Mid-Atlantic Roll Call

Greetings Wise Ones!

Part One currently has 357 Replies and 4,044 views.
Please use this post to allow us to greet you and get to know you. Use the old post to read about folks who have been around for a while.

Hyperlink to Mid-atlantic Roll Call, Part Two:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/865911/

Return to this post to check on folks who checked in prior to June 20, 2008. I'll keep up with posting the names of our community in both posts.

Blessings on your garden,
Elf


How about we begin the new year by checking in and telling each other a little about ourselves? I often wonder who we all are and how many Mid-Atlantic types there are here.

Here's a template. Feel free to adjust your response. I've added the names to folks who have check in with very Roll Call information to the bottom of this post.

Name:
Location:
Family:
Employment:
Gardening Level:
Gardening Focus:

Name: Elf
Location: Essex, Maryland
RFamily: I'm married with four successful children who have left the nest. I LOVE being in my fifties!
Employment: High School Reading Teacher, but an English teacher by training, and I'm a minister.
Gardening Level: Intermediate
Gardening Focus:

I have a strange garden. It's a meditation garden. My objective was something that would force the walker along a path like a labarynth, but really be a garden. It's definitly not formal, but it is different.

What happened is what the neighbors describe as my maze. When giving directions, all I need to say is, "Do you know the house with the maze out front, and all the angels?" It's a kind of maze, but it is not one that you get lost upon, which is the fun of a traditional maze with the dense boxwood. There are no dead ends to get lost at during your journey. The paths are currently grass and there are a couple of larger stop off points where'd you'd be able to sit an meditate, or play a game of cards with a friend. Like a labarynth, they lead to a center point and then out again. We bought brick over the summer, and with any luck, the paths will be more brick than grass by next fall.

I'm trying to get a cottagey feel for the beds along the paths. I decided that symbolically, I didn't want the paths to move in a circle where you can always see just what is ahead, because life is just not like that. Life is full of surprises. So when they curve, they make a gentle turn, but it's a turn, and you always find an interesting new thing to expeience ahead on the path.

So you'd walk a curve and ahead is a bench under a tree, a drift of flowers, or one of my little angels (they are all over 36", so they are very present and not so little.)

In 2006, I did a lot of the "bones." I laid it out, tilled it, discovered evil in the form of quack grass, and planted dogwoods and red buds, 80 rose of sharon, 50 crape myrtle, (they both form the outside boarder,) lots of snow balls, burning bush, spirea, peony, blazing star, and in fall, lots of bulbs. This year I started adding roses, perrenials, hollyhock, lilies, a few more trees, some hardy hibiscus, some other kinds of shrubby stuff that grows well around here. I'm also playing with varying leaf colors and textures. Hubby is building arbors, seating, and a pergola. I went to Harpers this past summer and bought benches, fountains, tables, and statues, none of which are yet installed. The fencing between the outer tree area and the maze may go in this next summer, sooner if I get the money. Teachers don't do all that well.

I have no clue as to how this will all turn out, but I'm having a lot of fun and driving my hubby nuts. He has a riding mower that makes him feel very manly and in charge, and I took the front third acre and made it a push mower job. I'd like to get the paths covered eventually so he doesn't need to mow, only mulch the boarders.

I still have about 2000 bulbs sitting in the spare room. I wanted to plant today, but it rained, rained, rained. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow!

Blessings on your garden,
Elf

Checked in so far:

