Come sit on the porch a spell

This is part 2 for the "Lets get to know one another" thread. Part one was getting long to load for the folks on dial up services.

As in part one - the invitation is to introduce yourselves and tell us about where you garden and what you grow. Questions are always welcomed and please, don't be bashful.. You're amongst friends.

For those folks posting that are new to the Carolinas and to the South in general. Porches in years gone by were a mainstay of every home. Porches were vital to the home in that they were a social gathering place where people visited often. If passing by a place and someone was on the porch - there was an understood invitation to step up and say hello. Families sat on the porch on summer evenings and Sunday afternoons. Beans were shelled, or corn was shucked. Life lessons was taught to young adults and family history was passed down from elders to the younger generation.

Come sit on the porch a spell was an invitation sent from the heart and an example of typical Southern hospitality - and the cold lemonade on a hot day - well that just hit the spot.

So - there's a chair over there and an empty spot in swing. Sit down now 'an make yourselves comfortable and tell us what all you're about..

Swoz

Swoz,
Thanks for setting up a new thread, and Shoe, thanks for the suggestion. I'm one of ones that still has dial-up and it would take a while to download, but you folks are such a wealth of information it was worth the wait. I somehow stumbled across this site a while ago and have been having a grand time reading all of the posts.

I currently reside in NJ, but own a home in Sanford, NC about 40 miles SW of Raleigh that we are going to retire to in Feb. 2010 (seems like such a long time away). I try to get down to our place every couple of months to see what is going on with the property. I periodically get calls from my neighbors or they tell me when I go down there "Oh, you've got a beautiful dogwood or the Bradford pear looked gorgeous." "Where? Really?" Last trip I made while I was talking to my husband on the phone, I noticed a bush with white flowers on it. When I hung up, I went to check it out. I was thrilled to discover it was a gardenia. They are my most favorite flower and are only houseplants up here. So it has been interesting, to say the least, discovering what we have. The property is 90% shaded with oak trees and has no grass. One of the previous owners planted lots of azaleas.

This forum has been a tremendous help to me because I've never really gardened before so I'm not that familiar with the plants or pests. I'm looking forward to doing it in NC especially because we are going to be putting in a garden railroad. As I said you all are a wealth of information. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Meg

Ah yesss....front porch talk. Talking about the heat (and the humidity!), the day's labors, the neighbors, telling lies, spittin' tobacco, watching the kids jump rope in the front yard, and I know one little kid who used to shoot flies off the porch rafters with a BB gun!

We'd shell peas and beans on the porch but shuckin' corn was done in the yard cus it made too big a mess!

One of the first post I made on DG way back on 2001:
"...Why it reminds me of the time me and Big Rex, my grandfather, (he was BIG Rex and I was LITTLE Rex at the time) and Emerson Jones (the oldest Jones in Jone's Valley) were sittin' on Emerson's front porch back in nineteen-ought-seven. I'se shooting flies off the rafters w/a BB gun, Big Rex was sneezing right out loud and disturbin' the folks across the valley w/it (when he sneezed it always sounded to me like some really huge man hollerin' for some guy named Horatio...I can still hear it now,
"ah, ahhhh, ho-RAY(!)SHE-OHHH!!!".
Anyway, all of a sudden Big Rex saw it! Yep, SAW IT! 'Twas a Duck-billed platypus making its' way across the sweet grass back into the crick. Big Rex was really excited about it! Emerson said he'd seen 'em all his life, "used to be even more'n ONE of 'em" he said, as he leaned forward in his rocker to make us think he needed the shorter distance to get his 'bacca spit off the edge of the porch. (Me and Big Rex both knew better...why Emerson could close his eyes and spit tobacco juice thru a keyhole at thirty paces! He only leaned forward to make a bit of airspace in his overalls so's he could expell a "quiet" bit of his lunch's 'afterthought', to put it politely)."

Anyway...on to the Carolina Gardening front porch talk!

Meg, glad to hear you are gearing up to move to NC. Time will go faster than you might realize so hope your visits over the next few years will tide you over. Sure am glad to hear you have gardenias, they're my favorite shrub/flower! (Ours have really put on the blooms this year!)

Now, about that railroad garden...care to tell us more about that!?

Shoe.

Now Shoe - don't scare Meg off rights away... why she'd thunk all us from NC just plum spin yarns an such.... Meg - to set the record straight - not all men in NC spit baccer, matter of factly not all of the wimmen do either... We's too polite to do that. so there. We're good, God fearin folk down here, an shooting flies with a bb gun is a might cleaner than using a fly swatter. Helps momma out in the house you know.

