer, ok? When school's out. It does sound like fun. Did you decide what to do in your front yard? Please post pic on that thread. See ya! :-)

No, I haven't decided yet. I've got until spring to decide anyway. Now if I'd known at the time I first started thinking about it that we'd still be having summer weather in November, I would have done it this fall, but we didn't know that.

Oh, I did plant a dwarf fothergilla to the right of the garage door. It will be in tight quarters when it gets to growing really well, but I'll be able to keep it pruned fine. And nothing grows really fast here anyway, except for that silly mulberry bush that came up volunteer in the orphan garden. LOL.

That is one I've thought about trying, it's fragrant too right?

I don't know. I can't remember right now! I got it from Big Dipper. It had lovely fall-colored leaves on it when it got here, which is one thing it's known for, but of course, those are all gone now.

what are your temps like now? we had seventies today, which is much warmer than usual for us this time of year.

70s here, too. In fact, it's 68° now, at 7:00. That's about 20 degrees above normal. We're supposed to continue with warmer than normal temps through next week.

Yeah, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak! Trying to enjoy it while it lasts...

As I was outside today with my DH, who took the day off, and we were moving out some landscaping blocks to change a flower bed, and then I dug up my spinach, I thought to myself, "If we were having normal weather right now, I wouldn't be doing all this stuff. " Only when it gets too cold or it snows will I quit with things. I keep thinking that will happen in only a couple of days, but it hasn't!

me too, it's eery, I'm really ,really glad it's so nice, but scared that winter will be extra nasty to make up for it. LOL

Here was cloudy and cold today,,,don't even know if it reached 40,,,,,otherwise have has unseasonably warm weather here too,,,one of those things that make you go hhhmmm

Kelly

I think we did have 50s last week, now everyone has got a cold. :-P

Still very nice here ~ 80° on Wednesday but now in the 60's.

This morning, I cleaned all of the fallen leaves out of the beds in front, whacked back the asters ( i had no idea they had such woody stems!) Glad weather has been so mild, but somewhat bummed that I didn't take the opportunity to plant the inkberries and new arborvitae that I want out front. Is it ok to plant those in the spring? Or should I hurry up and Get my Heinie out there? Along with planting, comes re-arranging the existing perennials (coneflowers, Russian sage, sedums, grasses). Mind tells me to wait, heart says "do it now" Or maybe it's my evil twin? SOS - HELP!!

Time to introduce myself. I'm Lauri, 45, married for 20 years, 4 kids ages 9-17. We bought an old farmhouse on an acre of land 2 years ago on the IL/WI border (near Lake Michigan). I'm trying to cram in as much gardening as I can amidst working, running the house, sewing, and trying to start a machine embroidery business.
I have a veggie garden with a good-sized strawberry patch and raspberries. I have a nice shade garden nearby, and a hosta garden on the north side of the house.
My big project next spring will be the front of the house. It has your basic evergreen bushes in front, with a ground cover in front of the bushes. We want to change where the front walk is, and make a large garden between the front walk and a parking space we just created out front. (we have a long driveway, and most people park in the back by the garage and come in the back door. We're trying to change it so visitors will park out front and come in the front door). It is a southern exposure, so I'll be looking for anyone with sun-loving seeds to spare! Anyone good at designing gardens??
Lauri

Hi Laurie, nice to meet you!

There are LOTS ideas and advice about great gardens in here.

Hey Lauri,

There are always generous people around here with seeds to share. Sounds like u r awfully busy. Isn't it great to see the changes to your landscaping? Will be re-doing my front yard in Spring also,,,splurged on too many hostas this year LOL. Glad to have u join us.

Kelly

Hi Lauri! Welcome, You're a stone throw away from me and Garden4Birds!

"Anyone good at designing gardens??" Not me. I need all the help I can get myself. Seems as if the more I garden the more I don't know but I am having fun if that counts for anything.

Hi Lauri! Post some pics on curb appeal forum, you'll get tons of advice, most of it excellent! How the pros start is by measuring the space and drawing it to scale, you can use graph paper, and that gives a good idea of what you have to start with. Make some copies and play all you want with paths, beds, etc. Sure saves the back! Good tip I got when I posted was, use a hose to lay out the beds, it makes a natural sweeping curve, I Know This From Experience, trust me on this one. Welcome!

Hi Laurie! WELCOME to our forum!
An embroidery business! On TOP of everything else!!? What kind of machine do you have? Do you digitize too? How can even THINK about all of that and gardening too? For me, it was one or the other. Did the embroidery thing for lots of years before I finally decided I *needed* fresh air! LOL

~julie~

I don't know how I missed this continuation of the original thread!
I'm giving this a bump so that others who are new to the Upper Midwest Gardening forum will find it easier to come on in and introduce themselves.

In the mean time I'd like to say Hello to Don, Marcia and Lauri!!!

Erynne

Erynne,

Good thinkin'

Kelly

Hi erynne!

Hi PG!!! How are your studies going? Is it hard work?? I'm thinking to start a horticulture course in Jan 2006 too! Imagine, homework again, haha.

Hi Kelly!

Hi Julie, Sandy, Ann, Annie, Jody, Kylee, Lauren, Gayle, Bernie, Stacey, Brenda, Jill, Janet, Moby, treelover, Nan, ......um, I'm doing this by memory here so if I missed ya, well Hello to you too!! Oh, and of course......Hi Dave!!!

Erynne

Hi Erynne,

Who put a quarter in you tonight???? LOL

Kelly

Was it James (from chatroom?), got in a little trouble there, ahem.

Uh Oh,,,,what kind of trouble ???? LOL

Oh, PG, do tell!!!

Hey Kelly, I had too much pop,lol.

I was teasing him about going commando, and then I had to leave for a sec, and then mornin' gayle said he was talkin' bad about me, I was only trying to get a laugh! Guess the joke was on me, LOL.

Erynne - Semester almost over, finals on the 14th. I'm so relieved, this semester was difficult. Hope next semester goes better! Homework, bleck.

Erynne,

slow down on the caffeine,,,LOL

PG,

Don't give it no never mind,,,if he can't take a joke,,,,his problem.

Kelly

Kelly - no it's not like that, I just don't know what he said, LOL.

Oh well, I don't type fast enough to keep up in chatrooms, so it's my own fault. LOL