1. lastelf, Baltimore, MD
2. plantmover, Newport News, VA
3. sallyg, Millersville, MD
4. doccat, Fredericksburg, Virginia
5. Bec_No_Va, Woodbridge, VA
6. Gitagal, Perryhall, MD
7. VA_Wild_Rose, Fredericksburg, VA
8. Chantell, Stafford, VA
9. lafygardener1. Albion, PA
10. dragonfly53, South Boston, VA
11. HollyAnnS, Dover, Pa.
12. bseward, Kilmarnock, VA.
13. Gahagan, Freeport , PA
14. Amy319, Bethesda, MD
15. DarraD, Reva, VA
16. Buttoneer, Carlisle, PA
17. metopa, Stormstown (Port Matilda), PA
18. rubyW, Skyline Drive, VA
19. JennGroves, Jenn, Glen Burnie, MD
20. jody, Pasadena, MD
21. pamgarden, Center of VA
22. Greenhouse Gal, Southern NJ
23. rcn48, Lexington, VA
24. cwspy, Fredericksburg, VA
25. chriscoli, Wheaton, MD
26. PAMSPACE, Temperanceville, VA
27. pj617, Damascus MD
28. critterologist, Frederick, MD
29. flowerjen, Central NJ
30. RatherBDigging, small town northeast of Lancaster, PA
31. woodsyearthmama, Southwest VA
32. Michaeljo, West Norriton, PA
33. Mosbyone, Fredericksburg Virginia
34. NisiNJ, Bordentown, NJ
35. ottahand7, Monkton, MD
36. Gardengirl1204, Richmond, VA
37. Jake, Glen Arm, MD
38. Cottonpiker, Audubon, PA
39. kudrick, Fallston, MD
40. Tammy, NE Pa
41. Susan51, Danville, Va.
42. thistle5, Alexandria, VA
43. Micha (Pronounced: Mee-sha,) Brookeville, MD
44. lcsera, Aspen Hill, MD
45. Sundownr, Southwestern VA
46. davis1679, Disputanta, VA
47. babybubbs, Magnolia DE
48. net4tmi, Severn, MD
49. mkinne, Leesburg, VA
50. Kubileya, Laurel, Delaware
51. ginpan, Danville, VA
52. aspenthomas, Lucketts, VA
53. qwilter, Severn, MD
54. largosmom, Newport News, VA
55. PattyMarie, (Out) Wayne, WV
56. ldy_gardenermd, Highland, Maryland
57. stormyla, Valley Forge, PA
58. wvgardendeva, Berkeley Springs WV
59. Hineni, Damascus, VA
60. gailDelaware, Ocean View, DE
61. darius, Marion, VA
62. Wisdomskr, Mechanicsville, MD

As of Friday, June 20 2008. Who's next????






This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 2:04 AM

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 2:08 AM

This message was edited Jun 20, 2008 12:59 PM

This message was edited Jun 20, 2008 1:21 PM

This message was edited Jun 20, 2008 1:25 PM

Great idea, Elf! I sure hope you post pix of your garden...your plans sound lovely. Oh, and I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one with bulbs waiting to be planted! (blush)

So I'm kinda new here...

Name: plantmover...my DH says that as near as he can tell, moving plants is all it means to be gardener.

Location: Newport News, VA

Family: Loving husband, two sweet daughters, and one terrific son-in-law.

Employment: n/a

Gardening Level: I feel like I know just enough to be dangerous; but on a good day, I'm an intermediate.

Gardening Focus: Small spaces; we live on .13 of an urban acre. There's about 7 feet of clearance between our deck and the neighbor's screened patio. This fall I planted a green tower boxwood hedgerow to provide an 'illusion' of privacy. I've added beds along each side of the house, an herb bed in one back corner of the lot, and hope to put in an xeric bed at the other back corner where there's a sunny slope to the street. Initially, I was dismayed at the limitations of our lot; but it has caused me to research and be very intentional about which plants to choose and buy...probably a good thing.

We've lived in several states, including Arizona and Alaska, and I have a hard time limiting myself to plants of one or two zones. So trial and error is still part of my sometimes brutal gardening techniques.

I'm amazed and fascinated by the diversity of plants, especially those of Mediterranean climates (they're so Dr Seussy). Working with plants is like free therapy...well, almost free! ;)

Warning: the following won't be nearly as interesting as elf's

Name: sally
Location: Millersville, central Maryland. Lifelong central Marylander. If I could have dream home, it would be in the mountains, by a stream. An old mill would be soo cool.
Family: married to hubby who mows, does a big job when asked and leaves the rest up to me; three kids 16,14 and 11 .
Employment: n/a , dgree in agriculture , U MD, inspected restaurants for several years before kids
Gardening Level: know more than most I meet and less than many DGers I meet
Gardening Focus: Might say, using my natural yard as my botanical playground. Not good at design and structure, better at just wanting to experience different plants and enjoy plant material.. I try to find a suitable place for what strikes my fancy, an assortment of inexpensive, readily available, interesting things, meaning if something comes up out of thebrown and looks promising I give it a chance. That got me interested in learning about native plants. Too cheap to pursue much exotic stuff. 98 percent organic. I compost, and have small fruits and small veg garden
I have always loved nature and being outside, poking in the stream as a kid and playing in the dirt as an adult. Enjoy the birds and bugs too.

Thanks Elf, this was interesting to think about and I bet I will enjoy reading the other entries. Your place sounds fantastic.