A railroad garden - gosh? How deep do ya plant those train engines anyway Meg? I'd be feared that I'd plant 'em upside down.. Do they have eyes that sprout or do ya soak 'em first?

Swoz

Swoznick, ROFL, so hard I spit my very, very sweet tea all over the place.

" Meg - to set the record straight - not all men in NC spit baccer, matter of factly not all of the wimmen do either.."

Miss Meg...don't worry. Most of the women just dip snuff. It's more po-lite.

Now about that railroad garden...

Shoe

(PS. Methinks Swoz ain't right!) :>)

Okay, been dealing with a cranky DH all day and thought I would pop in and ended up spitting water all over the screen when I read Swoz inquirings about the railroad garden. ROFL

What scale of railroad garden are you talking about Meg?

Shoot - ya'll spittin tea and water - why not get somethin with a bit more flavor???? Snuff and baccer should'nt be no problem for you folks..

Shoe - sheeesh - snuff is more polite.. Thank you.

Carat - gosh - there's a scale in them railroad gardens? I don't usually weigh anything til it's grown..

I do hope that Meg clears all this up for us.. Darlin, please post so's us folks won't be frettin overmuch.

Swoz

Ummm, beg pardon from a northerner here...but Shoeby...what happened to the platty pus? :o)

And, if ya'll ain't wearin no shoes, how do you keep the tabacky and snuffins from stickin to your bare feets? ewwwww

Okay, my husband had to come in to find out why I was laughing hysterically. I haven't laughed that hard since I don't know when.

First off, I was born and raised in a rural section of NW NJ, so I could really relate to the bantering between Shoe and Swoz. Heard a lot of that around here when I was growin' up, but then the flatlanders started movin' in an' the area's gone downhill ever since. Got these big-a_ _ McMansions goin' up on all the beautiful farmland. And then they complain because they got bear and deer running all over the place. What'd they expect to find in the country? Sorry, I digress.

Now Swoz -- it's "garden" railroad, not "railroad" garden. Although that really did conjure up some great images. I'm still LOL.

Actually they are classified as "G" or large-scale model trains that are designed to be used outdoors. Each engine and car is about 12-18 inches in length. I think they are considered on a scale of 1:24 or 1:32 of a real train. We're just getting into it. Doing a lot of reading and searching the Web. We've got a 25' x 50' garden in the front of the Sanford house for which my husband is designing the track layout. It's going to include a mountain and river with bridges and tunnels (scaled down, Swoz, not full size!). The planting are usually kept to scale. So it should be an interesting challenge to find the appropriate kind of plants. When we get to that point I hope y'all will be able to provide us with some of your wisdom.

Well, hope that cleared it up somewhat for ya. Clear as mud?
Meg

Sounds pretty cool to me. I remember years ago I wanted to put in a semi-real railroad here, something the kids could get in and ride on a route thru the woods and such. Guess I was planning too big, eh? Hope to see/hear more of ya'll progress, Meg. Sounds fun to me! (Plus it might be a great way to freak the deer out and keep them outta your gardens!)

Debbie, as for the platty pus....from what I unnerstan', apparently due to their extreme aroma they slowly died out and are now considered ex-stink in some circles. (As for me, I bet there are still a few of 'em in the mtns. As for being barefoot and dodging bacca spit...it never occurred to me to worry about it. I guess it's natural to subconsciously not put your foot there as we tred through Life! :>)

Last year sometime, I was watching a show on a family who had trains going throughout their house...and the only place left was the garden. They built mountains and entire cities in the front yard, and had the trains going through there....also and entrance into the house. During the winter, they gave it a Christmas theme.

We have an awesome train shop not far from us, does online Train catalog also.
It is called Ridge Road Station, in Holley, NY.

Sounds like a wonderful idea.

DD

I like the idea about the trains scaring the deer; you may really have something there. I think it would be hysterical to have a motion sensor that would blow the whistle and start the train every time a deer wandered on to the property. Can't you just see it now?

Hey there! Thank you for starting this new thread, Swoz, and the thread title is great, too. Sitting in a rocker on our front porch is one of my favorite things to do. Even have little rockers for the grandbabies.

I almost hate to disrupt the entertaining train conversation going, but thought it was time to introduce myself. We're just down the road a piece from you, Swoz, in Lexington.

