The garden decor in my neighborhood is mostly...

Love those Daturas Tallulah_B. They are a truly elegant looking flower. Feel free to rant about the Cottonwoods. They are too big for a small yard and don't live forever either.

roseimp,
I am very interested in politics but don't think DG needs it. I used to post on a political forum that was related to the Washington Post. I can't tell you how nasty it got -- I think that politics gets really bad when the participants don't have to face each other on the street.

Gardeners on the other hand are generally lovely to each other even if they never plan to see each other again. I have heard that the Pet forum can be pretty rough. Haven't tried it myself. Can't fathom what it is about pets that makes people nasty! My pets make me mellow.

Very pretty garden, amuckey! Dmac, I love those wacky gardens full of interesting folk art. There is one not far from me that is a small yard full of roses, Christmas tree lights all year, flags, whirly-gigs, plastic flowers and all manner of stuff! I should go over there and get pictures. To be honest, I'm a little shy. I'd sort of like to meet the artist/gardener but...I just don't know. I have friends who live on that street so maybe I could just sneak over from their house disguised as a shrubbery! Or a fire hydrant. By the way, no politics from me on Dave's (unless something just slips out by mistake), no religion and most definitely No Pets! L.O.L.

It's too bad that people can't discuss things without being disrespectful of others' opinions. OK no politics here.
Re the SoL: I went to ucla in the 60s and at homecoming time it was tradition to go to the usc campus across town and steal the Trojan Horse statue. It is large and heavy so it would take a lot of drunk kids but it was loaded on a truck and taken to a lawn on the ucla campus. The usc kids would come looking for it and get all pissed off because they had to drag it back to usc. This happened every year. Maybe you could start something like that with the Statue of Liberty - it could be a neighborhood tradition.

Thank you all for the nice comments. I love our huge yard although it can be a bugger to weed eat around everything. I got lazy a few times this summer and only used the weedeater every other time I mowed. :-) We really are fortunate to have such a beautiful setting. It's just on the edge of town and there is the old elementary school building straight across the road, and no one close to the north, then we own the trailer and land to the south, so it's actually like being out in the country. We have 20+ chickens (some bantams) and helmeted guinea. It's fun when we let them out and they run all around the yard. LOL Kind of like a zoo around here at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thanks again for the great comments.

Angie

Hope ypur fowl friends can take care of crickets and grasshoppers.

What! No pink flamingos? Or is no one admitting to it!!?!

Now, Christmas lights? I'll have to count the houses with year around (to lazy to take down) Christmas lights. Ugh!!!

Posdster..... I surely wouldn't admit to pink flamingos if I had any.. LOL


yes, irisMA, my fowl friends do a wonderful job on all kinds of little critters around here, as do the chickens. One day my daughter came hollering around the house saying one of the chickens caught a rat..... UGH I investigated and we got it away from the chicken. I had NO CLUE what the silly thing was. Come to find out after searching on the web, it was a baby squirrel. I couldn't believe it. Apparently it had fallen out of a tree. I had heard one of the hens throwing a fit down in the creek bed not too long before this all took place. I kind of wondered later if it had fallen near her and probably scared the daylights out of her. Silly animals.

We have lots of shrubs and plants but no decor except for the occasional trellis or bird bath that gets obliterated by hurricanes once every few years. LOL :)

I would admit to pink flamingos before I'd admit to a Statue of Liberty.

It was a joke paj - I too think that a politics forum would be a waste here on DG.Especially when you have a pets forum - also a joke.

This message was edited Sep 28, 2008 7:22 AM

This message was edited Sep 28, 2008 7:23 AM

The plants themselves are 'garden art', although I admit to a concrete turtle & just bought a winged lion. He was on sale so he came here. sitting on a little hill until I decide a permanet place.

Hmm...I visit the Pets forum regularly and have no idea what a few of you are talking about. It's a very friendly community! I am sure there have been a couple occasions where someone said something to spark an unfriendly debate, but that could probably be said about EVERY forum. I would never apply the word nasty to the people I've seen there, especially the regulars. We should all be careful about making generalizations and calling a community nasty if you've only passed through once at the wrong time and don't really know what the people are like.

Ok - off my soap box now ;o) Just had to defend the Pets folks - they are some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever known!

