Mid-Atlantic Roll Call, Part Two

Name: Rachel
Location: Born and raised just east of the land of pleasant living
Family: My high school sweetheart and hubby of almost 8 years, my two wonderful 4 & 1 year old boys. Not to mention my yellowdog, 3 cats, two houserabbits (aka fertilizer factories), and a few fish.
Employment: Proud Homemaker - work your a** off for no traditional pay or benefits;)! the best and hardest job I've ever had. The benefits are I love being home with my kids and getting the chance to raise my kids right. as for the pay, the hugs are better than any salary :)
Gardening Level: Some experience, I'll probably never reach expert, there's always so much to learn
Gardening Focus:Vegetables, fruits, herbs and Lavender!

I live right on Middle River in Eastern Baltimore County, Peoples Republic of MD. I love it here (all but the politics, that is). Nothing beats being able to walk the canoe across the street for a quick paddle in the lagoon. Our neighborhood also just recently got a bike path installed, so now we can choose between biking and canoeing right at our front door. I have always loved plants but didn't do much with them except identifying wild medicinals/edibles until I had my own house. I use to have a ridiculous amount of houseplants, but the kids came along and all but a few have died from neglect :(
Now that baby is 1, I should have a bit more time for plants again. and the landscaping, and the compost pile, and the shed in our backyard that is in baaaad shape and the fence that needs to be replaced, and the drainage issues that need fixing and on and on and on. and thats just the outside of the house!
I have a little townhouse on a corner and I need to do some planting to give us a bit of privacy. The people who lived here before had about 15 poorly placed island beds (and trees and shrubs) on this tiny 1/10 of an acre land. Mowing the lawn was like a slalom course, not to mention the small but steep slope that is my front and side yard. I am in the process of taking them all out and consolidating to foundation beds. Once I get that done, I may see if there is room for maybe 1 or 2 island beds. maybe.
I have also started a veggie garden in the backyard. That's my latest focus. Giving my family as much fresh grown organic produce as possible. All in done in containers, but not the pretty ones, I have about twenty bright yellow tidy cats cat litter buckets with toms, peppers, strawberries etc.. I saw no need to spend $$ on pots when these are veggies, not ornamentals. They are all doing pretty well too. I am growing organic (well, maybe not omri certified, but fish fertilizer, seaweed and homemade bunnyrabbit compost - no miracle grow for my guys) and haven't had any problems yet. I will be putting in a proper raised veg bed where the containers are this fall, but I have to bust up a 20 X 20 concrete pad to do it. Not only will the garden be in that spot, but we will be using the broken concrete to build the raised veg bed. hopefully it will all work out!
I am looking forward to learning all i can from all you DG ers.
Anybody else in Essex/Middle River with me?

Welcome Rachel, I often sail up the Middle River or anchor there. I've seen some of your area from the shore, but most of it from the water. I'm a big believer in fish & kelp fertilizers. Our resident organic vegetable growing expert, Docgipe can fix you up with all kinds of compost tea recipes. Good luck and please join in on our conversations. Sounds like you've got a few projects going. Here's our current project thread:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1001085/

Rachel--

WELCOME, NEIGHBOR!!!!!

You are pretty close to me. I live in Perry Hall --almost next to PH High School--right on Ebenezer rd. Been here almost 40 years.

I have ALL kinds of seeds to share! These include 4 different heirloom tomatoes and also some Basil seeds. I have some interesting flowers and plants......just visit the "June Flowers" and now the "July Flowers" threads. We LOVE to show off out photos!
We can D-mail so we can chat more one-on-one and perhaps visit too.

I work at the White Marsh HD (11 years!--where the Costco is). I am PT--so i am only there, usually, on Tues., Wed., and Saturdays. I am one of the Phone Operators. My name is Gita--DAH! If you shop there, you have, more than likely, heard my voice overhead making pages and announcements.

Hope to see you some time! You will LOVE hanging here on DG with all of us!!!

Gita

This is me by my Kopper King Hibiscus in 2007. I am an "oldie" but a "goodie".....
Nice to "meet" you!

Welcome to the many who've 'come out' here! Amazing how many 'we' are.

Welcome Rachel from Holly and I, we both use this. I try to remember to sign my entries so everyone knows which of us is posting:-) Ric

Cute picture of the two of you! Holly--you look like a teenager.....

Love the rock wall and all the flowers. Where is this?
G.

Gita, Next time you come up you must walk around the front and side of the house. LOL
That's a section of the wall I built last year. Ric

Ahhh, yes! Now I remember...and I DID see it! It just did not have all the plants there--nor you two "lovebirds".....;o)

Hi everyone! I'm betsy_VA, and I live in Vienna. We just moved into a new house at the end of May and it has a big beautiful overgrown garden. The garden was well planned and planted a while ago but I think it was left to itself with minimal maintenance for about five years. I've got a lot to do!

