How deep are your roots?

I moved here in April05.. the first thing i did was take down a nasty locust tree, and dug out a large pond.. i had left my Koi behind at my previous home, with the agreement that i would come get them when the new pond was ready.
In June 05, i went to pick them up...
They are doing well and happy at their new home.
My largest flower bed is around the pond.. 20ft out from back of pond, and about 5 ft out from the sides of pond.

This home surprised me with a nasty case of japanese beetle invasion.. i used it to my advantage.. when the grass was killed by grubs.. i tore the grass up and made 2 more flower beds...

My yard is just about done now.. and altho it isnt as large or as diverse as my previous yard, its got a beauty all its own.
Ill still be tweaking it, thats for sure..

30 years in October. Locked ourselves out of the bedroom the first night and ''slept'' on the floor with Johnny Carson!

We have always lived in Nichols. Both of us in the south end of town, now in the north.

Are we talking house or town?

I'm moving to a new house today (yeah!), but I've lived in Olympia for 10 years straight, another 6 before that, and I've always had family here.

I was confused, too. I've lived in this area for going on 20 years, but I've lived in this house for about 3 months. Congrats on your new home, zhinu!

I wanted to check two. No matter how long I live here, I don't think I'll ever get everything unpacked. I swear someone sneaks more boxes into the garage when I'm not looking.

I grew up in Middletown, OH, in the same house until I was 21, & couldn't wait to leave & see the world. Between school & work, I've lived in Gambier, OH, Portland, South Portland, & Cape Elizabeth, ME (in a house formerly owned by Bette Davis!), Rochester, NY, Springfield, OH, Mechanicsburg, OH, & now Cincinnati, OH. I probably liked the weather & the views best in Maine, but I couldn't hack it now --- too much joint trouble. There's something abt me that has never felt settled in Cincinnati. It's got quite a bit of greenspace for a place this size (partly because it's a glacial valley & there are places that are too steep to build on economically). I feel sorry for people who are new to town, because it's really tough at first to drive around here. You'll be able to see where you need to go, & then the road takes a turn & the building is swallowed up by a hill & you're lost. If you ever get on Muddy River Road, just go ahead & drive your car into the creekbed & hope that you might float downstream eventually so you can figure out where you are!
A picture of the hydrangeas I left behind at the house I just sold----

Those hydrangeas are gorgeous!
I'm an army brat and all my roots are tied up in my family who live about 30 min north of here in Gurnee. I've recently got married and we bought a house, but it doesn't feel like mine yet. :) wonder if it ever will
My dream location isn't the suburbs. I'd love to live where there is more wooded land and wild areas. Not that I don't love my Starbucks, but I agree with Tir_Na_Nog, hard to put roots down in concrete.

We've been here for 27 years. But they're changed our area code twice and our address four times. Ah, how I love progress.

Wow, gorgeous view GordenHawk!

Although I am originally a "Snowbird", I got here by way of Texas almost 30 years ago, here, being Florida. Last winter I just moved up here to North Central Florida from Ft. Lauderdale.

That being said, I would say my roots have to be in Florida. In some ways I do miss Ft Lauderdale, and despite moving north, I could not bring myself to leave Florida altogether.

On a more earthy level, my plant roots are still working on digging in. I brought 5 van loads of plants north with me, some have died from the "frosts" and others are happy to be "home". I pushed the zone in Lauderdale with many plants.

It's taken all of the spring and summer for them to get settled. Some still seem stunted and some have realized they are free to do their thing and have kicked into high gear.

We are going through our "sleep" year, looking forward to the "creep" and "leap" years still to come.

Molly
:^)))))

We have lived here 20 years this November. It's small but the older we get the more we appreciate that fact.Besides less rooms make it easier for me to remember which one I was headed for. LOL

Same house since '62, same town since '59 same area (Southern Tier of NY) since birth. We do winters in Florida since retiring but home will always mean the Susquehanna Valley right here!

Mine was a little misleading...I've only lived ehre for a few months..but my family settled this part of the country and most of my family are still here...so although my personal roots are shallow, my familial roots are as deep as you can get.