Songs , i agree , for myself , anyone that cares for a pet is very high on my list of potential friends . where else could i go and get so much sympathy and understanding of pain , for the loss or sickness of a loved companion . sally

Hear, hear, songsofjoy :-))

F/F/F

We only have 6 houses in our 'neighborhood' (the main road is gravel and the properties spur off of it) ... The neighbor at the top has llamas ---enclosed barn/shelter is visible and surrounded by a fence decorated with brightly colored birdhouses spaced around the perimeter. One of my neighbors is a commercial landscaper - and that property is very tasteful..lots of flat modern spaces of stone and plantings. The neighbor in front - a young couple - decorates with found objects and do a good job.... large split rail fences connected by a wooden high arch/entrance covered with vines...and living with them is a young son that has discovered welding and has made mom all sorts of large metal garden sculpture from found objects... Another neighbor hosts a garden art walk every year with local Chapel Hill/Orange County artists bringing in by truck huge sculpture and windmills etc. and the property the rest of the year has not one 'art' object but the way the property is landscaped is art in itself. And another neighbor works in clay and stone and her torches and totems have been sold in major stores/garden magazines and so.... very F/F/F in our neck of the woods.

The other side of our compassion and love for animals is a passionate defense for their well being and wellfare. I have seen plenty of debates that should strike fear into any abusers of animals or irrresponsible pet owners.

Btw, my son sometimes parks his bike right in the middle of our front yard. Is that garden art? :)

LOL

If that is the case, gardener2005, then we have a ton of yard art via our 7 year old........ :-)

Songs of Joy, sorry you were offended. We were just kidding around and chose "pets". We could as easily have said "cookies". I am very fond of both of those, as well as garden art. ( Back to the Rockies! )

I wasn't offended. I don't post much on Pets these days; I mostly lurk so I didn't take the comments personally. But I do visit often enough to know that the regulars are a great bunch of people so I felt a little compelled to say so. :o)

A few years ago, a neighbor created a HUGE mulch bed in the front yard and planted one tiny tree smack in the middle. Then they surrounded the tree by a ring of small stones. (I'm sure it's a work in progress). One night, my husband and I took a walk around the neighborhood and, being the prankster he is, my husband ran up to the tree and rearranged the stones in the shape of a heart. That was 2 or 3 years ago....they haven't changed it. So that's about the extent of garden decor in my neighborhood. (We like to imagine the conversations that took place after they discovered it and often wonder why they didn't rearrange it.)

I said non existent. The most common yard art in my neighborhood are those signs indicating what your kids are involved in. You know : "My child is a proud member of the Eagle Band" or " An Abilene Eagle lives here. # 71." Folks around here do decorate for Halloween and Christmas. Most folks keep their yards simple; birdbath, garden flag, etc.

Our neighbor likes to do the hay bales,mums and scarecrow get up for fall and while I wouldn`t want it in my yard I get a kick out of driving past it. We do the mums and a few pumpkins on the porch for fall and a wreath on the door for Christmas. Maybe this year I`ll shock my neighbors by buying some Christmas lights. :)

I voted non existent, because I think they are all too busy trying to earn a living and feed their families - they keep the grass neat and do the best they can - so who can complain.

This really is such an interesting thread!
I love the little diversions along the way:)
And I am furthering my international education too...
so many things considered common place in the US are completely unheard of here in NZ.
The whole flag pole in the yard thing - not done here, until just recently.
There is one a couple of block down my street, they normally fly the NZ flag.
One on my way to work will fly the Canterbury Crusaders flag when the Rugby Super 14 matches are on.
They have an All Black's supporters flag - black with a silver fern leaf, for Test matches.
They also hoisted a red sock during the America's cup campaign.
Halloween decorations are limited -
I put out a glow in the dark skeleton & have spray painted tin cans black, pierced them & put tea lights in them all along the driveway.
But it is a bit of a wasted effort as it is summer here & daylight savings means the candles don't show up until very late at night.
Same for Xmas lights, you have to be out at 11pm or later to get the full effect.
Xmas lighting etc has taken off here over the last few years, I love my twinkling lights but hubby thinks I am nuts.
cheers - Dalfyre
New Zealand

POORLY DEFINED QUESTON AND WORSE ANSWER CHOICES.

Dalfyre How about Soltice lights? With so many nationalities is the american population, the flag is an unifier.