Name: doccat
Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Family: Married to DH for 36 years. 2 grown sons and 2 lovely grand babies. A girl 4 and a boy just turned 1.Employment: Retired federal worker=now I have time to do real gardening again
Gardening Level: Experienced organic gardener-recent grad of the Virginia Tech Master Gardener program and am mentoring 2 newbie gardeners on here.
Gardening Focus: My main area of expertise is growing veggies organically, but I also grow roses. We have gardened off and on for over 25 years. Since I've retired I want to get back into doing a larger garden, to cut back on our grocery expenses and because I miss doing it. I love trying unusual veggies and thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw the Baker's catalog, them are my kinda people! We are also planning on turning some areas into perennial beds. I'm not highly experience with those, but am intrigued and figure if I can raise hybrid tea roses the perennials ought to be easy. We have compost bins and use wide row beds for planting. We turn those into rather casual raised beds just by raising the soil level with a shovel. We have a big Horse Troybilt rototiller that I love this our 2nd one. They are big tillers, but the balance is so precise it will turn on a dime and give you change. Don't worry over much about soil compaction, since we rotate the beds yearly. We have about 3/4th of an acre, so have room to move around a bit. We also have black walnut and pecans. As well as Bosc and Sheckel pear trees. I want to replant apples this year. We took down the 3 apples we had here, they were tired,but gave us years of wonderful fruit. I also want to put in a couple of replacement black walnuts and hopefully an almond tree. The bw's are also getting tired, they were here when we bought the place in 79 and have bearing for at least 10 years. The newer hybrids claim to have an earlier date to bear, so I'd like to try a couple of those. Am working on DH for starting a small worm bin for additional nutrients for the garden. Also eyeballing some of the homemade greenhouses. But I may settle for one of the smaller ones to start. I have garden fever in a big way. I'm holding off most of my winter sowing just yet, as it will only make me more work in the end. I've got bulbs I'm forcing and some amaryllis growing which helps control the urge to plant something! LOL Great idea this thread, I look forward to seeing more people join up.

Name: Becky
Location: Woodbridge, VA
Family: DH, 2 doggies, 1 kitty (one more coming soon), several birds
Employment: self - employed translator
Gardening Level: forever beginner
Gardening Focus: aha, I have no focus, I just want more room, but since I can't I am concentrating on building UP - lots of climbers going in this year - hanging planters and more bird feeders and bird houses. I managed to get my backyard certified as a backyard habitat - so I will be concentrating on hardy, disease free plants that requires no insecticides - also, tackling the ugly mess called a lawn, for whatever reason we can't keep a lawn going in the back so will more than likely brick the entire back yard (not much to it, considering I live in a townhouse) - I am very much a let's-try-it-and-see-if-it-works kinda gardener, and have had mostly luck with it - planted roses this year and they did fabulous, do I know anything about roses, nah, but they grew and they bloomed - I love reading about other peoples gardens and see their successes, and die with envy when I see the spaces they have to play with :) Goal for the spring/summer - fix the stupid lawn and cram even more plants into the tiny space I have left :-)

Name--Gita

Location--NE Baltimore County; specifically the Perry Hall/White Marsh area. The fastest growing, most abused by developments in the last 20 years! Also the greatest place.

Family--I am divorced--16 yrs. on my own now. I have 2 grown daughters. One lives here--the other one lives in Seattle. Very different types, but best friends for life....Not married--NO grandchildren. :o(

Employment--I have now worked for Home Depot for almost 10 years. Started out "owning" the whole Greenhouse- full of houseplants. My job preference. In the last 4 years, because of my bad knees, arthritis and two knee replacements, I have had a sit down job there as a phone operator in the store. Borrrrring...but stress-free.

Gardening level--Hmmmmmmmmmm.....More than the average person would know. A lot of amassed knowledge from all my jobs in this field, but none of it too scientific. I know NO horticultural names of anything! When it comes to plants, i am like a sponge. I just absorb every little bit of knowledge and how-to and love to pass it on. I have worked for a grower and also for a florist. I learn because I ask questions. Too bad if they are annoying! Before HD, I had the stressful but fulfilling job of being in charge of the house plant dept. for almost 5 years at the, now defunct, "Franks Nursery and Crafts" store in Towson. All my jobs have been garden oriented. Low pay but my soul has been at peace.

My Gardening Focus--HA! Like Bec said--WHAT focus??? I would like more room too...:o(. I have lived in my house for 38 years. It is a nice house and I keep a nice yard and do my best with planting flowers. I love Spring when all life springs anew. Then I am shamelessly in love with my garden. I am in awe what the earth can hide all through the cold Winter months and then explode with color--just like that! I actually write poems TO my garden! Have 2 pretty good ones.