Like Meg, I'm new to gardening and feel so fortunate to have found this site and all the gardeners here. You really are a blessing to so many!

I'm originally born and raised in MN, but finally got wise in my forty's and left my ex and MN behind. I had visited an older Quaker couple in Greensboro and immediately fell in love with NC. It felt like home and it was where I wanted to be. So, a year later I arrived with a place to move into and a job waiting for me. That was nearly 8 years ago and I can't believe how quickly time has passed.

My now and forever DH (native Carolinian) and I purchased a 1911 farmhouse with the tobacco barn and 1.5 partially wooded acres two years ago come October. It's my dream "Grandma house" and the first single family home either of us have ever owned. (DH was a die-hard bachelor of many years.) So, the previous years I spent living in a townhouse in MN didn't provide much opportunity to garden. But, I always dreamed of doing so! And now I can!!!

We have the opportunity to improve upon the existing landscaping and plenty of room to add landscaping to the neglected back quarters. The wooded gully on one side of the property is natural and is beautiful. I only plan to add a few plantings here and there for a little color, like woodland flowers, or ? The front and side yards have 28 azaleas, 7 crepe myrtles, 1 ornamental cherry (pompom blossoms), 1 pink dogwood, a large cluster of white dogwoods, 2 gardenias (also blooming like crazy here, Shoe), 2 hybiscus bushes, numerous yucca plants (which I have attempted to erradicate except for 1 large one), 7 rhododendron, 7 varigated Japanese privets, 1 spruce tree, 1 very old pecan tree, 2 old cedar and 2 old oak trees, hollyhocks, gerber daisies, more daisies, irises, daylilies, grape hyacinth, at least a dozen hostas, 3 climbing roses (my addition), 5 roses (4 of which I added), canas, columbine, 3 lavender bushes (another addition) and more of which I can't identify.

In the back yard we uncovered 3 not very old peach trees, black berries (discovered them a few weeks ago), more very old oak trees, hickory trees, pine trees, hydrangeas on side of barn (new addition), wild daisies, wild strawberries, trumpet vine, and assorted trees, poison ivy and who knows what else! We did have a large open, but canopied area off one side of the barn that earlier this year we added a 700 gallon pond with waterfalls. The pond is now home to a total of 17 Koi and goldfish and birthplace to hundreds and hundreds of frogs. We're currently planning gardens that will surround it. We have a flagstone sitting area around half of the pond that we've placed three benches on. And we just finished adding a flagstone grill off to one side of the area. There is a lot of planning and planting to do with this area that's about 100ft x 100ft. Currently if this area it isn't pond, it's mulched and it's a mixture of sunny areas, part shade and deep shade. What a challenge! Any suggestions?

Thanks for letting me bend your ear a bit. I hope to get to know everyone as time goes on.

God bless,
Tobie

Guess I'll take my turn at introducing self. We moved here (Hendersonville, foothills of western NC mountains) early last year from northern VA. Had vacationed in Asheville a few years previously, and fell in love: when the opportunity came to move here, we grabbed it! Can't tell you how good it feels to be away from the total Washington DC madness, and enjoy the country and the scenery.

Our home is a 1936 farmhouse: used to sit on a huge farm, mostly sold off and we have about an acre. The property has been rented out for the last 5 - 10 years, so it goes without saying it was a mess, inside and out. Work on the house went on all of last year; this year it's time for the outside (yeah!). I always loved gardening, but had a time- and stress-intensive job for the last 15 years that ruled it out; am now semi-retired, and going crazy with plantings, plannings, soil improvement, etc., etc. Also trying to get the old neglected trees and shrubs back in shape, fighting the poison oak that was strangling all the old trees (arrrgh!), or taking out odd choices like a boxwood planted as a specimen front and center (????). Am delighting in the many things that will grow here that wouldn't in my old area: gardenia, camellia, gelsemium, jasmine, etc., etc. Love DG and this forum, and it's a pleasure to meet you all!

Welcome Ms_Carolina and Spartacusaby!! This forum is as downhome as it gets. We like callin North Carolina home too. Glad you found DG and believe me, you can learn a bunch on here. Sounds like your places are off and running.

Ms_Carolina, that's quite an inventory you have there and it sounds beautiful.

Now both of you feel free to post some pictures cause we'd love to see your places. Especially the before and after shots... Settle on in and ask questions or bring up topics. Southern folk love to talk..