Lets see,
I chose other as I live in a neighborhood built in the 1940s.
In 1.4miles of yards side by side there are 5 groomed homes.
Big gangling azaleas were along one side of my yard. When I paid off the house and knew it was all mine I had those dug up.
I have really enjoyed redoing my yard and am ever thankful for the help I got from JaxFlaGardener, He used his mantis to till my streetside plot. 15' wide and over 100' long. He was determined to get it broke up for me.
That has made all the difference in my yard.
I found Dave's when I was looking for a long blooming plant to replace those azaleas.
My yard and life have been gently evolving since then.
I moved to Florida to garden.
This July 5th Georgiagardener3 and her DH, Jordankittyjo and Jeremy all came and helped me get it planted.
This is the first time in years I have 90% actually in the ground.
Life is good in Jacksonville, Florida.
;)

I said non-existent. My house was a new build when we moved in January 07. There was not even sod. We sodded and I put in a several beds in front and also a mailbox bed. Everyone else just has lawn and trees. I know I have inspired a few people to do some containers. I am hoping next spring they will be inspired to do more to their yards so they could spend less time sniffing around mine.

Dorothy

Sugar, I m down the road a ways from you, but yes life is pretty good around here too.
Dalfyre, I have leanrt since I moved here that the Americans are all extremely patriotic, a lesson a lot of countires including my own could learn - I am a UK national.
Docgipe - that sounds extremely miserable! and no matter what the set answers are we all add our own bits to them.

Seemama - Florida must be a huge change from the UK as far as gardening styles go!
Christchurch is known as the most 'English' city in NZ...
Dunedin is staunchly proud of it's Scottish heritage.
I became quite used to the heat & humidity of Brisbane when I lived there, coming to ChCh was a quite a shock to the system.
I do love the gardening here - no worries about snakes or other venomous critters.
There isn't much difference in yard art between Aussie & NZ, the old tires made into swans painted white can still be seen used as planters in older gardens.
NZ had a thing for huge butterflys on the house when I was growing up.
Aussies had concrete Aboriginals!
Don't see them much now - probably be collectors pieces these days.
cheers - Dalfyre

Christchurch is a beautiful city in a beautiful country. We were so impressed with its elegance.

Yuska

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference in weather between Christchurch, NZ and Brisbane, Australia? I have never been to that part of the world but have been nagging my DH for a family trip there.

lol - the main difference is the average temperatures...
Brisbane is far closer to being tropical, if it gets down to 10C they think it is freezing.
You can grow frangipani (plumeria) there just by sticking a cutting into the ground...
ChCh folk think above 25C is hot in mid summer.
Good hard frosts in winter & the odd snow fall make it ideal for daffodils, azaleas & rhodies like it too.

Thanks dalfyre. I really have to get over to your part of the world. It sounds lovely and fascinating.

Dalfyre - you know the best thing about NZ - Roast Lamb, not a favourite in USA, but oh do I miss NZ lamb that I used to get in UK,plus my NZ butter, there are some shops that have a little!! I like the remark about the difference betwen NZ & OZ - I have been getting the jokes for years! My girlfriend has just returned home from here to Oz - Sydney and I think half my school went over there, I still try to keep in touch with them. You cannot compare UK gardening to Florida garening. both have their different charms.

I get NZ lamb in New Mexico. Luscious.

Alberta lamb is very tasty too. Can't compete with Alberta beef (beef is a HUGE thing here) but our lamb is pretty good. Seemama, NZ butter? What's that all about? Thanks.

I wouldn't mind trying Alberta lamb and beef. I wonder if we don't get that in the US but not labeled as being from Canada. NZ butter? I have never seen butter that I didn't love.

I think from chatting to a friend who was raising sheep in Indiana that our definition of lamb is younger than that served in the USA.
I commented about preferring hogget & she had no idea what that was.
Older than lamb, younger than mutton...
more flavour but still tender enough not to need slow cooking.
Very versatile, Yummy grilled or casseroled, or even as a Sunday Roast.
I am making myself hungry!
Almost all NZ beef & sheep is grass fed - a small amount of grain fed beef is farmed for export to Japan.
Dragging this back to yard art - many lifestyle blocks here are adorned by a decorative sheep or two.
There used to be a paddock full of spotted sheep just down the road form my last house.
When I win lotto & buy a big enough property I will have spotted horses, sheep & chickens to match my spotted dogs ;)
I draw the line at painting the house with spots.
Cheers - Dalfyre