However, my garden is also frustrating as it is VERY established and there is no room and not too many options to experiment and plant new things. You see, way back when, I planted 2 lovely Maples in my back yard. They grew and grew, feeding off all the good fertilized put down for almost 20 years by my lawn service. They got too expensive, so i have been doing it myself for the last 3 years now. Honestly--my lawn is better than ever!
The biggest problem and deterrent to dig and plant are all the roots from the Maple trees. I cannot dig a shovel in--anywhere in my back yard! It is really hard to plant anything-so I have started to do more and more containers.

My whole property is only 65'x100'. I have beds everywhere! All around the house and all around the back boundaries. I have a shed--and there are beds on both sides of that as well. I have 3 different circular beds--two of them have a tree/shrub in the center. Beds, beds............more beds!!!
Since I have been in DG, I have, of course, acquired new plants. Going on 4 years with Brugs. This past summer I had MG's and 4-o'clocks for the first time. I saved enough seeds to cover a football field, but I will not (probably) grow but a few of them. Been to 2 plant swaps and come home with new stuff. WHY, oh WHY do I do this to myself?????
I even grew a jungle of tomato plants in the more distant shed bed. You name it--I have it. Roses, 7 Peonies, zillions of bulbs, butterfly bushes, a Lilac bush, Burning bushes, Azaleas, Yews, Junipers, Hardy Hibiscus, Daisies, Bl. eyed Susans, ferns, Brugs and Daturas, and, of course, all kinds of annuals in season.

Focus? WHAT focus??? I am out of focus! Then I sit on my porch swing and think: "Who cares?"...It.s ALL mine! I DO share, though! Very gladly.

Hi everyone, and happy new year! Cool idea!

Name: VA_Wild_Rose... aka Karen
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Family: Hubby, 4 kids, 3 cats, and at least 100 indoor plants
Employment: Medically retired Firefighter/Medic... currently looking (desperately) for a new career!
Gardening level: I would guess... Intermediate *?*
Gardening focus: Since we live in an apartment, for now it's mainly indoor/houseplants... but I can definitely put my balcony space to use in the summer! I raised monarchs and lunas from egg to hatch last summer on my balcony!

This was one of my "babies" when I released her...

Hello All!! Shout out to the new faces I see!!

Name: Chantell (such an original DG name I picked eh? - It IS my name LOL)
Location: Stafford, VA
Family: Divorced for TEN years!! Have 4 kids (3 living at home still), 1 grandbaby (she's 8 months and a cutie - let me know when you have a few hours, I'll tell you about her), 3 dogs, various fish and ummm a "couple" of plants...LOL
Employment: Helping the Shrink for almost 9 years (read: running the office for a Psychiatrist - LOL)...but currently "keeping my eyes open" - so anyone needing an Admin...give me a hollar (gotta network where you can - right?)
Gardening level: I don't kill most...what will that qualify me for?
Gardening focus: I'm a tad fickle....love my C & S' but sadly realizing I hate mealies more then ticks at this point. On the other end of the spectrum if it's fragrant - I LOVE it (read lavenders, gardenias, jasmines....mmm, mmmmm!) And IF it makes for a good photo and/or attracts butterflies/hummers - I'm in HEAVEN!! I'm gonna bug Karen to death so she can teach me how to be a good butterfly mommy!! Becky's already given me the pointers on the bird feeders etc. Gotta love DG!!

Name: Chris short for Christine
Location: Albion Pa, up near Lake Erie
Family: Husband of 37 years, Daughter and son-in-law who live out of town, no grandchildren except the 4 legged kind, I also have 2 dogs and 2 cats.
Employment: Dental office coordinator and whatever hat that has to be put on for a small office
Gardening Level: Been playing in dirt since I can remember. If experience is the best teacher then I guess I'm experienced.
Gardening Focus: Plant collector, will try to grow what interests me. I'll try anything once. Not good at landscaping, so lean towards the cottage garden style. I enjoy nature, and sit quietly for hours watching bird, butterflies, frogs and dragonflies that visit my garden.

Name: Terri
Location: South Boston, VA

Family: I have two married daughters and one beautiful granddaughter. My husband and I will celebrate our 39th anniversary this year

Employment: I work from home as an Import Compliance specialist for a company in Philadelphia, PA

Gardening Level: I was an original subscriber to Mother Earth News, so that makes me older than dirt, LOL!

Gardening Focus; Currently I'm trying to find ways to make our new property seem less bare but without spending a lot of money. We have walking trails throughout most of our property and I'd like to design some stopping spots that will invite people to stop and spend time just enjoying Nature but it's hard to find things that look nice, provide a screen and yet are not palatable to deer, LOL!

I also like to grow vegetables and fruit and am enjoying the extended growing season here in the lower portion of the Mid Atlantic region.