Swoz

Formerly a midwesterner, I moved to Beaufort, SC about three years ago. I have had to re-learn almost everything I knew about gardening.
'bout everything in my garden has been moved at least twice!! Who knew that what took a decade to reach optimum size in Illinois takes only a season or two here!! And the fact that many of my favorites simply melt out here is compensated by the wonderful new ones I can plant. Imagine,----bananas in my back yard!
The soil here is really the pits tho. About 18 inches of sand over clay. I've found that adding "hydrogel" to a mixture of top soil, manure and peat moss works well.
I look forward to learning more about this wonderful Carolina gardening.

Hi Silk, welcome to Dave's and the Lowcountry - we're neighbors! alice

My goo'ness! Welcome Ms_Carolina and Spartacusaby, and Silkroad!

Sounds like ya'll got some great adventures to talk about, some to share, and some to yet experience! Can't get more wonderful than that, eh?

Hope to see you around the site! Sounds like we all have lots to talk about! Yay!

Shoe.

A big welcome from me even though I am not in SC yet I am proud to call you all neighbors.

Ms Carolina, I have never seen a pink dogwood. Is it just the flowers that differ or are the leaves and other characterastics different? Would love to see a pic if you have one.

How lucky you all are to have so many wonderful plants all ready on the property. I am basically starting with a blank slate. In its own way I guess it also has its advantages, I won't have to worry about moving anything or having plants in a place that I dont want them.

So happy to meet you all.

Welcome to all the new Carolinians!

I just got back from the mountains and want to get back to the railroad talk.My daughter and grandbabies (Talia 4 and Silas 11months) were up at the farm for a week with me.We took the opportunity to visit Tweetzie R R.This may be the last time we will be able to be there since their survival as a theme park is not at all sure.Once again its the same old story;the land is worth way more to developers.We had a great time even though it was quite warm (not allowed to use the H word in the high country)How many of you old time Carolinians have been there?

This year the growth rate of plants has been spectacular but weeds are plants too and so I spent most of my time weeding as usual.

Blueberries,blackberries (thornless and wild) and golden raspberries were ripe so Talia had a ball.She got a very small amount of poison ivy but we have alot of jewelweed so it dried up in no time.

I am having a much bigger problem with Japanese beetles this year than I ever had before.Any advice?

I am back at the beach again.Hot humid and buggy.I love it here most of the time but not in the summer.

Nancy

Thank you for all the warm welcomes and hello everyone!

Spartacusaby - It sounds like you're having lots of fun, too! Thank goodness that our old house is in pristine condition and was fully updated without sacrifice to any of the beadboard walls and ceilings. Congrats on accomplishing so much in a very short time!

Swoz - I'm working on my journals and trying to get them put together. The plan is to gather what pictures we have of what it looked like when we arrived and then of the changes we made. The former owners really did a pretty good job of landscaping in the front and it's pretty well organized.

Carat - This house really does have curb appeal, but it could be improved upon. We're being careful that we only add to the beauty and not make it messy looking. It's certainly not formal, but it doesn't look like it was planted there because a spot was open. LOL It's wonderful that you have a blank slate to work with! I'm not experienced enough though to be trusted with that situation. Here is a picture of the pink dogwood that was taken in April by a friend. We need to get a new camera since our older digital's battery won't recharge anymore.

OH OH OH, those are beautiful. How do you propagate them??? Shoe????

I am going to have to get one of those.

Nancy, my first experience with the japanese beetle was this summer and WOW... Those little boogers are persistant. Neighbors said that this year is better then last year but they all used some sort of granular pest control on the ground in the really early spring that attacked the larva in the ground before it hatched. Since they claim there was a decrease in the amount I am assuming it worked. I intend on doing the same treatment as are all the rest this coming spring.
I also plan on planting some thornless berry plants next spring. Those thorns grab and just dont let go. This was my first experience with them. I did learn of a little creature called chiggers.

Hope all are enjoy the weather I wish I had.....

Casey

Ms_Carolina, that's a gorgeous pink dogwood; they're the state flower, aren't they? We moved here from VA, and in VA it was the white dogwood.