My grandfather built this house in 1938. After his four children were grown, he died. When my grandmother remarried, my parents bought her house. I lived here from age 5-18, then moved back in with my widowed father 10 years ago. He died 6 years ago and left the house to me. My husband and I were married 2 years ago, so my roots have been transplanted and so have his.

When I moved here there was almost fence to fence lawn. It's no longer a yard--it's a garden. :)

DH was born on the ranch and has lived near or in Goldthwaite all his life, except for some years of college and work out of state. I moved here in 1972, and we married in 1975. We built the home we now live in in 2000. The land has been in his family since the 1880's, so we feel like we have very deep roots.

It's our first home and I've been working non-stop in the yard (a place that was a rental had a really weedy yard and they chopped down all the bushes to "spruce things up") I've dug up and poisoned weeds all summer and put down fertilize and lime and seed and now have some beginning of a yard. I've brought tons of heirlooms from my mom and aunts (irises, hydranges, herbs, roses, and fruit) and now have a few of the things I really love from "home." I'm excited about my new home, with my fiance and 2 dogs but sad that it isn't closer to my family.

It is a year this month. Prior we lived in the same town for 12 years. We finally have a little plot of land, er, sand, and we love it. I have a feeling we'll be paying for our storage rental for another 10 years at the rate we're unpacking boxes -- BUT we did get 1800 ft of fence built and over 2 dozen trees planted -- so we've got our priorities right! Boxes can wait until winter (when I'll use the snow as my excuse not to go to the storage) - right now I gotta be outside playing with the plants!

I guess it depends on how you define "roots". I'm a second generation Northern California (born in San Francisco). The American side of my family has been out west since the goldrush. I've got hundreds of cousins in the Puget Sound area, some in Nevada. My mom & sister are in Oregon, my best friend in Ventura County. Although I spent a portion of high school in Florida, I've always thought of most of the west coast as "home". Guess I've got roots like a mint plant. LOL!

We moved into this house two years ago. It was built in 1967, and has had two previous owners. Both of these previous owners preferred the "natural" look. What they call natural, I call neglected. Basically we have nothing but weeds, haphazardly placed trees, and a good smattering of poison ivy. But I have vision...... Hopefully in a few years, it will look more like the yard I've always imagined having.

We have lived here in San Diego for 24 years in the same house, but the garden is only 7 or 8 years old. Didn't have much time while the kids were growing up. So now we are retired and have lots of time to garden. The weather here is wonderful but it still took a lot of time to adjust, coming from New England. We live in a part of the city that actually is a forest of trees so we have sun, shade and filtered light. Water is a problem though even with sprinklers built in--they never seem to water the right plants. Sometimes we think about moving to a condo but we need our patch of dirt.

I voted several days ago,

I just got to thinking just how DEEP my roots are. I have lived in this house for 40 years and in the area my whole life.
My roots are so deep that I find it difficult to leave a house that is much too big for me and my abilities and gardens that are more than one person alone can take care of.

I wish I could pull my roots up just a little and build a new house just the right size for me, put another pond in that is not so big, and have raised beds all over that I could garden with. I live on a farm so the land is available...but I couldn't stand seeing anyone else living here. Now isn't that ridiculous?

No!

We have only lived here for eight months.
This is our container garden

I have lived in Myrtle Beach, SC all of my 51 years. The home I live in now I have lived in off and on since 1968 when Dad and Mom designed and built it to accomodate his wheelchair. Dad became a quadraplegic in 1957 due to a car accident.
Jack and I sold our last home in 1992 when Dad died and we moved in with Mom for "a little while" to give her a chance to get used to being alone. She and Dad had owned and run a small store since 1960 and had never been apart after his accident except running us kids around town, *grin*. Needless to say, DH & I never moved out of Mom's house.....the "for a little while" just recently passed the 14 year mark. The 3 of us have a great relationship. I am truly blessed that my Mom and my DH love each other very deeply and that if I were not around they would remain together as a family. My brother, sister, brother in law and all their families visit often and consider my DH their own and have always loved & supported each other as true family. I am blessed. God bless you all, Margo

Hyblaean: LOVE that, I'll quote you:

My hubby and I have lived in our present home since Aug. 1993. He was a Navy officer for 30 yrs. before he retired. We moved a lot. From one side of the country to the other. When he was transferred to Millington, TN as his last billet, we decided that TN was about the middle of the country and we could go in any direction, so we bought 32 acres of wooded property with a small stream in Hardeman Co., TN, cleared off enough land in the middle of it to build our house, a greenhouse and a honey house and other sheds for him. We had the house built with extra wide doors and easy access since we are getting older. We also had a sleeping porch built off the master bedroom. Great place to spend time. This autumn we are having hardwood floors installed. I am slowly loosing my eyesight and I have "memorized" the layout and furniture arrangement in the house. We have no outside lights at night and we don't miss them. When the moon is full it is so beautiful to look at the shadows and cool moonlight. We can clearly see the night sky. We feed possums, skunks and coons at night on our carport and everyone gets along fine. During the day there are 3 different sets of deer that come up to our back deck and eat. Also, a hugh population of squirrels and different species of birds. When we first moved here, a neighbor that lives down the road "bragged" that one year he shot 67 squirrels around here. Not now he wont. All our neighbors are quiet and it is so peaceful here. We have a long, winding driveway and when we don't want to be bothered, we simply shut and lock the gate.

I must admit at times we both think of moving just because we moved so much during his career. Then we look at each other, out a window or off one of the porches or decks and say 'Naw" and go on enjoying what the good Lord has given us.

Peace and joy to all. Liz

Well,my DH and I have lived in this valley for along time. He was born here 47 years ago and escaped for 4 years to live in Utah but as is the joke here, You can leave anytime you want but you`l always return. I lived in the Cleveland area till I was 11 but since Dec.1973, I have lived here, Exept once I lived in Canoga Park, Ca. for 6 years BUT, came back because housing was affordable and I needed my kids to have roots too. So here I sit whining about the clay and heat killing my plants but I am still here where my family is, that is home.

This is the house we lived in for 55 Years, it was DH grandparents who moved here in 1898.
Now due to DH illness we had to built a new and a much smaller house in 2004 but on part of the land we own

I have lived on this planet earth for almost 68 years. I am well rooted! No matter where I go, there I am. I have not tried to claim any one spot to call "mine" because our Creator owns this planet, so moving is an adventure for me.
One cannot learn of another part of this planet in just a few days, such as: a vacation. I am fortunate that I have traveled all over since birth and this has given me a broad perspective in relating to the human race.
I do not regret being a traveling man. My stories are varied and adventureous. No one can ever own a home in this nation. It is a farce to think you can actually own a home, so I haven't fallen into that trap.
Thanks for reading.

I don't know if I voted the right way, I have lived in this area all my life, except for a few moves in and around the state with my parents and 1 1/2 years in Or. Got married in 1944 right after highschool graduation. My husband and I lived in our orchard home for almost 50 years. He passed away in 1994 just acouple of months before our 50th wedding ann.

So after that I bought this 5 1/2 acres of sagebrush and grass and homesteaded. A triple wide is my home now for 11 years. The 2 1/2 acres I have water and time enough to take care of are fenced in with a solid redwood fence to keep the deer from eating everything.'

Have just a couple of 250 sq. ft. of lawn, rest is flowers and veggies. I have been in all but 3 or the states, and several foreign countries and still prefer this area. I love the four seasons. My three grown children live eith er, 1 here in Wash, 6 hours away, 1 in VA, 1 in LA, so don't see them often.

Nice to read all the answers.

Donna

about 20 years if you are meaning what "town or city", as I moved to Spokane in September of 1985. Otherwise, I just moved within my city last December.

If by same place you mean the same town, then our roots are verrrrry deep. My ancestors settled here in southern Indiana in 1862 and we have all lived withing 5 miles of each other ever since. I myself have been in our current home since 1970 and I don't see me moving until the plant me in the back 40.

I used to envy people that get to move around. Now I don't know of any other place I would rather be.

Yvonne

While I have lived in this area for 34 years and in this house since 1989, my roots are much, much deeper than my flower garderns or even the mature tree roots I keep tripping over! It would help if we had not been way behing in rain every except for 2 since 1992. I just cannot water 3.6 acres! Fortunately, most I have left in natural woods and just put on full hiking gear to walk through them! :)

We absolutely love it here in central FLA.