WOOHOO! There are gardeners and it looks like we're all in Virgina! LOL

Name: Holly

Location: Dover, Pa. (1/2 way between York & Harrisburg, Pa.) South Central Pa.

Family: Husband Ric we have been together for about 28 yrs., married for 25. Four children all grown and two Grandchildren, my daughter's daughter Lily and my son's son JR. Lucky to have all of them & my parents fairly close to home, so I get to see them all on a regular basis. You have seen pictures of Julie's Banana Tree, both of the wonderful grandchildren & quite often my comments about My Guys (Ric, Josh & Jamie) doing some project for me.

Employment: I retired from the Fed Government in March of 2007and expect to pick up a few part time seasonal jobs from time to time. Just finished working at Williams Sonoma for the Christmas season. Ric retired also from the Fed Gov in August of 2007. I spent the last 2 years volunteering as a scuba diver at Adventure Aquarium and I have a lot of different hobbies and interests. There is a Community College nearby with many interesting classes that I have been checking out. Many in Horticulture, I don't think I will have any trouble keeping myself busy now that I'm retired.

Gardening Level: Experienced Beginner

I've always had flowerbeds and houseplants generally treated with benign neglect, mostly they seem to thrive. In the last few years more and more of my plans and projects are coming to full promise and I have sooo many more. Ric is wonderful putting together my ideas and encouraging me in my endeavors. It's so nice to have a partner to work with. Last year we added a Holly hedge, Cannas and several plants for a Butterfly garden, which will be enlarged this year. We put up a gazebo and this year I hope to enlarge the beds around that area as well. We will be expanding three other beds in the front yard, too. We have 2 small ponds (very small) and next year I will be adding 2 new water features. There has been a plan for a large pond for many, many years. Hopefully it will become a reality in the next 2 years. Just last fall we acquired a very large pile of very large boulders and the site is now ready for us to start. Last year we recovered the old veggie garden from the perennial weeds and hope to revive Ric's old interest in veggie gardening. He's been expanding his interest in herbs, thanks in part to Critter. We have the makings of a Greenhouse stored in the barn, don't see that happening this year but maybe next. Ric and I don't always work on the same timetable, so you never know what project will get moved up or down on the list. Last year was my first serious attempt at seed starting boy that was fun. I am really looking forward to trying that again. My goal is to continue to enjoy my gardening and continue to learn and grow as my plants grow. Who knows maybe I will become an Intermediate Gardener, in a few more years. LOL

I wanted to post a picture of the front yard from last summer. Holly

Name: bseward…real name is Betty

Location: Kilmarnock, VA. Kilmarnock is located on the Northern Neck of Virginia. This is a little known area of Virginia…thank goodness. For those who don't know the Northern Neck, it's a peninsula bordered by the Potomac River on the east, the Rappahannock River on the west and the Chesapeake Bay on the south.

Family: My husband and I have been together for 30 years but married and celebrating 25 years in 2008. I have 3 grown children living all around the country and my husband has 2. We have 6 grandchildren but will welcome twins in 3 months.

Employment: Retired 4 years ago but spent over 30 years living and working in the Northern Virginia area. For the past couple of years, I’m working part-time as a receptionist for Weight Watchers. This gives me a couple of extra dollars but more importantly keeps my eye on the scale and accountable.

Gardening Level: not a beginner but I don’t feel comfortable saying intermediate. I’m learning all the time, especially after I joined DG 2 years ago.

Gardening Focus: We built a house 4 years ago on 1.5 acres of a former bean field. We have a small creek for a view and I’m slowly but surely adding the flowers I love to the property. I’ve added daylilies, oriental lilies, roses, sedums, etc etc. If it’s fragrant or pretty, I’m willing to try growing it. I can’t say I have any focus other than that.

Name: Gary
Location: I live near Freeport which is about 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Family: Wife of 22 years, 2 dogs and 4 cats.
Employment: Retired for 4 years.
Gardening Level: I too am not comfortable calling myself intermediate as I’m still learning many things.
Gardening Focus: I’m out of focus! Started out mainly with perennials but have expanded into conifers, japanese maples, grasses, etc.

Name: Amy
Location: Bethesda
Family: Just me & the cats
Employment: Fed Govt
Gardening Level: intermediate
Gardening Focus: everything! My yard is a hodge-podge -- lots of shrubs and perennials -- I most love my water garden and am trying to expand my edible gardens.