If your experience with home improvement has been anything like ours, we should exchange war stories. We still have old beamed ceilings and quite a few beadboard walls: I'd never seen beadboard before, and love it. But this great old sturdy, well-built house had been sadly neglected and abused; we're still turning up surprises that are rarely pleasant. And then there's the subject of colors: the exterior was a brown with enough gray to just look filthy and dingy. And inside, someone in the past had really loved intense colors. The entire downstairs was an intense, vivid yellow: can you say hot? The bedrooms were truly weird: for example, the master was the exact red of dried blood, the teenager's bedroom and loft brilliant royal blue, and the upstairs bath olive green. Should see if I can find a "before" photo or two to post. The kitchen had an old, obsolete, unvented propane "wood stove" that must have been used for primary heat: there was so much smoke on the walls and ceiling that it took 11 coats of paint to cover it. It's been an adventure, and the subject of contractors is a whole other chapter. So glad it's mostly finished, and I can concentrate on the garden/landscaping: much much more fun!

Yes, it's the state flower for both VA and NC. It's the American Dogwood
Cornus florida and it can be white or pink. I'd love to have another on the other side of the driveway, so maybe I could figure out how to do that. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1045/index.html

Our parlor is about that color of red and all the trim and ceiling is white, too. We do have a chair rail all the way around which is white also. The 5 panel door however is natural. Below the chair rail is grey and has natural pine floor. I understand it took 7 coats of red paint for the upper wall. Our first thought was to repaint, but then I really began to like it. DH soon followed and after living with it a week or two, we didn't want to change it. I liken it to a cranberry color. We pulled the colors together with a beautiful wool rug. Wish I had a picture to show you.

The only inside work we did was to add a handrail to the stairs going up to the second floor with spindles salvaged from another old house that was torn down. My sweet BIL loves to do carpentry work and he's a professional painter by trade. And he recommended a contractor he knew personally to add a sewing room and a large library in the lower level. The previous owners moved the house back 50ft and placed it on a new cement block foundation that's a "walk out" and also has a tuck under garage. We've been very fortunate in finding both a contractor and after a third try, a landscaper that we absolutely trust. BIL was instrumental in helping us find them.

Sounds like you've had a lot of work, spartacusaby! That yellow must have been dreadful! And I couldn't imagine 11 coats of paint for the kitchen. Wow!!

Here is a picture of our house taken in April. As you'll notice there are a few shrubs in a planting area that are too large. That is another project on the list!

Beautiful house, Ms_Carolina! And I probably would've liked that cranberry color for a parlor; just too much for me for a bedroom.

Well, it's always nice to experience a warm welcome. It's also nice to have a place to turn to when family/friends don't know any more than I do about gardening issues. I got some good info about my okra problem from this site. I live in Northwest Charlotte and am mainly working on my veggie garden this year. I am a novice gardener - honestly not much interested in the landscaping or flower garden stuff right now. I'm not even sure why I'm as interested in the veggie garden as I am - must be the price of tomatoes in the stores. Anyway, I've been growing more interested as time goes on.

I planted a couple of tomatoes the Summer after we moved into our house, and last year planted about 10. This year, I moved my garden from next to the house, and planted tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, okra, and cayenne peppers - all in a 9'x8' plot. Although most everything is coming in nicely - I'm actually quite proud of my little plot - I am already working on improvements for next year. Namely, I'll have more room next year, change at least one of the tomato varieties, and am considering trading the okra out for pole beans.

I do need to do something about my grass, too. I have that funky grass that grows out kind of like a spider plant, and it seems to be taking over. I won't likely get to it any time soon, but I need to start thinking about it.

You can see the cramped quarters of this year's plot, as well as the planned expansion. I need to add one more strip of landscaping cloth at the top, and along the back (photo-wise anyway), to get the kind of space I've discovered I'll need for next year. :-)

That's a great start on your veggie garden dcparris! We do plan to add a vegetable garden that will be in raised beds and surrounded by a picket fence and a gated arbor. Our landscaper has given us a quote on it, but currently we're still working with him on adding plantings around the pond we added a couple of months ago. I'll have it before spring tho!

We have that strange spider type grass too, but it is only appearing in our gravel driveway. I pull it out every chance I get. I'd use Round-Up, but with Kitty-Girl out and about frequently, I'm afraid she'd rub against a sprayed week and get it on her fur. We are, however, having the landscaper tackle the lawn problems this fall and next spring.

My co-worker's son-in-law lives in a newer suburb of Charlotte and with more housing being built not far from them, they've run into problems with copperheads. In fact, the SIL got bitten by a young copperhead that he stepped on late Thursday night. I hope you are not anywhere around that area!

Thanks! If that big squash plant gets much bigger, I may need to apply for a variance. ;-) It's been pretty productive as well. I'll probably start collecting those red edging bricks to put around the garden. As for the grass, there's just too much of it. Guess I could try round-up in the areas where I don't take the dog.