I'm keeping a blog here: http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/m/betsy_VA/

Here's my info:

Name: Betsy
Location: Vienna, VA (zone 7A)
Family: My husband and me (newly wed in March!), and his two college-age kids
Employment: Full-time
Gardening Level: Beginner, but I learned a lot from my mom, a fantastic gardener
Gardening Focus: Taming the wilder parts of my garden, adding some color, maybe some tomatoes, adding a water feature of some kind.... (check my blog for lots of photos!)

.... and a picture of me in full weeding regalia, with my tool belt :)

Welcome, Betsey! You sure look ready to tackle any garden chore.

Welcome, Betsy. Love the tool belt!

Welcome Betsy! I posted on your ID thread but wanted to make sure I posted it here as well, you should join us on the "project thread" http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1001085/ and keep us updated with your progress. I read your blog, your landscape is beautiful and it's amazing what you've accomplished this summer!

Are there any new members lurking out there? If so, please don't be shy. Drop in and introduce yourself. We'd love to meet you!

Come on folks don't be shy. Tell us about yourselves and come read all about us.

Hi! I'm fairly new to Dave's Garden. I live in Fauquier County, VA. I began my gardening adventures two years ago. After reading Sq Ft Gardening, my husband built me 5 raised garden beds and just this week we're adding glass enclosures to use as cold frames for winter. Hopefully it will work! I've spent the last several weeks, " canning", also a new venture, for me. It's time consuming but well worth the time and effort. I'm rather proud of my pantry right now! I plan on doing my best to keep plants growing in my little mini- greenhouses this winter. I'll post a photo as soon as the glass enclosures have all been built. I do have a gardening question. Can anyone tell me the best place to purchase silica gel for drying flowers. I have tons of flowers I'm wanting to dry. Thanks!
J. Fleming

Welcome J Fleming. Someone will probably chime in on the silica question. I've never used it.

Welcome Jfleming. It's so nice of you to post. I'm sure they probably sell silica gel at Michael's crafts or the A.C. Moore crafts stores. Maybe even Joanne's fabrics might have it. You could check their websites.

We'd love to see photos of your cold frame/greenhouses. You might want to post photos of them on our current "projects" thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1001085/

Hi! My name is Mary and I am a senior widow. My husband died 2 years ago.
Gita is sitting next to me and helping me become a new member of this wonderful Community. I have been lurking for several years already becaus e Gita kept talking about DG when I first met her....

I have a beautiful, large Sunroom so I can garden year-round. Many things in there were gifts from Gita. Right now my beautifuliful Dr. Seuss Brugmansia is in full bloom.
I love all-seasons gardening. Still doing all the work myself at the age of 75.

My Grandmother was an avid gardener and I learned to love it as a child from gardening along-side of her. Several beautiful Roses and Iris and Peonies that still bloom for me faithfully in my Garden are from her Garden.
I have 5 grown sons.10 Grandkids and am about to become a Great-Grandmother thanks to my oldest son.

I look forward to learning to navigate DG and to getting to know you all.

Mary

Welcome Mary. Good to hear from you. Gita is wonderful and if you weren't addicted to plants already, soon you will be. Robin

Hi Mary, A big welcome! You'll meet lots of wonderful helpful people here. Thanks to Gita for bringing us another great gardener.

Welcome, Mary!!!

How are you doing with navigating DG, Mary?
Have you had a chance to "play" yet?

I am glad you joined! It will make your gardening life so much fuller.

Gita

...ONE Red Epi bloom....2008

Hey you all---

I told Mary, as i was helping her sign up to DG, That a whole bunch of you would extend a warm welcome to her, just like you/we all used to in the beginning when this Thread was fresh. You all can't be THAT busy!

Please add your note welcoming her. She is such a sweet lady!
I need to know that you all can live up to the reputation as the "friendliest bunch"-----That's what i told her......kind of puts me on the spot.......:o(

Gita

Mary--sorry you are having trouble opening my attachments.....I DID want you to see this HUGE Brug ("Maya") that I gave away to the Cylburn Arboretum.
If you still can't open the attachments--I will send you all the same pictures via D-Mail.

Welcome Mary, So very nice to have you join us. Ric and I have just gotten back on line we've been traveling and having some computer issues so we are a little behind and trying to catch up.
There is much to see here at DG and so very much to learn and share. Hope you will post some pictures of your sun room if you can. I will be looking for you in the threads. Holly