Name: DarraD
Location: Reva, VA
Family: A husband of 40 years, two grown daughters (not living at home) and two teenage grandkids (living with their parents), 2 dogs and 3 cats.
Employment: Retired in fall 2002 in prep. for move from Southern California to VA. Moved here in spring 2003.
Gardening Level: Will always consider myself a beginner as I'm having to relearn anything I may have learned living in CA. As an example: Our first Christmas here I bought several pots of poinsettias and set them on the steps of the front porch as I'd done on our walkway in CA every year. They looked so pretty the first day....the next morning they were frozen to death. This past spring I severely injured the hanging plants for the front porch as I brought them out when it was lovely and sunny and then we had one more freeze. Big OOPS!
Gardening Focus: Obviously keeping things alive, learning what can grow here and trying to have a vegetable garden along with flowers. I took an organic gardening class down at UVA and am trying to put that to work with veggies etc. The soil here was stripped when they cleared the woods for the house several years ago so we're working on making it healthy again.

Elf, Wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed your Roll Call. Interesting and fun.

Greetings Holly!

I'm lovn' it too! What a fun and interesting group of people we all are. Everytime someone else checks in, I get all excited. It's kind of like amking a new friend.

I've never met a gardener that I didn't like.

I love what Git said: I am in awe what the earth can hide all through the cold Winter months and then explode with color--just like that!

What gardener doesn't know that moment? I found dafs trying to poke through the mulch today. What a hopeful group of peole we are: We stick a brown ball or a dead looking root in the ground, and wait for the earth to help it to "explode with color--just like that! " What a people of hope we all are.

Blessings on your gardens!
Elf

Well-with this warm weather coming up all week, I am sure it will royally screw up everything--just like last year, except in 2006 it was a warm February. All the fruit trees started setting bud and flowering and then the frost got them all.
I feel sorry for all the farmers and the growers. This has to affect their business in a huge way.
I am going outside tomorrow (gonna be 70*) and do some cleaning up. Lots of blown leaves to rake. I also never got around (yet) to the late fall fertilizing of shrubs and bulb beds. Gonna do that also.

Seems I (we) are starting to digress a bit from the "Roll call". Seems this always happens in a Thread.

Elf--Just for you, I will post one more time I Poem I wrote about my Garden last year. It is for the sake of a love affair I have with my garden,

It is not a rhyming Poem--it is in prose form. All this just, kind of, came to me one evening when i sat down at the computer. I LOVE it--sometimes i can't believe I wrote it!

So, humbly, here it is once more for you all to enjoy.

The Garden Wakes…..
(Gita Veskimets-- April, 2007)

The Garden wakes--
It's breast heaves slowly.
With all its dormant strength
it takes a breath
and blows away the remnants of Winter.
And it feels renewed.

The Garden wakes--
It sighs at all yet to be done
and hopes of glorious things to come.
It drinks in the dew in the morning
and the rain of the night.
And its thirst is quenched.

The Garden wakes--
It wipes the sleep from its eyes
and is blinded
by all the glory and the color
that laid beneath the earth so long.
And it revels in things well done.

The Garden gives--
unselfishly--of all the bounty it has cradled
in it's loving arms;
And at days end
It rolls itself up in the green, green grass
And it rests.

The Garden sighs--
the burden now heavy on it's chest.
It gasps for cool air
and thirsts for refreshing rains and soothing nights
that now come so seldom--
and it tires of the effort.

The Garden struts--
It’s wondrous wardrobe of the Fall,
Lovingly embroidered with the colors of the setting Sun.
and feels that it was a job well done.
And before the golden yarns unravel from its cape,
It lays its head on the soft, fallen leaves—

The Garden sleeps.

Gita, your poem is very lovely--you have every reason to be pleased with it! Thank you for sharing. :)

Dearest Gita,

Beautiful.

You make me long for spring.

Elf

Bump-i-ty-bump!

Check in everyone!

Loved that poem - thanks for posting it again...so pretty...makes me long for my flowers.

Name: Buttoneer (Judy Showers)

Location: Carlisle, PA

Family: a DH (Bob) of 29 years, 2 stepkids, the oldest in Carlisle, PA & the youngest in Virginia, 2 grandkids and 2 great-grands, also our "kid" Fritzie II, a 7-year-old rat terrier who loves us both but gets so jealous when we hug & kiss. LOL.

Employment: Currently Ahold Financial Service (who owns Giant of Carlisle, Giant of Landover, and Stop & Shop Food Chains. But I will be retiring at the end of this year & looking forward to be able to spend more time with my family & my plants.

Gardening Level: Intermediate (outdoor gardening) Expert: (tropical) DH built me a 10 X 22' greenhouse. I know many many plants by their scientific names because when you are trading seeds with people from other countries, they go by the scientific name & not the common name because their common names are different than our common names. I am not a master gardener but hopefully in 2009, I can take the course & become one, something I never was able to do when working.