There are some drawbacks - lack of jobs (at least in the field I have experience in, computer programming), and our families and friends are there and not here.

It's a great place to live, though, especially if you're looking to escape those frigid New England winters. Housing is a lot cheaper than up north, so our money went a lot further in buying a beautiful new house that we love.

The best part of living here, though, is being able to grow tropicals. My wife has finally come to the realization that the garden will never be "done". I'll always find things to do out in the yard (or greenhouse), just because I want to.

Steve

Moved here Oct. 1979. aint got time to oil the hinges aint got time to fix no window pane heh heh heh heh The house has some tell tale marks as to the age of it. The root cellar has 1917 imbossed in the concreat on both sides of the front. The house was turned into a telephone office and switchboard for a while. You know when all we had was crank phones. and party lines.
Our children have told us that they don't want the house. It is in too small of a town/////er
Village. no maybe less than that. It's home I'm happy. put in a new well 20 years ago. built on an attached garage ( WOW) 9 years ago. don't seem that long. put in a pond and a patio right beside it. Don't think I'm moveing anytime soon. Worked hard to pay for it, with meagerly wadges. don't think I want to let some realitor make more on it than would.
Is that roots or just plain stubborn????

Same house 14 years here.

We would absolutely move somewhere where it's less expensive to live if we could but 1] we've just finished (if one can ever be finished) a renovation of the bathroom so I can take a shower and my wheelchair fits inside with THE DOOR CLOSED! We've made too many hard-wired alterations for the sake of the stupid wheelchair. My DH made me a pavered path so I can get from one side of the yard/garden to the other. He made me a raised bed with a stone border last winter and I'm still trying to figure out what to plant where. 2] My XH and I have shared legal custody and I can't imagine what wpuld happen if I moved. He's pretty much of a deadbeat, sees his kids infrequently but I think I would screw up their tiny brains if we left the house they've lived in all their lives. On the other hand, they are 12.5 and 16, so we're counting the years until we can start knocking down their walls and reinventing the whole inside!

xxxxx, Carrie

Relocated to PA in 98 due to Gov't layoff, anticipating older DD's graduation. Even had a countdown going for when could leave this area for someplace warmer. Well, as happens sometimes, grew to love it here and actually bought my first home ever, in 02, staying in the same school district for the girls. I decided to mark the 5-10 yrs, since it is the area that is "home" for me here.

This is the first home I have ever, and prob the only one I will ever own. Gradually working on fixing it up, changing it to mine for life. First time not in a rental, military housing or with family and I am now 50! Part of me would love more land... , ie, 100+ ACRES!!! But the sensible part of me knows that I can only do so much with all the back probs that have plagued me for 3 decades now! Fortunately, they are much better with the fantastic chiropractor I have found, but even so...

Of all the places I have lived (OH, AL, NJ, KS, TX, NY, PA, Korea, and Germany), this place feels like my home. Even better now that we are finally going through all the boxes from yrs of military life and moving. We have been taking the time to make this place truly our own.

Sure, I sometimes think about escaping and taking an assignment out of country, but now I feel like I have a place I want to come home to afterwards. It is more comfortable here than the cold of the more northern states where family lives, but still close enough to visit. And it is much more tolerable than the intense heat of the south where I have enjoyed living, but I no longer feel I could manage.

I can have most of what I enjoyed from the other places I have lived in my garden... to include lilacs, fruit trees, roses and recently discovered that a lot of tropical things will grow in my place, if I protect them, as well. I think I have the best of it all, right here where I am now.

It has been interesting reading all of the above. My best to you and yours!! ~ Suzi :)

We live on the "Family Farm". Our family has owned the property since 1829, and will for a good many more years. Great, Great Grandmother bought 180 acres for $3000.00 in 1829, At that time it was unheard of for a woman to own property, let alone so much. But she did it, found a husband a year later and the family was started,Seven generations later we are still here and growing.

I am moving from the California Bay Area to the Virginia/West Virginia area, from hardiness zone 9b to somewhere between 7a to 6b. What little I have learned in the past three years of gardening will be of little use, I fear. My (mostly) xeriscaped front yard will not transpalnt to the East! I just keep telling myself "lilacs and violets, you will be able to have lilacs and violets now."