I hope your co-worker's son-in-law recovers quickly. There was a report in the news of a young kid who got bit by one, and stomped it to death afterwards. That's one tough kid. I haven't seen any. I guess I do need to start being a little more watchful though.

I like the train idea, anyone have any idea what something like that would cost? Maybe a hunderd yards of track? For that matter where would you find that?

Boy, this is a great front porch. I am so envious of yall with the old farm houses. Years ago I was buying my first home an wanted an old farm house. One day a door knob in the home I was living, broke. I had no idea how to fix it so decided it would not be too smart to rehab a whole house. Bought a new home that looked old. Still want the farm though. Do either of you have beadboard porch ceilings? In the old days the porch ceilings were painted with a very light blue grey. The color was called Haint Blue. It was suppose to keep the ghost and bad spirits away. Welcome to the south..

Core, I have seen the railroads in catalogs and a friend in Columbia had one. It was so neat and the grandkids loved riding around the garden. I bet if you google garden railroads you will come up with some.

Downscale, no Tweetsie???? Say it isn't so.

Mpszz, we do still have lots of the old beadboard, including on the porch ceiling. I love the story of Haint Blue, and wish we had heard it last year before it, along with everything else, was painted! And we are not at all handy, either! The house was inexpensive, considering its size and basic quality, because it was really run-down and had sat on the market forever without selling. So we hemorrhaged money all last year on contractors to fix it up; living with them underfoot all year was not fun, but was worth it since the house is now back in shape and we can really enjoy it. And I can spend this year working on the grounds! You'd think that former farm land would at least have a decent layer of topsoil, but no - pure hard southern clay. You improve it one planting at a time; by the time I die, I might have a fraction of the property renewed....

What are y'all doing with all the free time we have? Sure can't go outside and garden!! The heat index was 115 today. Mostly I just look at garden catalogs and drool. Is there ever enough money and space????

I braved the heat to cut a few culms from my bamboo to use for lily stakes. The water in my small koi pond is bathwater hot!! Expect some rain later on. A temporary fix. Even the dogs stay outside only just long enuf to take care of business.

I really feel for all you folks. We can still garden, though early or late in the day are best; but then we topped out at 90 one day this week. The weather you guys are having is just miserable!

Hey mpszz! Yes, we do have the beadboard porch ceiling and it is a light blue color. I've wondered why and you just provided the answer! Occasionally I had entertained the idea of changing the color, but not anymore. I think I will try to determine if it is the Haint Blue and if it isn't, I'll change it to that. Thanks so much for sharing that tidbit!

silkroad - It's been real hot here, too, in the Piedmont Triad area. We hit 98 yesterday and about that a few times earlier this week. We're thrilled to get a bit of rain overnight. Except for a vacation day yesterday, I work during the day and don't get home until after 6 pm, so that's how I've spent the time. About 7 pm I've gone around and watered what hadn't been watered the evening before. Our weeping willow in the front yard has needed particular attention for watering. The placement of that was not our choosing, but it's there and it is lovely. We didn't cut the grass last weekend in anticipation to the hot week we've had. Seeing some of the neighbors yards that did get cut, we definitely did the right thing for our lawn.

Like you, I've been looking at garden catalogs (paper and online) and drooling. Nope, there is not enough space or money for the wish list!! I'm still working on figuring out where I can plant a variety of lilacs. Have you seen the beautiful yellow lilac that's out? Gotta have one!

Here is a picture of the tobacco barn. It needs some attention and $$ to ensure it lasts as long as possible. One side is beginning to sag a bit in the middle and the bottom floor is doing the same. The inside is a treasure trove of stuff from the original owners; a few pieces of furniture, wooden spindles for weaving (?), old dress patterns, newspapers, wash basins, etc. Even a top for a wringer washer. Anyone need one of those?

One more thought... maybe we should look into the backyard train idea. We have a new little grandson that arrived July 16th and he would sure enjoy that! Thanks y'all and I'll share what info I find.

ms carolina Yes,--that yellow lilac is gorgeous!! Unfortunately, lilacs won't grow down here. I've tried ceanothis, but without much luck.
When I moved down here, I sold my home to my son and his wife, so I still get to enjoy the 20+ years I put into the garden there. It's gone down hill a little, but then they both work long hours and they are not as dedicated as I was. I find that most gardeners are pretty single minded hobby,--make that obsession!!

Just planted that yellow lilac this spring: can't wait till it's mature enough to flower!