Gardening Focus: To scatter as many different flowering plant seeds as possible and make the area around our house look full & colorful. I attend as many plant sales & swaps as I can during the month of May and pick up some really neat & cheaply-priced plants to put in the garden. I also like experimenting with plants from other areas of our country and put tropical potted plants in the garden for the spring-summer-fall and in the greenhouse for the winter. I enjoy starting plants from seeds & am experimenting right now with polymer crystals to see how good they are at starting seeds. My DH built us a pond in front of the house and we love having it there, but it takes a lot of maintainance because it is so large: 11 X 7'. We are hoping to once again put in a large vegetable garden the way we used to when we were younger & more limber. I hope to do some canning & a lot more cooking, something I was only able to do on Sundays, so I have a lot to look forward to and will probably be busier than I was when I was working.

Nice to meet all you "grand" gardening guys & gals & looking forward to meeting you in the near future. p.s. It would be neat to see what everybody looks like.

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This message was edited Jan 13, 2008 6:27 PM

Judy,

Welcome! And thanks for the nice story about yourself and your wonderful husband.

Many of us have pictures. Just click on our names and scroll down past all the do this and do that stuff. At the very bottom is where the picture would be.

Patiently waiting for Spring! I have LOTS of seeds! Is there anything special you would like to have? D-mail me!

Gita

Name: Sue
Location: Stormstown (Port Matilda), PA; but I'm originally from ME. that's why I'm Metopa; ME to PA! I love it down here. People are so friendly.
Family: My DH of 36 years, 5 daughters and 1 son, and 11 grandkids!
Occupation: I have worked for Wal-mart for 15 years. Yeah, I know about those season-end specials. Just make sure you water them real good when you get home!
Gardening level: forever beginner, as was stated above. I'm always learning more and more. DG has been a very great help to me as I plan my gardens. We just bought a house (our first!) 2 years ago, along with a yardful of bishop's weed:( . But I am excited to actually have a place I can plant what I want, where I want it! Wow!
Gardening focus: I just love plants! Wherever I have lived, when possible, I always have managed to have a little spot where I could grow a few pretty flowers, just to brighten up my place. Sometimes, all I might have would be a Morning Glory vine, or a few pansies. I couldn't live without flowers!

Sue, I got so excited to see you're from Port Matilda! My family is from Fetzertown, which is kinda between Snow Shoe and Wingate...you have to go up Thomas Hill (bottom of Snow Shoe mountain) to get there. My grandparents lived in Julian, and my brother now lives in Clearfield. I haven't lived in the area in over 20+ years but since we've moved to VA, I get back to visit several times a year. Is it possible I went to school with your children? I attended BEAHS, class of '82. ~plantmover

82' THE year to graduate - yipeee!!!

Elf, what a great idea for a thread :) I'll try to "check in" and post soon!

metopa, glad to see you here! Moved to Virginia 8 years ago from Maine - originally from Bangor, where are you from?

Debbie

I have 8 years on you two, I thought that 1974 was the year that all great minds graduated. ha-ha Just kidding. Thank you Lastelf for starting this interesting thread.

Ruby, I live in Central Virginia and have all of my life. I am happily married to John and have been for 15 years. He restored my faith in males after two unsuccessful other tries, which each produced a son. Ben is 28 and married last year and is daddy to 6 month old Emily Nicole. Tucker who is 18 and is still living at home. We have three male dogs that sort of dictate much of what occurs around here. Thankfully they have not been too bad about messing with plants or compost piles.

I took early retirement in 1993 due to health issues. I was employed by The City of Charlottesville and my last job was as an Eligibility Worker for a Federal Jobs Program. Thankfully the health became better without the stress of having to go to a job every day. The past year and half I have had some new health issues to contend with, but it is all good as we speak.

Growing up my parents always had a large vegetable garden and my mother always had flower beds that she lovingly cared for. It has only been a few years that I have been able to enjoy gardening to any extent. I have always had house plants and have usually planted at least one type of outdoor plant each year. I do still have the off spring of a piece of Sedum Autumn Joy that an aunt gave me over thirty years ago. It has moved with me several times. Last summer it grew to almost two foot in height, something that it had never done before.

Upon receiving an inheritance a few years ago I was able for the first time to be able to purchase some of the lovelies that I had seen and wanted over the years. There is nothing more beautiful than flowers in bloom. This will be year number 4 for living in this house and we are continually filling almost all of the yard space. We have a 2 acre lot on a hillside that adjoins The Skyline Drive. I suppose we will eventually begin planting outside of fenced in yard due to lack of space. There is land clearing that will need to take place first though. It is a work in progress.

