Hello,
I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I am new to the forum but I am really excited to find a group of people who get as excited as I do about flowers, plants, trees and gardening in general.
I have always had a love for these things since I was young because my grandmother passed on her appreciation to me. My wife thinks I am obsessed with the yard, but heck there are worst things to be obsessed with than having a lovely yard.
We built a new home just over a year ago and getting the lawn seeded and reseeded and draining properly took its toll on me, but I am now tackling getting the rest of my landscape set up properly. My plan was to do everything myself, but with a full time career and three very active children that may be a strectch. I have now resigned myself to doing the planning, selecting and select planting myself after I get the "bones" of the landscape done by someone with the time ti do it right.
I am excited because up until now I was maintaining and adding to what my grandmother had done in our yard because I had purchased the family home. I now have a clean slate to work with. However, because I am sentimental I will be transplanting alot of my favorites from my old yard.
That's me in a nutshell. I look forward to conversing with you all on this great forum!
PS. My name is Mike. Earle avenue is a tribute to my grandfather who for years had the nicest yard and roses in the neighborhood.
This message was edited Feb 7, 2007 1:57 PM
Introduction
Welcome, Mike. There is a great wealth of knowledge here and a lot of very helpful people. It sounds like you have a nice house and canvas to work with.
Welcome Mike,
Enjoy your lovely yard and family!
I planted my first veggie garden in 2005. I started everything from seed in a Greenhouse my husband built for me in 2006.
And, I now have the "bug". I used to get a chuckle as I'd poke around the forums and listen to folks talking about how "undone" they were when winter came ... what were they to do until Spring? ... Well, they would be scouring the gardening catelogs, walking around their yards in the snow looking for that next great place for a perennial, evergreen, ... or, possibly even a new little herb patch ...
Well, that's me now too! I'm getting so itchy I just started some herb seeds in the house ... I just can't wait anymore.
:)
Welcome Mike! Good to have you with us. We raise lots of tomatoes, cukes, peppers and other assorted vegetables. We can help each other pass these cooler winter days.
Welcome Mike. I'm trying to get rid of all the grass in my yard and replace it with food bearing plants. Oh - and for the winter I have a worm motel in my kitchen to keep me in touch with nature.
Don't you live in a CAT motel?
Welcome Mike - I think you picked a good obsession too.
Al
Mike, I think you will fit in nicely.
I always move old plants to the new house.
Andy P
Welcome Mike . . . maybe you can send pictures so we can vicariously enjoy the development of your gardens :-)
Welcome! I decided it's definitely more fun to do the planning than the dirt moving, and the planting than the weeding. You have the best part still in front of you!
I can't wait to see the results!
Tamberlin
Hi, again, Mike. I absolutely understand what it's like to have that clean slate and want so badly to start those gardens and landscaping. DH and I built our dreamhouse for our retirement 4 years ago. Mud and rocks! So we're at a different point in our lives than you are (he's retired now, but physically unable to do the work...I'm still working full time). First fall we got the lawns put in. Next spring some basic front foundation landscaping. Added a few things around the side and back the following spring. The 3rd spring I had 2 large beds built. One for a butterfly/hummingbird garden and the other for a heath & heather garden with dwarf conifers (and an adjacent rock garden). Last spring I mostly added perennials to those 2 beds. And started to put some things in the rock garden. I'm having a large rose garden built this spring. Putting in the plants myself, but having the heavy work done.
It's really nice that you can bring your favorites along with you. I wish I had some of my grandmother's plants, or even my mother's.
Hello Mike & welcome!
Dave
It's great to have all these new people introducing themselves!
Welcome Mike! I too have flowers from my Grandmother, some Iris's she had when I was no more than 4 or 5. I took them from her house when I was 11 and planted them at my parents. In 1986 when Mom sold the house I dug 6 up and brought them here to my own home. I still have them, and although they are not all that pretty, I will never part with them. Those Iris represent my gardening teacher, mentor, and a love of gardening that spans era's. Some of those Iris's are at my oldest daughter's house, in her garden, multiplying for her daughter. "And the legacy lives on...."
Welcome and that was a lovely introduction. I am fairly new to gardening too. I took it up once I bought my first home 3 years ago. I got the bug from my mom. You will certainly find that these people have a whole lot of knowledge so you came to the right place ;)
Hello Mike and welcome to DG. It's a wonderful place to learn and grow and in the process help our plants grow. Sounds like you're getting to the fun part. Will look forward to pics as you work of art develops.
Welcome Mike. I wish I could have brought some of my plants with me to our new house but in NJ you have to leave all plants, trees etc when you sell your house:(.
I too have a nice clean slate and I'm itching to get going.
Jen
Who stipulated that rule, Jen? Are there plant police to check missing plants?
WELCOME Mike ,
It is great that you have joined,I am sure You will love it !! Lots of wonderful advice is given and friendships have developed.
Ckeck out the Co-op forums if you are looking for unusual plants and reasonable prices.Right now there is a Rose co-op in the making and Daylily Co-op coming up soon.I know I know I am an enabler :-)
Welcome again,
Brigitte
***
Oh pirl you are so funny !! I am holding my breath to see if the promises come true that I will be able to go to my old house in spring to dig up some of my roses from my memory garden.I have a sick feeling when I think about it.And all those perennials !! but the roses are the most important to me.
It won't hurt to ask, Brigitte. They may be eager to have grass - there are loonies out there!
I know she said she would love to grow vegetables.She is in her early 30's,fulltime job with 2 children and her husband is gone alot,so maybe she finds that gardens are really alot of work.I sent out my folder of roses to her and will sent lots of info on how to take care of roses plus I will mention my daily trips to catch the .... japanese beetles so maybe just maybe that will persuade her to let me take some.Unfortunately for me I didn't have my flowers/roses written down in detail to which ones I can take ,it only said flowers in general.
Your big plus is that she hasn't seen them in bloom so she'll never know what she's missing.