I cannot remember how I stumbled across Dave's Garden, but it has been a large part of my days since finding it about two years ago. The one observation that I have made about DG'ers is that all in all, and of course there are always exceptions, but this is most giving bunch of folks that I have ever met. It seemed like when I first began posting, I would go to the mailbox and almost once a week or so, I would have some sort of little gift in the mail from another DG'er who had heard me mention wanting whatever the package held. I couldn't get over it. Amazing!!!

I especially enjoyed the Plant Swap held at Hart's last June and am hoping to participate more in group get togethers during 2008. Thanks for letting me share and thanks to everyone who participates in the threads. I very much enjoy all that I learn on here.

Ruby

Hey, Plantmover, nice to meet you. When we originally came down here to check out the place (my husband had been out of work for about 2 years-a friend offered him a job here) We happened to pass through Bellefonte, right by the Big Spring, and I just knew I had to live there! Such a beautiful, Victorian town. The neatest thing of all about PA is that our landlord of 9 years was an Amish man and his family. What a sweet couple-and their 8 kids! With our big family we fit right in!
Debbie, I was born in Portland, lived in Cape Elizabeth and then after getting married in 1971 we lived in Bangor, on 3rd St., and two of the kids were born there!
Gardening and plants have always been an important part of my life, starting with my father, who was growing things organically before most people had heard of it. Every veggie scrap went directly to his veggie garden! Also, he would take me on long walks through the woods, teaching me to identify the various wildflowers we encountered. His love of nature was truly profound, and I am grateful for it.

Name: Jenn
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Family: 1 hubby, 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old daughter, and old bullmastiff, and an older english bulldog
Employment: HR Manager in a Think Tank in DC
Gardening Level: bad
Gardening Focus: veggies, herbs, and hopefully some flowers this year..

Welcome Jenn!! "Gardening Level: bad" - aw c'mon, if you found DG you can at least classify yourself as a beginner - sounds much better :)

OMG metopa, we NEED to talk - another Bangorite? Will be sending Dmail soon!

Debbie

Hi, neighbor Jenn. ! We're all here to share experience and info with each other and learn, whatever the level.

Jenn - a Bull Mastiff...you GO girl!!! Welcome to the land of big dog lovers. Check out Sally's "pupdate" thread...Wrighties gonna be a Great Dane mommy again....hart's got some beautiful dogs....Debbie got the gorgeous Black and Rust (and white?)... cutie...Becky with Queen Izzy...then there's me with the Rottie crew. Had a red-fawn w/black mask Bullmastiff many years ago..."Sampson" - he was an incredible dog!!! And unless you literally kill every plant you get your hands on...don't think "bad" is a good fit. LOL

This message was edited Jan 17, 2008 10:43 AM

Name: jody
Location: born and raised in ME (Waterville, nice to see some other "mainiacs" around), moved to pasadena, md 15 yrs ago now have another place in accomac,va that we bought 3 years ago. Someday the new house we are building on it will be our retirement home. I just started creating gardens there 1 1/2 yrs ago, still lots and lots of work to do.
Family: dh and 4 cats, moved my mom from ME to the VA house 2 years ago
Gardening Level: intermediate
Gardening Focus: changes all the time... the only constant is hostas.

I am so excited to see how many more gardeners there are in Maryland!
Where have you all been hiding???? Welcome!!! Welcome!!!!--to DG!

Could I hope for someone in my extended "neighborhood"? Like--Perry Hall--White Marsh? Middle River? Essex? Parkville? Carney? Towson? Edgewood? Rosedale? Fallston? Kingsville? Harford County?

It would be so nice to visit and share talks and seeds and plants and knowledge!
I KNOW there are gardeners everywhere!!!! How do we let them know DG exists???

Jenn--WELCOME!!!! You have a great gardening neighbor in Sally. Give her a buz!

Gita

Gita.. You are not far from me... I am 10 minutes from the city! I have a question on zone. I was told I was 6b but I see the MD ladies are 7a. Was I told wrong?

My bullmastiff is a big baby. I am also the director of the Neapolitan Mastiff Club... When my baby gets bigger that will be my next dog! lmao

My garden is BAD. If you drove by in the summer you would be shocked! I had my yard fixed (grating issues) last year and the guy who does it (owns a GREAT Veggies Stand) would not even let me water it because I kept killing everything.

Sally I hope I do not annoy you so much you move from Millersville... Do you shop at the southern states in Glen Burnie?

Question... When you can plant blueberry and black berry plants? I will probably need a lot of help if I am to get more than a few tomatoes and a squash this year...